Guided Meditation

0:05 Just to remind everybody that there is a beginner's class in meditation taught by Dennis, Dennis Shepherd, and that's in the room to my right. So anybody who prefers to have the expert Dennis to actually teach the beginner's class, you're most happy to move into that room to my right. Over here we have the ongoing... Report an error in the passage at 0:05 Highlight the passage at 0:05

0:40 The nice thing about meditating here is because we don't charge anything. You can't ask for your money back if you don't like it. You're stuffed. Report an error in the passage at 0:40 Highlight the passage at 0:40

0:54 Is that a good introduction? OK. Report an error in the passage at 0:54 Highlight the passage at 0:54

1:01 But anyhow, this is a beautiful place where you can learn to find some peace, some tranquility, some beautiful quietness. Report an error in the passage at 1:01 Highlight the passage at 1:01

1:12 And for those people who are starting for the first time, that sometimes you may be kind of scared or afraid, like sitting still for such a long time. But it's not that hard to do. You just sit down, nice and comfortable. If you do feel any aches or pains in the body, just gently move them. Move your body, adjust the body. Report an error in the passage at 1:12 Highlight the passage at 1:12

1:40 The last thing which any teacher would want is for people to walk into this hall and have to go out back home in an ambulance. Report an error in the passage at 1:40 Highlight the passage at 1:40

1:53 That's not what we're into. We're into teaching people. So what I mean to do is to make sure that no one feels afraid or scared. They just relax to the max and you'd be surprised at how you can sit either in a chair or on the floor, on cushions. They have all these amazing little tools which we have. I can see that somebody has a meditation stool. Could you lift up the stool so people can see it? Report an error in the passage at 1:53 Highlight the passage at 1:53

2:33 Here we go. These stools, they make life very easy for meditating. So if you want to try one of those later on, you're most welcome to. Or anybody who wants something less innovative, we also have wonderful chairs such as the one over there, the armchair. Report an error in the passage at 2:33 Highlight the passage at 2:33

2:56 You can sit in that one as well if you want. There's usually one of our members who sits in that chair, but he's not here today, so it's free. Report an error in the passage at 2:56 Highlight the passage at 2:56

3:10 Why don't I use this? It's Mudu's cousin. He often sits in there. So it's free if you want it. Do you want to show people how to sit in that wonderful chair? Okay, yes, he's going to show. It's nice and comfortable. He's doing his exercise first. Report an error in the passage at 3:10 Highlight the passage at 3:10

3:35 Yay! Report an error in the passage at 3:35 Highlight the passage at 3:35

3:39 Thanks for doing that. In other words, the chair which you sit in, as long as you can be comfortable for Half an hour, 40 minutes, it's fine. Report an error in the passage at 3:39 Highlight the passage at 3:39

3:53 It takes an amazing amount of training to be able to do that. How many years have you been at our Buddhist Society? About 30, 40 years, isn't it? In 88 years? Report an error in the passage at 3:53 Highlight the passage at 3:53

4:11 No, in 1988. Report an error in the passage at 4:11 Highlight the passage at 4:11

4:16 Thanks, yes, I know, but I don't want to show off. So can you please tell? Okay. So anyhow. You can sit in there if that's more comfortable for you. There's many places which you can sit here, many different methods. But the main thing is you can relax the body and the body becomes so, so, so, so comfortable after a while. And you'll sit here nice and peacefully with no disturbances in the whole world. Report an error in the passage at 4:16 Highlight the passage at 4:16

4:49 And when the body is comfortable and you're sitting, Then the mind can be comfortable as well. That's the main thing, but the body has to be comfortable first. So when I start meditating, as I will lead the meditation to begin with, you'll listen and hear that I ask people just to really find a nice comfortable position. Report an error in the passage at 4:49 Highlight the passage at 4:49

5:15 Everyone will have their eyes closed, including me, when we start the meditation. So I'm not going to check you out. Just I want you to make sure that you feel at ease and really, really, really relaxed. And after a while, honestly, I get much more relaxed when I'm sitting cross-legged on the floor than I do when I'm sitting on a chair. Report an error in the passage at 5:15 Highlight the passage at 5:15

5:42 Honestly, I would not like to swap with any of you because sitting on the floor is the most comfy for me. It did so happen at once. The first time after seven years in Thailand, I had to go on an aircraft flying all the way over to UK, you know, from Thailand. Oh, that really hurt, sitting on a chair. Not really a chair, but on, you know, the, what do you call it, the seats they have on aircraft? Report an error in the passage at 5:42 Highlight the passage at 5:42

6:20 Even though there was a padded, there was lots of cushions if I wanted, but nevertheless it was never as comfortable as sitting on the ground with my legs crossed. I sometimes wonder if we had some aircraft where people could just sit on the floor across the leg instead of sitting on chairs. You'll be able to get twice as many people in the aircraft, you know. Report an error in the passage at 6:20 Highlight the passage at 6:20

6:48 Two layers, one on top of the other, which means that the aircraft seats will be much cheaper. Does that make sense? Oh anyway, I did suggest that, but they didn't actually follow my suggestions, which is what happens usually to my suggestions. Report an error in the passage at 6:48 Highlight the passage at 6:48

7:10 Nevertheless, it's nice to make them. But the physical comfort is important so the body can just relax to the max. And that word, to relax to the max, is kind of essential, an important word in Buddhism, especially in meditation. So you can just sit here, and there's no aches or pains in the body at all. That's one of the reasons why we like to keep it quiet in here, so that you don't hear any noises, you don't feel distracted at all. Report an error in the passage at 7:10 Highlight the passage at 7:10

7:44 And when you're not feeling distracted, you don't have to attend to the ear. And soon, you know, you get quiet, peaceful, so you don't hear any sounds. And imagine that. You've got your eyes closed, and you can't see anything. Your ears are not distracted. You're just sitting here really, really, really peaceful. And after a while, you don't fall asleep. Report an error in the passage at 7:44 Highlight the passage at 7:44

8:14 You get into a beautiful place of tranquility. I don't know if you've ever been out in nature. I won't say out by the beach, because I always find that the ocean is quite noisy. There's always waves crashing against the rocks. But sometimes on a windless day like today, there's hardly any wind outside. Report an error in the passage at 8:14 Highlight the passage at 8:14

8:43 There's a little bit of wind, but not much. And things can be so quiet, so peaceful. That peace kind of seeps into your mind and the mind reacts by wanting to be peaceful as well. There's many places in monasteries which are so still, so quiet, you don't want to disturb that peace. You respect it so much. Just like the place where I live. You all know that I live in a cave. Report an error in the passage at 8:43 Highlight the passage at 8:43

9:20 And in that cave it is so still, so quiet. Sometimes I love staying in there. I don't want to listen to any talks or any music, quacky, no. Just the peace is the most beautiful sound in the whole world. Silence. Nothing to do. Nothing to comment. And when the outside world is still, That seeps into the inside world. You don't want to be noisy at all. You're just sitting there quiet, still. Report an error in the passage at 9:20 Highlight the passage at 9:20

10:00 And because I am a monk and my body knows exactly what to do, I'm kind to it. It relaxes. And soon that stillness goes right inside and the mind becomes so peaceful. It's a beautiful experience. And that's why It's what I encourage for each one of you, the beautiful stillness of the mind. And it's called meditation. You're sitting here in peace, nothing to improve, nothing to get rid of, just to be still. Report an error in the passage at 10:00 Highlight the passage at 10:00

10:39 So I will describe the preliminaries of meditation, how to get the body so comfortable. And then after a while, just leave it alone. You'll be surprised. How relaxed your own body can be and how still it can be. Once it is that still, it's gorgeous. Report an error in the passage at 10:39 Highlight the passage at 10:39

11:03 So, I will now start the meditation a little bit earlier than usual. So if you can, close your eyes and get into a beautiful meditation position. Report an error in the passage at 11:03 Highlight the passage at 11:03

11:20 With your eyes closed, you have more mindfulness available. Report an error in the passage at 11:20 Highlight the passage at 11:20

11:28 For your body feelings, nothing to see, nothing to hear, and you start feeling your body. Is it relaxed? First of all, I do a gentle relaxation of the body as a whole, to feel your body. Is it comfortable? Please trust the chair or the cushion which you're sitting on. Report an error in the passage at 11:28 Highlight the passage at 11:28

12:08 When I find I'm mostly peaceful, I proceed onto a part-by-part relaxation of my body. And I usually start with the furthest part of my body from my head, which is my feet, and even the toes of my feet. Report an error in the passage at 12:08 Highlight the passage at 12:08

12:35 And those toes, I just check them all out. How are you feeling? Just like I may see an old friend and ask her, how are you? How are you feeling? Now I do that to parts of my own body. Report an error in the passage at 12:35 Highlight the passage at 12:35

12:55 Ask my toes how they're feeling. And straight away, this happens almost every week, I don't know why I'm so stupid, I don't prepare for this. I found my right toe, big toe, on my right foot is squashed. Report an error in the passage at 12:55 Highlight the passage at 12:55

13:19 Under my left eye. So I will now move slightly. Report an error in the passage at 13:19 Highlight the passage at 13:19

13:29 That kind of demonstrates my attitude that I will move for the comfort and stillness of my own body. Just adapt my posture to what the body needs. And having slightly adjusted my posture now all my toes are so comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 13:29 Highlight the passage at 13:29

14:00 And it is like, you may say I'm imagining it, but I don't mind imagination at this stage. I imagine like my toes saying thank you to me. Report an error in the passage at 14:00 Highlight the passage at 14:00

14:13 I've done the correct thing. To move, to adjust the feelings of my own toes to be peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 14:13 Highlight the passage at 14:13

14:25 So I can move up from my toes to the balls of my feet and I check that they are comfortable. They're not too squash, not too cold, not too hot. And from those, once I find out that they are fine, I can move to the insteps of my feet. Report an error in the passage at 14:25 Highlight the passage at 14:25

14:53 And honestly, I can feel them right now. Making sure, I'm checking up on you to make sure you're comfortable, there's nothing you need. Report an error in the passage at 14:53 Highlight the passage at 14:53

15:05 And from the insteps to the heels, I can feel those heels. And they are comfortable. From the heels, around the back of the heel, to the ankle. Many times the ankle is a vulnerable part of your body if you trip or you skip. I just check that everything is totally relaxed there. And with a bit of experimentation, you can find how to relax your own ankle so much more than you've ever done before. Report an error in the passage at 15:05 Highlight the passage at 15:05

15:49 That's what I'm doing now. My ankle's now. Getting more and more and more comfortable. And I always imagine that the body says thank you when you're kind to it, just as you always say thank you if I am kind to you. And Report an error in the passage at 15:49 Highlight the passage at 15:49

16:15 all I've done is through mindfulness and an attitude of listening and responding appropriately, just my own feet are now comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 16:15 Highlight the passage at 16:15

16:30 More comfortable than when I first sat down in here a few minutes ago. Report an error in the passage at 16:30 Highlight the passage at 16:30

16:39 Then I continue on. I keep scanning the feelings in my body, my own body, going up both legs, the calves of my legs, and relaxing as much as I can as I go up towards my knees. Report an error in the passage at 16:39 Highlight the passage at 16:39

17:02 When I get to my knees, I find that there, there's still a residue. Where I was sitting before, they feel a bit tense. So I just imagine them relaxing. And as they relax, my knees, I can feel all parts of them. Report an error in the passage at 17:02 Highlight the passage at 17:02

17:26 Even if, you know, I'm not really feeling all the parts of my knees, I imagine I am. Soon, the imaginary feeling of knees becomes real. Report an error in the passage at 17:26 Highlight the passage at 17:26

17:43 I can relax every part of my knee and both knees feel totally at ease. It's like there's nothing being blocked, nothing being stretched, nothing being pressured. Report an error in the passage at 17:43 Highlight the passage at 17:43

18:04 The knees are more at ease than they have been probably all day. The Report an error in the passage at 18:04 Highlight the passage at 18:04

18:14 first part of my meditation is usually just caring for my body deeply. The reason is it's not just relaxing your body, it's actually increasing your awareness, your mindfulness. You get to know feelings in the body. And this is starting with feet, lower legs, knees, which are usually not as desperately important for your health. Report an error in the passage at 18:14 Highlight the passage at 18:14

18:54 As the upper part of your body, but we'll get there soon. And pass the knees, which now feel totally relaxed. The thighs of the body, they're great muscles. But I must admit I don't use them that much. I'm not into sport at my age. Report an error in the passage at 18:54 Highlight the passage at 18:54

19:15 You can feel them. And the thighs are relaxed, at ease. And so we'll move up to my butt. And the buttocks, the bottom. It has, I can feel the pressure, the weight of my body pressing on the buttocks, supporting the weight of my body on the cushion underneath my bottom. Report an error in the passage at 19:15 Highlight the passage at 19:15

19:47 My job here is to make sure that that feeling in my butt is evenly spread and then it just disappears after a couple of minutes. Report an error in the passage at 19:47 Highlight the passage at 19:47

20:01 This is important to understand that your body will only respond If there's a change in the normal pattern of feelings, if the sensations suddenly change, then that's noted as a problem. Report an error in the passage at 20:01 Highlight the passage at 20:01

20:19 The ordinary sensations of just pressure on the butt while you're sitting will soon vanish and disappear. And I can feel peace then. Report an error in the passage at 20:19 Highlight the passage at 20:19

20:33 It's already starting to go. And I go up a little bit further to my waist because the feelings in the waist They kind of tell me whether my torso is properly situated. You don't hold your body and back with fear. You kind of relax everything. What I'm doing now, I'm moving my torso backwards and forwards until I can find the optimum position where I know I can sit like this comfortably for hours. Report an error in the passage at 20:33 Highlight the passage at 20:33

21:25 When I get that position, then I start, sometimes I split my attention here and first of all go up my back. Years ago I did have an injury to my back and was bent over. Because of that injury I could not do anything else. But then later on I found a solution. And these days I'm very sensitive to the position of my backbone. Report an error in the passage at 21:25 Highlight the passage at 21:25

22:00 And I know the right position where it's so comfortable in which I can maintain that position again for long periods of time. Report an error in the passage at 22:00 Highlight the passage at 22:00

22:11 And now I've got my back in that position. So I go to the bottom of my torso again. And now I go up the inside of my body, working from the body towards the top, inch by inch. Report an error in the passage at 22:11 Highlight the passage at 22:11

22:34 And as I scan my own body, I relax it. If I find any part of the body is tense, I pause, give it so much kindness. Report an error in the passage at 22:34 Highlight the passage at 22:34

22:55 It does relax. And now I just notice in passing that all the muscles and the bones and the joints in my legs will pass through those. And now they're just so comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 22:55 Highlight the passage at 22:55

23:15 You can hardly feel them. That's what this scanning of the body does. It relaxes your own body. On Tuesday I'm giving a talk to a cancer group at Bodhinyana Monastery. They are coming. They've been coming to Bodhinyana Monastery for years. And they come because they learn how to relax so much that their cancers heal. Report an error in the passage at 23:15 Highlight the passage at 23:15

23:51 I'm serious. Report an error in the passage at 23:51 Highlight the passage at 23:51

23:59 So if ever I scan up my body and find an abnormal feeling anywhere, I will always pause and give that part of my body extra kindness, which serves to relax the body that bit more. And that extra kindness, awareness, is what heals those cancers. Report an error in the passage at 23:59 Highlight the passage at 23:59

24:30 Sometimes we use our body without caring for it. Report an error in the passage at 24:30 Highlight the passage at 24:30

24:39 So I care for every part of my body as I go up the digestive track, making sure everything is relaxed. And if it's not, I know how to bring it to a state of relaxation by being kind. And sooner or later, I arrive at my stomach. Report an error in the passage at 24:39 Highlight the passage at 24:39

25:11 If ever I did have indigestion, which I've had a couple of times, I know how to deal with it, not with any drugs. I just sit there, observe the feelings, and relax to the max. And I'm amazed at how powerful that therapy is. Report an error in the passage at 25:11 Highlight the passage at 25:11

25:37 Any indigestion disappears. Report an error in the passage at 25:37 Highlight the passage at 25:37

25:45 And then from the lungs, sorry, from the stomach, I go up a little bit higher to the lungs. I do suffer from hay fever this time of year. And so I want to relax those lungs. Report an error in the passage at 25:45 Highlight the passage at 25:45

26:07 Being kind to them, not to overreact when there's a slight irritation. I Report an error in the passage at 26:07 Highlight the passage at 26:07

26:18 can feel my lungs now. Relax them to the max. The Report an error in the passage at 26:18 Highlight the passage at 26:18

26:29 mindfulness has gone deep inside my body, going up slowly. And eventually it gets to my heart, the region of my heart. I Report an error in the passage at 26:29 Highlight the passage at 26:29

26:45 relax all that area too, with kindness, with softness. Report an error in the passage at 26:45 Highlight the passage at 26:45

26:55 After a while, You get very skilled at feeling those areas of your body. Feeling them so deeply, you can relax anything. Report an error in the passage at 26:55 Highlight the passage at 26:55

27:11 And then I go a little bit further upwards to my shoulders. For those who come and listen to me regularly, you'll know that usually my shoulders are tight. Report an error in the passage at 27:11 Highlight the passage at 27:11

27:26 But today they are just kind of average. I relax them a little bit. And relax them. To the point where they feel really comfortable, like I haven't been holding anything for a long, long time. Report an error in the passage at 27:26 Highlight the passage at 27:26

27:50 And that gives me an opportunity to give this simile for you. Sometimes in meditation, usually a bit later, sometimes I tell a simile, like you remember you've been shopping, or you've been to the airport, carrying your bags. Report an error in the passage at 27:50 Highlight the passage at 27:50

28:12 And those two bags you're carrying, one in your left hand, one in the right hand, are so heavy, it makes your arms and hands and shoulders ache. Report an error in the passage at 28:12 Highlight the passage at 28:12

28:24 And you look at the bag you're holding in your left hand, and it's got a sign on the outside saying PAST. P-A-S-T. Because in there you're holding things you don't need to hold and carry everywhere. And the bag in your right He's got the sign on the outside saying F-U-T-U-R-E, future. They can be so heavy. Report an error in the passage at 28:24 Highlight the passage at 28:24

28:55 So Report an error in the passage at 28:55 Highlight the passage at 28:55

28:59 what do you do? You feel the weight of the bag in your left arm. You lean to the left, which allows you to lower the bag in your left hand, to lower it to the floor. Report an error in the passage at 28:59 Highlight the passage at 28:59

29:18 When it meets the ground, all the weight So it means you can unlock your hand from the handle, lift it up to your side and relax your left arm, hand and shoulder. It feels good. You've rested carrying your past and then the back and the right hand you do the same. Feel how heavy it is, the worry we have of our future. We lean to the right. Report an error in the passage at 29:18 Highlight the passage at 29:18

29:59 Lower it to the floor. When it meets the ground, the weight vanishes, which means you can unlock that hand to move it up, and you've let go of the future as well. Report an error in the passage at 29:59 Highlight the passage at 29:59

30:19 And you're standing there in this magical place between the past and the future, called the present moment, having let go of the past and future temporarily. Report an error in the passage at 30:19 Highlight the passage at 30:19

30:37 No one's going to steal those bags away, unfortunately. But you're resting. When you're finished, you can pick up those bags and they're so much lighter once you've rested. And Report an error in the passage at 30:37 Highlight the passage at 30:37

30:56 sometimes I do that little exercise. Imagination. But it works. It makes it easier for me to let go of past and future. And now I... Report an error in the passage at 30:56 Highlight the passage at 30:56

31:14 Relate that to the feelings in my hands and arms as I scan down my two arms, even to the fingers. When I get to the fingers, how are your fingers feeling right now? Report an error in the passage at 31:14 Highlight the passage at 31:14

31:35 Ask them, do you need to be improved, to be rested in another position? If they answer yes, then do so. If your own fingers are happy, then leave them there. Report an error in the passage at 31:35 Highlight the passage at 31:35

31:54 And then you go back to your shoulders and neck. Sometimes in meditation we can easily get a sore tight neck because our head was not balanced on top of the neck. So I feel the position of my own head and make sure it's not leaning too forward, not leaning too far to the back, not to either side. Report an error in the passage at 31:54 Highlight the passage at 31:54

32:28 The best position to hold my head. Once I found that, you can feel it. You know it. Then you can leave your head there. It's comfortable. Then I go to the feelings in my face. I say my face because that's where most of the feelings in the head are located. Around the eyes, around the mouth, around the nose. Report an error in the passage at 32:28 Highlight the passage at 32:28

33:04 If I'm... Tense, could be because of anger or worry or all sorts of other emotions are played out by the muscles of your face. So when I relax those muscles, my eyes are closed but not screwed down tight. My mouth is kind of closed but not gritting teeth. I have a relaxed posture on my face. Report an error in the passage at 33:04 Highlight the passage at 33:04

33:39 And that feels the most pleasant. And Report an error in the passage at 33:39 Highlight the passage at 33:39

33:45 from there, I can join up all those parts of my body which I've cared for over the last 15 minutes. And they all feel at ease, at peace. That's the purpose. Report an error in the passage at 33:45 Highlight the passage at 33:45

34:09 Years ago, I just, I love experimenting. So I decided not to do anything for a minute or two. Just to enjoy the relaxation which I've gone into the habit of doing every time. It's really pleasant. It's just some joy. Meditation should never ever feel a burden. Report an error in the passage at 34:09 Highlight the passage at 34:09

34:42 It's about how to release burdens. It feels good. And I always feel at this point the pleasure of relaxation. Report an error in the passage at 34:42 Highlight the passage at 34:42

35:01 It's gorgeous. From Report an error in the passage at 35:01 Highlight the passage at 35:01

35:07 there, I go to relaxing the mind. Report an error in the passage at 35:07 Highlight the passage at 35:07

35:16 It's so pleasant. It brings me into the present moment. Just now, I don't need to search for happiness in the future or get rid of things from the past. Just being now feels great. All Report an error in the passage at 35:16 Highlight the passage at 35:16

35:41 past, all future, I now let go of. Report an error in the passage at 35:41 Highlight the passage at 35:41

35:52 Enjoy this moment if you can. Report an error in the passage at 35:52 Highlight the passage at 35:52

36:00 Soon you get deeper and deeper. And Report an error in the passage at 36:00 Highlight the passage at 36:00

36:07 don't go philosophizing or thinking. Continue with feeling, not finding words, but enjoying emotions. You Report an error in the passage at 36:07 Highlight the passage at 36:07

36:29 soon get very still. You Report an error in the passage at 36:29 Highlight the passage at 36:29

36:36 will now be quiet. Enjoy the meditation as best you can. I will let you know when the time's up. Being Report an error in the passage at 36:36 Highlight the passage at 36:36

· · · silence, 23 minutes

59:39 very close now. Report an error in the passage at 59:39 Highlight the passage at 59:39

59:45 The final minutes of the meditation. How Report an error in the passage at 59:45 Highlight the passage at 59:45

59:53 do you feel? What Report an error in the passage at 59:53 Highlight the passage at 59:53

1:00:04 did not this time? And Report an error in the passage at 1:00:04 Highlight the passage at 1:00:04

1:00:09 how does it feel now? How Report an error in the passage at 1:00:09 Highlight the passage at 1:00:09

1:00:18 relaxed is your body? Begin Report an error in the passage at 1:00:18 Highlight the passage at 1:00:18

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:01:01 to ring the gong. When the gong finishes resounding, slowly open your eyes. I Report an error in the passage at 1:01:01 Highlight the passage at 1:01:01

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:02:30 hope that was enjoyable for you. Sometimes at the end of the meditation, Report an error in the passage at 1:02:30 Highlight the passage at 1:02:30

1:02:40 Instead of trying to assess the meditation with words, with feelings, how was it? What did it feel like? We usually have opportunities for the Q &A and I prefer starting with any questions from the internet. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:40 Highlight the passage at 1:02:40

1:03:08 Yeah, just seeing you turning around. Are there any questions on the internet? Oh no, okay. So any questions from the floor? Is your mind working again now to put forward questions? Report an error in the passage at 1:03:08 Highlight the passage at 1:03:08

1:03:28 Was there any difficulties for you? I've been doing this for so many years. It's kind of easy to let go and to relax the body. And when the body's relaxed, then next the mind relaxes. And it feels so beautiful. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:28 Highlight the passage at 1:03:28

1:03:56 So anyway, there's no questions on the internet. Oh, there are, are there? No. Any questions from the floor? Who's got a question today? Oh, you have. Great. Do Report an error in the passage at 1:03:56 Highlight the passage at 1:03:56

1:04:14 you just go straight into jhāna when you sit down? Is it like when you finish talking and you go quiet, do you just boom? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:14 Highlight the passage at 1:04:14

1:04:24 You know that, I should let you know this, sometimes I even break my own rules. I'm not supposed to let anybody know of those deep meditations because they're incredibly powerful. But this is just what happens when you really let go. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:24 Highlight the passage at 1:04:24

1:04:43 You let go so much that nothing moves. You get incredible stillness, huge stillness. When it gets very, very, very still, it becomes like a jhāna. That's when... The body just disappears from you. You can get back into it again. But usually the jhānas or what occur is when you're on a retreat for yourself. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:43 Highlight the passage at 1:04:43

1:05:20 We soon got the range retreat happening. And on those range retreats, each one of you usually asks me, can you please go on a retreat for a month, not just for two weeks? Sometimes I do that. And then, so quiet, so peaceful, it's like you disappear. And the mind is not in the world anymore for a while. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:20 Highlight the passage at 1:05:20

1:05:53 And in those times, when a being does get into the jhānas, it's just basically not in the world. A few times, they talk about you guys. They people get into jhānas. And when you do, sometimes Report an error in the passage at 1:05:53 Highlight the passage at 1:05:53

1:06:16 what happens, you've heard me make stories about this before, what happens if you get into a jhāna, you're sitting down somewhere, you're totally invulnerable, you can't be injured, you can't be hurt, and people around you, please excuse me, they think you're dead. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:16 Highlight the passage at 1:06:16

1:06:38 You don't move. And also, because you're so still, They even sometimes check you out and sort of feel your pulse, and there isn't any. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:38 Highlight the passage at 1:06:38

1:06:59 I don't know if there's any doctors here, but sometimes I want to say these stories actually to warn you that the difference between somebody in Ajana and someone who's dead is exactly what the Buddha said. It's also something which occurs here. If you check a person's breathing, there's no breath, there's no pulse. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:59 Highlight the passage at 1:06:59

1:07:33 But there's still bodily warmth, it's still there. And that's been... Look, I'm not making this up. I'm not trying to blow a trumpet and say, oh, these are great. This is reality. And I've mentioned this many times to you because sometimes it happens. Somebody gets into Ajahn and sometimes, honestly, some of the things you can predict, but sometimes there's a surprise. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:33 Highlight the passage at 1:07:33

1:08:04 If a person does get into Ajahn, they're just sitting there so peaceful, no breath, no pulse. Okay, I'll tell the story about this one guy. I told it before, so it's not new. knew that he Report an error in the passage at 1:08:04 Highlight the passage at 1:08:04

1:08:26 Sunday afternoon, there wasn't nothing to do. He had his dinner already, or lunch, and then he went, there was something on TV, his wife was watching, he wasn't watching, he said, I'll just go into the bedroom and meditate. So he went into his bedroom to meditate for an hour, and after only half an hour, 40 minutes, after half an hour, 40 minutes, he hadn't come out of the bedroom. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:26 Highlight the passage at 1:08:26

1:08:56 His wife went in there to check on him. He couldn't discern any breath. He couldn't see any pulse. So what did she do? Zero, zero, zero. She called the medics. And an ambulance came. It was a Sunday. And they weren't busy. And they turned up really quickly. It's an absolutely true story. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:56 Highlight the passage at 1:08:56

1:09:27 And when they came out and they saw the wife, it was just really... So worried. And the medics came in with their machines. There was no pulse, no discernible breath. So they put him straight into the gurney, the stretcher, into the ambulance. And with the sirens wailing, they took him to Charlie Gardner's. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:27 Highlight the passage at 1:09:27

1:09:58 The medics or the triage nurses checked him out. And it looked like he was dead. Fortunate, there wasn't a busy afternoon for them, so I was told. And so another good fortune, the doctor on duty, that sort of afternoon, that his parents had come from India, and they told him stories about what meditation can do. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:58 Highlight the passage at 1:09:58

1:10:34 And now he kind of saw it. With all the machines on this patient, there was no pulse, no heartbeat, sorry, no breath, and even the EEG, measuring his brain activity, wasn't working. The brain wasn't working, the machine was working okay. So he was actually technically dead. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:34 Highlight the passage at 1:10:34

1:11:04 The only difference, again, I kind of was very happy that they... They had heard me say this before and they knew what this teaching was. It said, if he is dead, he'd be cold, but he was still warm. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:04 Highlight the passage at 1:11:04

1:11:23 That's the difference. And I was very fortunate that that man was still warm and the doctor realized what that meant, he was not dead. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:23 Highlight the passage at 1:11:23

1:11:37 Otherwise... Report an error in the passage at 1:11:37 Highlight the passage at 1:11:37

1:11:49 Otherwise, they would honestly send him straight to the morgue. He wasn't dead, he was just in a deep meditation. So what the doctor decided to do, not give up on him yet, was give him defibrillators, those electric shocks in those days. I know you said they don't usually do that. They do that these days, but in those days they did. Many shocks to try and get his heart started. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:49 Highlight the passage at 1:11:49

1:12:21 So many times they tried that, so many times nothing worked. Just the machines were all flat lined. Many times, many times. And then, as he put it, as he told me, he decided it was time to come out of meditation. So I opened his eyes, beep, beep, beep, all the machines started beeping. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:21 Highlight the passage at 1:12:21

1:12:56 And he said, what am I doing in here? I was meditating at home in the bedroom. How to get into hospital? And then they told him what had happened. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:56 Highlight the passage at 1:12:56

1:13:08 Now believe it or not, they did have quiet days in Charlie Gardner's in those days. And so the doctor gave him a tharva, so check up, checking up all his facilities, all his faculties. And he was so healthy. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:08 Highlight the passage at 1:13:08

1:13:30 They let him go home. He walked home with his wife. And at the end of that experience, I couldn't help but ask him, was there anything unpleasant about that experience? And he said, yes. What was the unpleasant part? The scolding which I got from my wife. Don't you ever do that again. You scared me. I thought you were dead. And that's why I like to tell you, Report an error in the passage at 1:13:30 Highlight the passage at 1:13:30

1:14:06 Please. Please, don't get upset. You know, your husband, your wife, whoever it is, is doing that meditation, they're not dead. They're getting these deep meditations. Just touch and feel if they're warm. If they are, they're just in deep meditation, that's all. And it does happen. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:06 Highlight the passage at 1:14:06

1:14:28 Go on. Are you okay? Report an error in the passage at 1:14:28 Highlight the passage at 1:14:28

1:14:35 Ajahn Brahm, I want to share my experience of what you said just now. Ajahn Brahm, generally, when the person is peaceful, The heartbeat is slow, isn't it? It's slow, but this is not at all. No, no, no, no. I'll just share it back there. And then if the person is having anxiety, all these things, then there's boom, boom, boom, it goes faster. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:35 Highlight the passage at 1:14:35

1:14:58 Recently, just a month ago, six weeks ago, I went for my cataract surgery. And then when I went down there, this thing, okay, the anesthetic. I found that my heart rate was a bit slow. And then he gave a letter to me to take to my GP to show what's happening. So I gave the letter to the GP. And my GP sent me to the cardiologist. I did two tests. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:58 Highlight the passage at 1:14:58

1:15:29 The first test was they let me wear something for 24 hours. you know and then with bet the trip you know So the next day I took it out, okay, put it aside, and I returned back to them, okay. The next test was treadmill, you know. Yes. It goes treadmill, this thing they check, you know. And the check-out card, what did you see was nothing wrong. Yeah. There's nothing wrong with you, nothing, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:29 Highlight the passage at 1:15:29

1:15:57 And my heartbeat was between 40 to 90 or whatever they say, that's normal thing, you know. And then they check, they, the, the, the, anesthetic from my cataracts, it says, oh, you have lower heart beat. No, because I think when you're peaceful, your heart beat tends to be slower a bit. Of course, yes. Like that, I do the Google, Google, and then what's wrong with Google? It says like monks do, meditators. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:57 Highlight the passage at 1:15:57

1:16:27 What happened with one of the monks recently? What was actually the correct word? the young Kimberley. Okay, but anyway, I won't tell you who it was. He went just to a check-up, and his heartbeat was so weird. They said, anyone with a heartbeat like this, we have to keep them in the hospital overnight, because it's really very, very, very, very low. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:27 Highlight the passage at 1:16:27

1:17:02 And he said, but why? I feel fine. And eventually, the doctor on duty there... Yeah, you're fine. No problem. So they took a chance. It was kind of illegal to let him out. But he came home that day. I think it was a patimokkha, wasn't it, we were chanting that day? Or was it just a talk? A talk. And first of all, he wasn't supposed to be let out of the hospital. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:02 Highlight the passage at 1:17:02

1:17:28 But he was fine. Nothing wrong with him. So it's true. Normally when you're lower heartbeat, you would have your, if you're light-headed, like fainting or... Not breathing properly, I don't have all these symptoms, no symptoms. You're going to live for a long time, Eddie. We can't get rid of you that easy. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:28 Highlight the passage at 1:17:28

1:17:54 Let's go and see why, what happens. And it's nice that people can recognize it, because then they don't cause any bother or trouble for people who are good meditators. It's not that easy. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:54 Highlight the passage at 1:17:54

1:18:08 Good meditators, or they say some athletes too, they have no hard resting... We don't do athletics in monastery. It's nice to be able to just feel that what you're doing yourself. Really relax to the max. It also feels incredibly pleasant to be peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:08 Highlight the passage at 1:18:08

1:18:38 Wow. Thank you. Okay. Is there any other questions? Oh, yeah. Over here, over there. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:38 Highlight the passage at 1:18:38

1:18:54 Yeah. I was Report an error in the passage at 1:18:54 Highlight the passage at 1:18:54

1:19:01 meditating. This was in 2022, so I was meditating. And then I felt like I had stopped breathing. Yeah. And I had stopped feeling my body as well. Good. And I got scared. Stop the meditation. I suddenly stopped because I suddenly thought, oh my God, I'm not breathing. And then I was out of that moment. I couldn't get back into that. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:01 Highlight the passage at 1:19:01

1:19:26 And ever since then, I've tried to go back to that place. Ah, don't. Don't try. That trying, that wanting is the biggest hindrance. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:26 Highlight the passage at 1:19:26

1:19:40 You just relax. And just you go back in easy. So you know it's not dangerous at all. It's so easy. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:40 Highlight the passage at 1:19:40

1:19:56 Well, that's actually kind of my fault. That's why I like telling these stories about what happens when you meditate really, really deeply and what can occur for you. A few times at the end of even a Saturday afternoon, sometimes people are still... Sitting here, I just recall, is Lynn Jackson here or no? She's in her room. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:56 Highlight the passage at 1:19:56

1:20:31 But you all know Lynn. I say these stories often, enough, but maybe not as often as I should do. Then just after we had the discussion and talked to people afterwards, there's one of the men carried on meditating. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:31 Highlight the passage at 1:20:31

1:20:51 And he can see just, he didn't normally meditate that deep. And I was very happy. I think I did ask Lin, can you just stay for a while and just look after him? And after a couple of hours of meditating without moving, it's just, when he came out, everyone else had gone. And she very wisely took him to one of the side rooms, just like she did. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:51 Highlight the passage at 1:20:51

1:21:22 Get back to the world. The last thing you want to do is to shock a person by being back from a beautiful, peaceful, still place into, you know, the noisy place. So I took him back very gently. And when I saw that, I really praised him. That's how you should do things. Well done. Someone has a deep meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:22 Highlight the passage at 1:21:22

1:21:46 Don't just, hey, how are you? Your car's parked. I need you to move it. Oh, come on. Have some kindness. Talk to people softly, peacefully, and just bring them back to this very busy world slowly. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:46 Highlight the passage at 1:21:46

1:22:07 So it does happen. It's nice when that happens. And please, I did avoid the main question you asked. That's because I'm not supposed to tell. Yeah. Honestly, I get frustrated sometimes. I've got my rules which I'm supposed to keep. And one of those meanings of those rules is not to keep promoting myself. But then you want to tell people what happens. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:07 Highlight the passage at 1:22:07

1:22:37 They ask, how do you know? It's important. I'm the senior teacher over at Bodhinyana Monastery. And it's also for the nuns as well. At least you have to have some trust that I know what I'm saying. And that is true. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:37 Highlight the passage at 1:22:37

1:22:57 But you just let go to the max and enjoy to the max. Yeah? Mind Report an error in the passage at 1:22:57 Highlight the passage at 1:22:57

1:23:28 is not located in space. So it's usually connected to your body, but that's just association. That's one of the reasons. It's another weird thing about this mind. And this is from talking to other monks who have really deep meditations. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:28 Highlight the passage at 1:23:28

1:23:56 This is the weird stuff. I hope you don't mind. But these are all true. I don't get into trouble for this because I'm not talking about myself. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:56 Highlight the passage at 1:23:56

1:24:07 This is one of the monks. I really sort of admired him. He was Indonesian. How many Indonesians have we got here? No? Crikey. Anyway, I'll even tell you his name. He passed away a few years ago. Which is why I mention his name to you. So you don't go bothering him. His name was Suddhammo. And he was a young man. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:07 Highlight the passage at 1:24:07

1:24:43 He wanted to be like a rushi. But, you know, what do you do next? He didn't... He realized Buddhism was the closest he could get to it. But... He didn't want to ordain at this point, so he found himself a nice quiet place, believe it or not, in central Java many years ago, close to a village, but in a ravine. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:43 Highlight the passage at 1:24:43

1:25:15 And he went to sit in there for eight days, closed his eyes, and never opened them until eight days later. And the villagers, Report an error in the passage at 1:25:15 Highlight the passage at 1:25:15

1:25:31 Sort of, eventually he checked in with them after eight days. And they were stunned by him. Because what had happened, the place where he went to sit meditation, was flooded. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:31 Highlight the passage at 1:25:31

1:25:48 Where he sat, he was literally underwater for four or five days. He couldn't breathe there. He didn't need to. And they asked him, what did you experience? Report an error in the passage at 1:25:48 Highlight the passage at 1:25:48

1:26:05 What he said was he was getting very still and he saw this beautiful light come down from the sky into his mind. That's what we call the nimittas, which I sometimes talk about. And then the next thing he said was kind of cute. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:05 Highlight the passage at 1:26:05

1:26:28 Because his English was his second language, he married that nimitta. That's what he said. You know, for him, that was an expression of uniting with it. And that's when he went into the jhāna for so many days. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:28 Highlight the passage at 1:26:28

1:26:47 And when he came out, he was fine. And it's nice when I talk about someone who I knew, and the first time I saw him, you know, that was Ajahn Muninda I was walking with in Wat Buwan. and I looked at him and said, that's a very powerful monk. I could feel his strength, his energy. He'd been underwater for days. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:47 Highlight the passage at 1:26:47

1:27:20 Didn't kill him at all. You're invulnerable when you get into these deep meditations. Okay, I started. I'm going to finish this story. Then later on, as one of the other people who I know or knew, she's now passed away. She was a Thai princess, Mom Long. That's a granddaughter of a king. I think it was Mama V or VI or something who went into exile in UK for many years. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:20 Highlight the passage at 1:27:20

1:28:02 And she grew up in England, privileged but rebellious. So she joined Chelsea Art School. You know who else was an alumni of Chelsea Art School? Mick Jagger. This was not a place where princesses should be going. So she was always very rebellious. But eventually she married one of the other people I went to school with, an ex also of Latimer School in the UK. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:02 Highlight the passage at 1:28:02

1:28:44 He got kicked out of Chelsea Art School. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:44 Highlight the passage at 1:28:44

1:28:49 Mick Jagger never got kicked out of Chelsea Art School, but my friend did. And they got married to this princess. That's how I got to know them. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:49 Highlight the passage at 1:28:49

1:28:59 And when she started getting interested in meditation, then I recommended, close by to you, there's this monk called Sudama, Indonesian. He speaks good enough English now. Why don't you go there and learn meditation from him? And so she went. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:59 Highlight the passage at 1:28:59

1:29:21 This is the story. I'm being totally honest with you. When she went to this meditation class with Sudham Mo, one day, just like I was teaching you now, that she realized something weird was happening. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:21 Highlight the passage at 1:29:21

1:29:40 So she opened her eyes. And that's when she saw. Honestly, this is how she said it. And I questioned her afterwards. Totally, absolutely true. Rays of light coming out from this monk's eyes and going into another woman who was in this meditation group. It was nothing sensual at all, but weird. A real psychic power. Now, if you want to know why the monks here don't do that, would you like me to show you a psychic power? Report an error in the passage at 1:29:40 Highlight the passage at 1:29:40

1:30:20 I refuse. And because what happens afterwards, they are incredibly scary. So scary that even this lady, when she opened her eyes and saw that, she got up. I don't think she even bowed. She left the meditation group and never went back. That's the result. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:20 Highlight the passage at 1:30:20

1:30:50 I've seen that. He said, oh no, not me. Come on. Just show us one. Just a little one. No, they are incredibly scary. That's why the Buddha said, don't show them off, monks, nuns. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:50 Highlight the passage at 1:30:50

1:31:09 So he had those powers, and so he showed them to his mom long. She realized this is what meditation can do, but she never actually took it any further. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:09 Highlight the passage at 1:31:09

1:31:26 So you squeeze that out of me. It's okay I said that? Okay. Go on, yes. Of Report an error in the passage at 1:31:26 Highlight the passage at 1:31:26

1:31:46 course. If you want to be an Arahant, fully enlightened, these are kind of standard fare. This is what happens. You let go a lot. You let go so much. It's natural. At least Jhāna, the experience of Jhāna, is part, is the eighth factor of the Eightfold Path. As I said yesterday, Report an error in the passage at 1:31:46 Highlight the passage at 1:31:46

1:32:21 You know, the stages of enlightenment, samadhu peka, the last two stages. Samādhi means stillness. It does not mean concentration, oh please. It means such, so still. The world vanishes and you get the jhānas. You find how powerful they are and how you have let go of the world, the very least. You know, someone like Sudharma would at least be a non-returner with stages of meditation like that. I don't know the very end of his life. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:21 Highlight the passage at 1:32:21

1:33:06 He just let go a little bit more. It would be an hour hunt. So I ask any Indonesians here, you may have had sort of one of your country people fully enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:06 Highlight the passage at 1:33:06

1:33:22 At least he was close. Powerful fellow. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:22 Highlight the passage at 1:33:22

1:33:30 Am I talking too much as usual? Report an error in the passage at 1:33:30 Highlight the passage at 1:33:30

1:33:35 Go on Eddie. Can you speak out of your seat? The microphone's coming. Ajahn Report an error in the passage at 1:33:35 Highlight the passage at 1:33:35

1:33:48 Brahm, coming back to the mind, you know, in Buddhism, okay, the mind is one of the six sense doors from the twelve links, okay? It is the most important. The most important, that's right, yeah, yeah. So our problem enters us from the six sense doors, okay? So during meditation, okay, We shut down, isn't it, the six sense doors? The five senses first. If you shut down the six senses, you're totally unconscious. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:48 Highlight the passage at 1:33:48

1:34:20 So the last one is the mind sense? Yes. So the one-pointed breathing is just the... After a while you don't need to breathe. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:20 Highlight the passage at 1:34:20

1:34:33 It's kind of weird. Look, I can... That's weird. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:33 Highlight the passage at 1:34:33

1:34:38 I'll tell one more story then we'll finish off. This is with Ajahn Chah. After he had a stroke and his body had its time, all the monks had a meeting. They said, don't intervene anymore, just let nature take its course. Let him pass away. Then the king of Thailand said, no. you know, when... Report an error in the passage at 1:34:38 Highlight the passage at 1:34:38

1:35:10 Keep him alive. He wanted to keep Ajahn Chah as a kind of an object of worship for the Thai Buddhists. And so that once the king of Thailand decides, the monks have got no choice. So what happened next was that he organized at the king of Thailand's expense, medics, a medic, to be around 24-7 to do all the medical jobs for Ajahn Chah and a couple of monks would do other services for Ajahn Chah and of course you remember Ajahn Yana he told me this story that sometimes Ajahn Chah just stopped breathing and Report an error in the passage at 1:35:10 Highlight the passage at 1:35:10

1:36:07 that really scared the medics they said leave him alone he does this often Breathing for a while, for a few hours. He was still doing his meditation, still getting into jhānas, even though he could not speak. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:07 Highlight the passage at 1:36:07

1:36:25 And so they had an argument with the medic. And the medic said, look, I can't even risk Ajahn Chah dying. This is being paid for by the king. I can't upset the king. That was the boss. Would you dare to upset the king of Thailand at that time? So they had this compromise. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:25 Highlight the passage at 1:36:25

1:36:55 The medic would check the circulation of the blood through the brain and check there's always enough oxygen in the blood. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:55 Highlight the passage at 1:36:55

1:37:13 As long as there's oxygen getting through to the brain, There's no way that Ajahn Chah could die at that time. The medic said, I know Ajahn Chah is going to die one day, but I don't want him to die on my shift, otherwise he'll get into trouble. And anyway, they found out that even though Ajahn Chah was not breathing, the oxygen was still getting into the blood somehow, and the blood was still going around, the heart was still pumping. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:13 Highlight the passage at 1:37:13

1:37:49 Kind of weird. So, Archana was still getting to the brain. Didn't know why, but it was. That was good enough for the medic. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:49 Highlight the passage at 1:37:49

1:38:04 Okay, I did say that's the final story. No, you did say the last, Eddie. Okay, come on. Shall we ask the last question? Yeah. So, the thing is, when we come out of meditation, so the six senses, eyes, ears, open up again, isn't it? Yeah. So when that's where the problem, we see things, oh, there's a problem, you know, okay? So it would, for me, like, you know, small things we let go, you know. So it becomes, if the problem becomes more severe, affects our emotions, so we have to look at it, oh, it's through seeing this and understanding this thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:04 Highlight the passage at 1:38:04

1:38:41 So we mindful this thing and then it's slow, impermanence. We can help ourselves to, you know. Yeah, no, let's go. It's not that important anymore. And I'll come on, you did promise. Or on the reverse, we can help people too, Ajahn Brahm said. We can send people in problem, we can sort of reverse the process to help them too. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:41 Highlight the passage at 1:38:41

1:39:04 Through our words, kind words and all these things too. Up to a point you can help them. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:04 Highlight the passage at 1:39:04

1:39:15 So let's just pay respects to the Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:15 Highlight the passage at 1:39:15