Calm Body Calm Mind

0:00 We have a three-month retreat down on Stocker Road. We have our monastery down there in the forest. So we're of the forest tradition. So we have a nice block down there. So we have our three-month retreat, which corresponds to the beginning of the monsoon season in India, which is where Buddhism came from in the first place. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:25 Nice break, really good, nice time for a lot of practice and we've just had a couple of weeks since we finished so we're back to work now and yeah, working quite hard which is okay, we like to do a bit of service as well. Report an error in the passage at 0:25 Highlight the passage at 0:25

0:44 But we're back giving the talks here each week so we'll be here from now until Report an error in the passage at 0:44 Highlight the passage at 0:44

1:13 for your meditation appointment each week because a regular practice is always going to be more beneficial than Non-regular practice. So, yeah, I've had a lovely time on a retreat and as usual we come here and there's a bit of variety in what we teach in terms of style of meditation, whether it's breath meditation or whatever else and usually I like to just teach a very simple kind of body scanning. Report an error in the passage at 1:13 Highlight the passage at 1:13

1:53 Meditation, giving kindness to the body. And this is a very easy kind of meditation. You don't have to try very hard because you've got me telling you what to do for a half an hour period. So we just walk through the body and we just calm it down, make it nice and peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 1:53 Highlight the passage at 1:53

2:16 And I find the interesting thing... I've noticed is that if we're coming from a place where, you know, well, if you're a monk and you're doing meditation all the time, you know, it's very easy, it's easier to sort of go in and just calm the mind down. But if you're in a sort of more busy lifestyle as a lay person or even as a monk who's very busy, like myself sometimes, yeah, it can help just to start with the body. Report an error in the passage at 2:16 Highlight the passage at 2:16

3:22 That calm just regains its energy as well. So there's two sides to that. And as we calm down the body, calm it down in this session, just part by part, as it calms down, the mind tends to follow along with that. And a lot of us like to come to meditation to calm the mind, but Report an error in the passage at 3:22 Highlight the passage at 3:22

3:50 In this way, the calming of the mind sort of happens. The mind just follows the body. The body's become calm and then slowly, you just don't notice it very much anymore and you'll find that, yeah, just after half an hour of just spending time with the body, you'll find that at the end of it, for some reason, however it works, the mind is calmed down at the same time. Report an error in the passage at 3:50 Highlight the passage at 3:50

4:13 So that's a really lovely process there. And yeah, you know, we do with a calm mind, there's always a progression there. There's sort of, you know, we talk about having a deep meditation or something like that, but there's sort of like deep kinds of calm where the mind slows down, the thinking slows down, and it's all just a natural progression. Report an error in the passage at 4:13 Highlight the passage at 4:13

4:46 There's no sort of... We're not talking about some sort of end point here where we reach the deepest kind of meditation sitting here on a Thursday afternoon. But you can get different levels of calm as you practice meditation. And I guess as the mind becomes calm, you can actually instruct the mind to be calm as well. Report an error in the passage at 4:46 Highlight the passage at 4:46

5:17 And it's, we start to, yeah, even just calm down what you might call like the wanting of the mind. You know, what does the mind want? It doesn't really matter what it wants. There's an endless progression there. We want to, you know, from, you know, very mundane things and to, you know, world changing things. Report an error in the passage at 5:17 Highlight the passage at 5:17

5:43 We want, you know, but we can actually in this, And practice of meditation, allow that to calm down too. Just allow the wanting to calm down. And the other side of that coin is that when the wanting calms down, you have contentment. And that's a very valuable thing. So that's just what I wanted to say tonight, just that even though we'll sit here, we'll calm the body. Report an error in the passage at 5:43 Highlight the passage at 5:43

6:16 But the mind follows along and if you can get to the point where your mind is content with being here on this Thursday afternoon, sitting in the family centre, it's nice and reasonably warm, not too hot, not too cold. The weather's nice. nice the sports players Report an error in the passage at 6:16 Highlight the passage at 6:16

6:56 meditation for this evening so does anyone have any questions before we begin the meditation questions are always welcome sometimes we go off on all sorts of tangents but If not, we can always just sit down and become calm and become content and relaxed. Let's settle into our seat. And of course the first thing we do when we sit down to meditate is to close the eyes. Report an error in the passage at 6:56 Highlight the passage at 6:56

7:30 And just take a few moments just to check in with the body and make sure that it's comfortable. take Report an error in the passage at 7:30 Highlight the passage at 7:30

7:50 the thumbs off and yeah just make sure there's nothing sort of like pressing into your body uncomfortably set of keys or yeah need to scratch your nose or anything like that and yeah just take a few moments just to relax and we just come into the present moment here to this moment here in the Report an error in the passage at 7:50 Highlight the passage at 7:50

8:25 In Rolling Stone, just here to relax tonight. And Report an error in the passage at 8:25 Highlight the passage at 8:25

8:33 to start with, we can now just direct our attention to the toes on the left foot. Not a bad place to start. We just become aware of that part of the body and allow it to relax and to be calm and have kindness to that body. Part of the body. Allowing it just to be at ease. And Report an error in the passage at 8:33 Highlight the passage at 8:33

9:25 little by little allow that sense of relaxation to spread from the toes of the left foot. And just slowly along the sole of the foot there. And again with kindness. We relax that part of the body. Spreading from the toes through the ball of the foot there. Report an error in the passage at 9:25 Highlight the passage at 9:25

9:52 And through the arch. And to the heel of the foot there. And allow that part of the body to relax and be at ease. Allow Report an error in the passage at 9:52 Highlight the passage at 9:52

10:32 that sense of kindness and relaxation to spread up through the instep of the foot, on the left hand side, that upper part of the foot. And allow that sense of relaxation to spread up through the joint of the ankle there. And Report an error in the passage at 10:32 Highlight the passage at 10:32

11:22 just notice how that sense of calm, of peace. Report an error in the passage at 11:22 Highlight the passage at 11:22

11:30 Starts to slowly spread up from the ankle up through the Achilles heel there on the left hand side and slowly spreading through the calf muscle there. In particular just allow that muscle there just to relax to be loose and just to be at ease. Notice Report an error in the passage at 11:30 Highlight the passage at 11:30

· · · silence, 1 minute

12:35 that sense of ease and relaxation. Spread up the front leg as well, up through the shin. Can you imagine it just sinking deep into the bone there as well? That bone deep calm. Just Report an error in the passage at 12:35 Highlight the passage at 12:35

13:01 allow that sense of relaxation to spread up through the leg and up into the knee joint there. And Report an error in the passage at 13:01 Highlight the passage at 13:01

13:27 just allow that part of the body to relax. And Report an error in the passage at 13:27 Highlight the passage at 13:27

13:51 now just notice that sense of relaxation to spread up. From the back of the knee there on the left hand side. Just slowly spread from the back of the knee through the muscles there at the back of the leg. And allow that part of the body just to relax. Muscles to become loose. And Report an error in the passage at 13:51 Highlight the passage at 13:51

14:56 again with that sense of kindness to your body. Notice that sense of ease spreading up from the kneecap. And also through the upper part of the leg there, those quadricep muscles, allowing Report an error in the passage at 14:56 Highlight the passage at 14:56

15:17 those to become loose, to become relaxed, and Report an error in the passage at 15:17 Highlight the passage at 15:17

15:24 just noticing that sense of relaxation spreading up through the leg there. And Report an error in the passage at 15:24 Highlight the passage at 15:24

15:51 now very gently, we'll just turn our attention to the other side of the body, to the, again to the toes of the foot of your right leg, and just... Just noticing how those toes feel right now. Report an error in the passage at 15:51 Highlight the passage at 15:51

16:16 Just having kindness to that part of the body. To Report an error in the passage at 16:16 Highlight the passage at 16:16

16:23 relax. To be calm. And Report an error in the passage at 16:23 Highlight the passage at 16:23

16:40 that sense of relaxation. Just spread through the foot. Just notice it spreading through the ball of the foot. Report an error in the passage at 16:40 Highlight the passage at 16:40

16:53 Along the sole there. Through the arch. Report an error in the passage at 16:53 Highlight the passage at 16:53

17:01 And back to the heel there. And Report an error in the passage at 17:01 Highlight the passage at 17:01

17:22 again gradually let that feeling spread from the... lower part of the foot up through the upper part of the foot the instep little Report an error in the passage at 17:22 Highlight the passage at 17:22

17:35 by little let it creep up through the ankle and up the achilles heel there at the back of the ankle letting that part of the body become relaxed and at ease and Report an error in the passage at 17:35 Highlight the passage at 17:35

18:14 just notice that sense of relaxation that spreads up the back of the leg there on the right hand side Report an error in the passage at 18:14 Highlight the passage at 18:14

18:27 Just notice that calf muscle there as it relaxes. Kind of lets go of its grip on the leg. It just becomes loose. Now Report an error in the passage at 18:27 Highlight the passage at 18:27

18:54 that sense of relaxation spreads through the shin as well. There's that deep relaxation spreading through the lower leg there. And Report an error in the passage at 18:54 Highlight the passage at 18:54

19:24 again, let that feeling of ease spread into the knee joint there. And Report an error in the passage at 19:24 Highlight the passage at 19:24

19:35 so it's slowly spreading from the back of the knee. Just up the back of the right leg there. Hamstring muscles there. Report an error in the passage at 19:35 Highlight the passage at 19:35

19:53 Again, they take this time to rest. Just let go of their grip on the body. They have no job to do right now. Just relax. And Report an error in the passage at 19:53 Highlight the passage at 19:53

20:25 then allow that sense of relaxation to spread. From the upper part of the knee, just the cap of the knee there, and just notice it spread up. Report an error in the passage at 20:25 Highlight the passage at 20:25

20:38 The joint up through the upper part of the leg there, the quadriceps. Again, those muscles don't need to do anything right now. So we allow them to relax and be at ease. Report an error in the passage at 20:38 Highlight the passage at 20:38

21:16 And let our legs nicely relax. We let that feeling spread up through the hips. Report an error in the passage at 21:16 Highlight the passage at 21:16

21:30 And just notice that feeling spread all the way up to the lower part of the torso there. And especially... Having kindness to that very lowest part of the back there. The very first vertebrae there. Just above the... It just begins the lower back there. We start relaxing that little Report an error in the passage at 21:30 Highlight the passage at 21:30

22:21 by little. Starting from that very first vertebrae there. We just let that sense of kindness and relaxation just start spreading up the lower back there. Report an error in the passage at 22:21 Highlight the passage at 22:21

22:39 Just moving up through the spine and also moving out outward through the muscles there until you can feel that relaxation in the that whole area of lower back and Report an error in the passage at 22:39 Highlight the passage at 22:39

23:19 allow that sense of relaxation to also spread through the body from Report an error in the passage at 23:19 Highlight the passage at 23:19

23:28 the lower back from the back of your body and spreading all the way through to your belly that Report an error in the passage at 23:28 Highlight the passage at 23:28

23:41 whole area around the navel that whole Report an error in the passage at 23:41 Highlight the passage at 23:41

23:46 Just lower part of your belly there. Just allowing that part of the body to relax. Just to be loose, to be at ease. Report an error in the passage at 23:46 Highlight the passage at 23:46

24:10 And little by little, creeping up your back. This feeling of relaxation, this kindness to the body. As it slowly rises up to that inner curve of the back there, the small of the back. And Report an error in the passage at 24:10 Highlight the passage at 24:10

24:36 just notice how that feels as it becomes a bit more relaxed. and moving Report an error in the passage at 24:36 Highlight the passage at 24:36

24:59 through to the center of the body there the solar plexus the area just below your ribs and Report an error in the passage at 24:59 Highlight the passage at 24:59

25:15 just notice that feeling creeping right up right through the ribs there feeling Report an error in the passage at 25:15 Highlight the passage at 25:15

25:25 that sense of ease as you breathe in breathe Report an error in the passage at 25:25 Highlight the passage at 25:25

25:31 out and Report an error in the passage at 25:31 Highlight the passage at 25:31

25:59 again just letting that relaxation spread up through the back and from the small of the back It just rises up very gradually. Notice all those muscles just below the shoulder blades there. There's a whole bunch of muscles there. Just notice how they relax when there's nothing to do, nothing to act on. Report an error in the passage at 25:59 Highlight the passage at 25:59

26:57 Now just gently redirect your attention to the fingertips on the left hand. Report an error in the passage at 26:57 Highlight the passage at 26:57

27:08 Whatever they are, whatever position they're in, resting on your legs, or upside down, or the other way up, just however they are, allow them to relax. That Report an error in the passage at 27:08 Highlight the passage at 27:08

27:29 sense of peace and kindness, just spread up through the fingers, up Report an error in the passage at 27:29 Highlight the passage at 27:29

27:40 through the palm there on the right hand side, just slowly creeping up the back of the hand, up to the wrist there. And Report an error in the passage at 27:40 Highlight the passage at 27:40

28:14 little by little allow that feeling to creep up through the forearm there, up Report an error in the passage at 28:14 Highlight the passage at 28:14

28:22 through the muscles there on the outside of the forearm, up Report an error in the passage at 28:22 Highlight the passage at 28:22

28:32 through the wrist, through the inside of the forearm there too. And again, the muscles can just relax. They can release their tension, their grip on the body to become loose. Report an error in the passage at 28:32 Highlight the passage at 28:32

29:08 And gradually allow that sense of relaxation to spread through the elbow. And just notice that whole part of the body there, the point of the elbow. And have that feeling of calm relaxation spreading through the joint, through to the crook of your arm there. Report an error in the passage at 29:08 Highlight the passage at 29:08

29:40 And slowly rising up through the upper arm, the outside muscles that join there. tip of your elbows rising up that way and also the through the biceps there on the inside just Report an error in the passage at 29:40 Highlight the passage at 29:40

30:10 rising up into the muscle the joint of the shoulder there just Report an error in the passage at 30:10 Highlight the passage at 30:10

30:19 calming that part of the body having kindness to it and Report an error in the passage at 30:19 Highlight the passage at 30:19

30:39 again gently changing the focus of the mind to the right hand side of the body to the fingertips there and Report an error in the passage at 30:39 Highlight the passage at 30:39

30:56 just notice how they I do the acquisition there? And just give them comfort And just let it set feeling over. peaceful relaxation spreading through the fingers there Report an error in the passage at 30:56 Highlight the passage at 30:56

31:16 through the thumb Report an error in the passage at 31:16 Highlight the passage at 31:16

31:21 Up into the palm of the hand Report an error in the passage at 31:21 Highlight the passage at 31:21

31:30 www.jhanarato Report an error in the passage at 31:30 Highlight the passage at 31:30

31:38 .com to the wrist there on the right hand side Report an error in the passage at 31:38 Highlight the passage at 31:38

31:58 Feeling of peace, contentment, which has spread up from the wrist, up through the inner part of the forearm there, and Report an error in the passage at 31:58 Highlight the passage at 31:58

32:15 the outside as well, the outside part of that forearm. From the wrist, that's creeping up there, through to the elbow, and Report an error in the passage at 32:15 Highlight the passage at 32:15

32:30 just noticing how that part of the body feels here tonight. And Report an error in the passage at 32:30 Highlight the passage at 32:30

32:42 hold that over, just sink into the elbow there, elbow there, the crook of the yarn Let that part of the body hang loose, little Report an error in the passage at 32:42 Highlight the passage at 32:42

33:15 by little. Let that relaxation start to flow up into the upper arm from the elbow. Report an error in the passage at 33:15 Highlight the passage at 33:15

33:26 And just notice that set of muscles on the outside of the upper arm. Just Report an error in the passage at 33:26 Highlight the passage at 33:26

33:36 have that sort of warm, calm sensation flow through them. Report an error in the passage at 33:36 Highlight the passage at 33:36

33:49 And also just flowing into the The bicep there, those muscles on the inside of the upper arm. And Report an error in the passage at 33:49 Highlight the passage at 33:49

34:04 again rising up into the muscles of the shoulder there, the joint. You might notice just a feeling of warmth there, a feeling of Report an error in the passage at 34:04 Highlight the passage at 34:04

34:20 relaxation, of peace there on the shoulder. I Report an error in the passage at 34:20 Highlight the passage at 34:20

34:34 want to let that feeling just flow from the shoulders through the back of the neck there. Report an error in the passage at 34:34 Highlight the passage at 34:34

34:47 shoulder blades there and just any tension there Ajahn Report an error in the passage at 34:47 Highlight the passage at 34:47

35:17 Ajahn Report an error in the passage at 35:17 Highlight the passage at 35:17

35:28 Jhanarato around the collarbone Report an error in the passage at 35:28 Highlight the passage at 35:28

35:44 notice how all the muscles there are that Report an error in the passage at 35:44 Highlight the passage at 35:44

36:07 And gently, slowly allow that feeling of kindness and relaxation to spread up through your face from the jawline and also up around the corners of your mouth and the cheeks of your face. Report an error in the passage at 36:07 Highlight the passage at 36:07

36:31 It's rising up slowly, slowly through the nose and that area around the eyes especially. Report an error in the passage at 36:31 Highlight the passage at 36:31

36:46 Many, many little muscles there. We just allow it to relax. To become loose. And Report an error in the passage at 36:46 Highlight the passage at 36:46

37:04 also sort of creeping up the back of the head as well. That sense of calm. Just rising up slowly. Report an error in the passage at 37:04 Highlight the passage at 37:04

37:17 Slowly, slowly up to the crown of the head. Very top of your body. And Report an error in the passage at 37:17 Highlight the passage at 37:17

37:31 just allow that sense of relaxation to finally spread through the last parts of the body. That very top part of your head. Report an error in the passage at 37:31 Highlight the passage at 37:31

37:53 Just take a moment or two just to just to enjoy the whole of the body and just notice the sense of relaxation as it's finally spread throughout the entire body from Report an error in the passage at 37:53 Highlight the passage at 37:53

38:13 your toes all the way up to your head and also all the way through your body as well. Maybe Report an error in the passage at 38:13 Highlight the passage at 38:13

38:26 notice that the mind has indeed followed along and you're feeling A little bit more calm, a little bit more relaxed than you were 30 minutes ago. Report an error in the passage at 38:26 Highlight the passage at 38:26

38:40 So I will ring the gong three times. Report an error in the passage at 38:40 Highlight the passage at 38:40

38:45 And on the third gong, please come out of the meditation. Report an error in the passage at 38:45 Highlight the passage at 38:45

39:09 So that's it for tonight. Meditation session. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves. I know I did. Would it be bad form to fall asleep in front of you all? That would be a good sign. That was a good sign. If you fall asleep, at least you've relaxed. So Report an error in the passage at 39:09 Highlight the passage at 39:09

39:38 that's our Thursday night meditation. So we continue to do this every week. So you've got a place to come every Thursday until next July. And does anyone have any questions about meditation? Yeah, Bob. The benefit of the new lady hindrances, the things that stop us from relaxing. Report an error in the passage at 39:38 Highlight the passage at 39:38

40:06 Yeah. Oh, okay. Wow. I mean... a little relaxing. Report an error in the passage at 40:06 Highlight the passage at 40:06

40:08 Bob's referring to the five hindrances of... Sometimes I like to talk about the difficulties, and I think the most interesting thing is all of these are basically overcome by just being content. I mean, okay, let's listen. So, what have we got? Report an error in the passage at 40:08 Highlight the passage at 40:08

40:35 What is it called? Sensory desire? What do we call it? I don't know. Wanting stuff. Ill will. Not wanting stuff. Report an error in the passage at 40:35 Highlight the passage at 40:35

40:48 Sloth and torpor. Being tired. Report an error in the passage at 40:48 Highlight the passage at 40:48

40:53 Mentally and physically. And the restlessness that we sometimes have. I mean, it'll depend on what's going on in your life. Your day or your what you've been doing. So sometimes we're tired. Sometimes we've got a whole load of energy, which is bouncing. We find it hard to sit down for a long period of time. Report an error in the passage at 40:53 Highlight the passage at 40:53

41:20 There's also the fifth one, which is like just a bit of doubt and maybe what we're supposed to do. Is this right? Am I meditating properly? And that's all by the by because if you've got contentment, you're happy to let the time Report an error in the passage at 41:20 Highlight the passage at 41:20

41:38 meditation just take place and those things that uh make it difficult they just fade away i think that's uh that's how i've seen it seen it recently i mean um yeah i mean the mind mind will want to uh want to wants it wants to want things so i mean some of these things seem very important i mean you know we might want to tackle i don't know climate change or something like that Report an error in the passage at 41:38 Highlight the passage at 41:38

42:27 pair of socks. That's all you really had to think about at that time. You got this When you've got a sense of, when you've got a place of solitude, relative solitude, you know, you're only amongst people who are also being quiet and still. Report an error in the passage at 42:27 Highlight the passage at 42:27

42:45 You know, there's not much intruding, there's not even any sports on tonight, so it's very quiet. So, yeah, you just learn not to want too much. Learn to be able to calm the wanting. You just, like, even as a sort of mental prompt, you can tell your mind, just calm that down. Calm that down, you know. Report an error in the passage at 42:45 Highlight the passage at 42:45

43:07 What shopping do I have to do tomorrow? Just calm that down. And then anything you have sort of ill will towards, any anger, any arguments, I mean it's actually not a bad thing if you've had an argument with someone you care about to just take a bit of time to sit down and just focus on just relaxing your body. Report an error in the passage at 43:07 Highlight the passage at 43:07

43:33 These things tend to fade away. The tiredness comes from being active and taking time to just rest is a great way. Just rest on the chair. Just rest there with your eyes closed. Maybe you're too tired to meditate. So all you do is you just sit in the chair with your eyes closed. I'll wait. I'll just meditate anyway just by doing nothing. Report an error in the passage at 43:33 Highlight the passage at 43:33

44:01 And yeah, you know, sometimes you see the energy come up, sometimes you've got an excess of energy. I find that at the monastery, you know, we've had a vigorous tea time, you know, conversation and, you know, that sort of bounces around in the mind, it bounces around the body and then, you know, through the process of meditation, that just calms down, it settles down, it's the snow globe effect. Report an error in the passage at 44:01 Highlight the passage at 44:01

44:32 You put it down and shake it up, put it down and over time it just settles down. And over time we just don't worry too much. We don't have to be meditation masters. We don't have to be yogis in the cave in the mountains figuring out the meaning of life. We just let our doubts be. and just... Just learn through practice. So those are the five hindrances. Thanks for bringing that up, Bob. So are there any other questions? Report an error in the passage at 44:32 Highlight the passage at 44:32

45:10 It's almost time to go. We've got another five minutes or so. Oh, not even that. Oh, I've got another ten minutes. But if there's no more questions and everyone's feeling pretty chill, we can almost pack up and, yeah, all good. Wonderful. Alright then, thank you. Thank you for coming. I'll see you soon. Obviously we've got a few months during the classes, so I'll be here on and off over the next few months, and there's also Ajahn Santoni, Ajahn Bhai, and special guests. Report an error in the passage at 45:10 Highlight the passage at 45:10

45:46 Alright, cool. Report an error in the passage at 45:46 Highlight the passage at 45:46