Guided Meditation

0:01 Welcome to today's meditation class. As I always have to announce that those people who have come to the introduction to meditation class, that is being held in the room to my right. The room over there. I don't mean the sound room. I mean outside, in the next door. This is for the advanced meditators. Report an error in the passage at 0:01 Highlight the passage at 0:01

0:26 Is that true? The ones who are just that far from full enlightenment. Only just a tiny way. So here we give some deeper instructions on what to do when the meditation gets really peaceful, you're settling in and it's time to get incredibly quiet. A lot of times, and I say this in every place I go to overseas and here as well, a lot of times people, the biggest problem they have is they get involved and they interfere with the meditation path. Report an error in the passage at 0:26 Highlight the passage at 0:26

1:00 A lot of times, if you just sit and be patient, And wait with kindfulness. Don't do anything. The meditation develops by itself. Just the same way as if you grow flowers in the garden. Can you put fast fertilizers on those flowers? You can, but what happens? You kill them. That's one of the first teachers which I had who gave me this advice when he was in Bangkok, that he grew some flowers. Report an error in the passage at 1:00 Highlight the passage at 1:00

1:29 He was only about six years of age. He planted the seeds under the ground and he watered them and nothing happened because they were growing underground. It was only about two or three days. And then he told his daddy, Daddy, they must have died. You can't see anything happening. And the daddy said, Just wait for a few more days. They're just growing but underneath the soil. Report an error in the passage at 1:29 Highlight the passage at 1:29

1:51 So he waited and sure enough, he saw the little green sprouts coming up. The father's advice was correct. So he decided, he was still growing very slowly, to water them twice a day. And he watered them twice a day. They were still growing and growing and growing. But then he was only a small kid. He lost his patience. So he decided to stretch the flowers to make them grow quicker. Report an error in the passage at 1:51 Highlight the passage at 1:51

2:21 He pulled all of them out of the ground. So please don't stretch your meditation. Be patient and let the things grow at their own rate. So please, just be aware. Maybe you think your awareness is not great at the beginning. My awareness is never great at the beginning but it grows and grows and grows and grows. Report an error in the passage at 2:21 Highlight the passage at 2:21

2:46 By the end of the meditation you feel so alert. And you know those signs of alertness, those signs of awakeness, of having strong mindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 2:46 Highlight the passage at 2:46

2:57 I've been living here in this over in Perth about 43 years and even this hall here it was actually built in the beginning of December many years ago and remember this carpet here this carpet hasn't been changed been cleaned but not changed and is it a beautiful carpet it's pretty boring but Report an error in the passage at 2:57 Highlight the passage at 2:57

3:29 After a while, when the meditation gets deep, then even the carpet looks beautiful. It's weird, but it's true. When the mindfulness gets strong, you can see beauty in so many things. So anyway, that's what happens. Just be patient. I know that sometimes when I say that, what should you do to meditate? Learn how to be kind, be gentle and be peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 3:29 Highlight the passage at 3:29

3:59 The actual word for peace, which I translate as peace, is nekama. It means like renounce. It's what causes peace. When you renounce, it also includes patience. You're renouncing your wanting, so you just let things happen slowly. And that's how it all works. So anyway, please, when you're meditating today, see if you can be kind, be peaceful, be kind, renounce. Report an error in the passage at 3:59 Highlight the passage at 3:59

4:29 Be gentle and be patient. See how long it takes. I know that sometimes people say, well I've been saying that for years and years. It took the Buddha lifetimes to become enlightened. You want to do it just this afternoon? Report an error in the passage at 4:29 Highlight the passage at 4:29

4:49 But anyway, we can get much more peaceful, much more happy and we can see the training in mindfulness and in... Kindness really works. That simile which I usually gave on retreats of the thousand petal lotus opening up slowly. I've always loved that simile because it's so accurate to what happens with meditation. Your job, your only job is to be able to watch the lotus with kindness and with the mindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 4:49 Highlight the passage at 4:49

5:29 The light and the warmth of the sun, which opens up the flower. And that's all. I know people say, Ajahn Brahm, you keep on telling us to do nothing. Precisely. And because I was just been flying an aircraft recently, I always remember the simile of the cockpit in the big airlines of the future. Report an error in the passage at 5:29 Highlight the passage at 5:29

5:56 And I read this on an Asia magazine when I had nothing to do. And in the cockpits of the future, there'll only be two beings in the cockpit. One of those beings will be a dog. Report an error in the passage at 5:56 Highlight the passage at 5:56

6:14 The other being in the cockpit of this aircraft will be the pilot. The pilot has to dress up and look like he's doing something. But the job of the pilot is basically to do nothing. The only job of the pilot... ...in his long international flights will be to feed the dog. And the only job of the dog is to bite the pilot if he touches anything. Report an error in the passage at 6:14 Highlight the passage at 6:14

6:45 It will all be automatic. Report an error in the passage at 6:45 Highlight the passage at 6:45

6:50 That's a lovely simile for meditation. If there was a little dog I can put in your mind, and every time you try and do something, and you really do something and mess it up. Report an error in the passage at 6:50 Highlight the passage at 6:50

7:05 The whole idea is that an aircraft Actually flies, apparently, in this article, much better without anybody just interfering. That's the job of the dog, to make sure no one interferes. So anyhow, that's how to meditate. Pretty easy instructions, aren't they? Have you tried them? Report an error in the passage at 7:05 Highlight the passage at 7:05

7:28 A lot of people haven't. They sit down and they always do something. So, see if somebody could have an IT company which invents a little chip you can put in your brain. So every time you do something, it turns you off. Will that work? Report an error in the passage at 7:28 Highlight the passage at 7:28

7:51 I don't know. Everyone's very quiet, so I'll be quiet as well. I think you're fed up with me. So anyway, let's do some meditation now. So please get yourself in a comfortable position. Report an error in the passage at 7:51 Highlight the passage at 7:51

8:05 In a comfortable meditation position, in Report an error in the passage at 8:05 Highlight the passage at 8:05

8:17 that comfortable position, I look at my body and I discover that there's no cushion under my bottom. And that's lovely. This is how I learned when I was a young monk. Report an error in the passage at 8:17 Highlight the passage at 8:17

8:36 Just sit anywhere. Report an error in the passage at 8:36 Highlight the passage at 8:36

8:40 As I tell people, they don't understand it. They think I'm joking again. I've got so much padding on me, I don't really need a cushion. That's true. My body feels really comfy. Report an error in the passage at 8:40 Highlight the passage at 8:40

9:02 And I give importance to posture at the beginning. It's a nice little thing to condition yourself into, starting your mindfulness on your body. That's starting the awareness, shining the sun, the mindfulness and the kindness, the warmth and the light of the sun onto the lotus, the outermost petal. And I like to consider the outermost petal of this body and mind called Ajahn Brahm. Report an error in the passage at 9:02 Highlight the passage at 9:02

9:40 It's his body, shining the light and warmth of the sun, the kindfulness. It will always hit the outermost shell first of all, which is my body. So I'm aware of the whole body, with my robe on, posture, position, where my hands are, and I check it all out. Report an error in the passage at 9:40 Highlight the passage at 9:40

10:15 How do I check it out? In order to get the mindfulness first, make that the priority, I just know. I don't try to change anything or judge anything yet, otherwise I just tend to disregard some things. I spend a few seconds just being mindful and accepting everything, opening the door of my heart and my mindfulness to whatever I see in this body right now. Report an error in the passage at 10:15 Highlight the passage at 10:15

10:54 By Report an error in the passage at 10:54 Highlight the passage at 10:54

10:58 seeing I mean whatever I experience right now. Report an error in the passage at 10:58 Highlight the passage at 10:58

11:03 That means you get some familiarity. With these feelings and sensations in the body, you know what they mean. Whether they are just a beginning of meditation type of unease, or whether they are just something which is more serious. And Report an error in the passage at 11:03 Highlight the passage at 11:03

11:29 both of them, usually, I just leave them alone. Be kind to them, relax with them. Give them unconditional acceptance, which is mettā, kindness. All Report an error in the passage at 11:29 Highlight the passage at 11:29

11:49 the feelings in my body be welcome in here. I'm Report an error in the passage at 11:49 Highlight the passage at 11:49

11:57 amazed just how powerful that perception is. When Report an error in the passage at 11:57 Highlight the passage at 11:57

12:08 I give unconditional acceptance to any sound, some alarm in the distance, I Report an error in the passage at 12:08 Highlight the passage at 12:08

12:21 don't know why this always happens, but when I give acceptance to things, they're not a problem anymore. I'm Report an error in the passage at 12:21 Highlight the passage at 12:21

12:45 now feeling the whole body. My body feels really at ease. There's any part of it which is tight. Report an error in the passage at 12:45 Highlight the passage at 12:45

13:01 You're aware of it and you're kind to it, that kindfulness. And Report an error in the passage at 13:01 Highlight the passage at 13:01

13:14 I feel my body relaxing more and more as the seconds tick by until Report an error in the passage at 13:14 Highlight the passage at 13:14

13:28 my body feels really comfortable. And I don't disregard this. Real good posture, in other words the comfort in the body, I experience that as beautiful. Report an error in the passage at 13:28 Highlight the passage at 13:28

13:50 Delightful. I Report an error in the passage at 13:50 Highlight the passage at 13:50

13:55 experience my physical posture. Notice it's peaceful. But I'm grateful for it. And Report an error in the passage at 13:55 Highlight the passage at 13:55

14:21 in that gratitude you get even more peaceful. I did notice an itch in my nose. Because none of you were looking, I picked my nose. But that's now on the camera. I Report an error in the passage at 14:21 Highlight the passage at 14:21

14:40 do notice my robe is a bit tight. I Report an error in the passage at 14:40 Highlight the passage at 14:40

14:50 don't mind making final adjustments at the beginning of the meditation, no matter what they are. And Report an error in the passage at 14:50 Highlight the passage at 14:50

15:03 when my body is relaxed, causing no problems at all, Report an error in the passage at 15:03 Highlight the passage at 15:03

15:12 it always happens. It may be because I've been doing breath meditation for decades, then the breath appears in my mind. The awareness of breath doesn't appear at the tip of my nose. That is too disturbing. My breath appears inside. It comes to me. I don't go searching for it. Report an error in the passage at 15:12 Highlight the passage at 15:12

15:49 My job is to do nothing. Those petals of the lotus open up and then the layer of petals is just there. Now Report an error in the passage at 15:49 Highlight the passage at 15:49

16:04 the breath begins to go in. I can see it right through to the end of the in-breath. See it beginning to go out right to the end of the out-breath. I Report an error in the passage at 16:04 Highlight the passage at 16:04

16:24 don't disturb it. My job is just to observe, be kind, accept when Report an error in the passage at 16:24 Highlight the passage at 16:24

16:39 I must not disturb it. Report an error in the passage at 16:39 Highlight the passage at 16:39

16:46 Once I have the awareness of the breath, once Report an error in the passage at 16:46 Highlight the passage at 16:46

16:53 it's stable and doesn't go places, I learned early on to appreciate it, the peace of just having a breath to watch, nothing else needed. Report an error in the passage at 16:53 Highlight the passage at 16:53

17:08 All those other duties I'm supposed to be doing, I forget about them. I Report an error in the passage at 17:08 Highlight the passage at 17:08

17:21 just let myself rest with my breath. The Report an error in the passage at 17:21 Highlight the passage at 17:21

17:31 breath is very light. The reason why it's so light is because I'm not using up much oxygen. It's Report an error in the passage at 17:31 Highlight the passage at 17:31

17:44 by nature very, very peaceful. And I like it. My breath and I are great friends, especially when it's peaceful like this. And Report an error in the passage at 17:44 Highlight the passage at 17:44

18:10 I really encourage the perception of beauty. This Report an error in the passage at 18:10 Highlight the passage at 18:10

18:25 is how the Buddha said to develop the mental saṅkhāra of pīti and sukha, along with the breath. Report an error in the passage at 18:25 Highlight the passage at 18:25

18:41 It's not you make it happen, but you open the door so it can happen. You don't shut it out. You don't ever think that something must be wrong. I'm enjoying it. It's correct. Report an error in the passage at 18:41 Highlight the passage at 18:41

· · · silence, 2 minutes

20:51 Whenever I give a guided meditation to begin with, please excuse me, the peace gets so strong, I just can't keep on talking. I become silent because The mind delights in that silence, insists on it, and honestly doesn't allow me to speak. I'll just say a few words just as the meditation is about to end. Report an error in the passage at 20:51 Highlight the passage at 20:51

· · · silence, 37 minutes

58:32 Getting very close to the end of this meditation now. How do you feel? We Report an error in the passage at 58:32 Highlight the passage at 58:32

58:53 have good data, good mindfulness to work with. It's a time we can find out deep insight. Report an error in the passage at 58:53 Highlight the passage at 58:53

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:00:10 Excellent. So Report an error in the passage at 1:00:10 Highlight the passage at 1:00:10

1:00:17 does the carpet look more pretty, attractive than it did when you started? Report an error in the passage at 1:00:17 Highlight the passage at 1:00:17

1:00:31 Perception is beautiful. It just shows you just how we make many assumptions in some of our experience. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:31 Highlight the passage at 1:00:31

1:00:45 Learns to doubt some of those old experiences when we're using a weak perception and see so much deeper into the nature of things. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:45 Highlight the passage at 1:00:45

1:00:59 See things you never saw before. Are Report an error in the passage at 1:00:59 Highlight the passage at 1:00:59

1:01:05 there any questions? Any questions from people here before? You get the questions from the computer? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:05 Highlight the passage at 1:01:05

1:01:21 Okay. So the computer questions. Thank Report an error in the passage at 1:01:21 Highlight the passage at 1:01:21

1:01:34 you. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:34 Highlight the passage at 1:01:34

1:01:38 First of all, does regular solo meditation help with coming to terms with loneliness and the lack of friends and intimacy? I'm 50 and unable to get those. I'm also unable to attend in-person group meditations. So in other words, does meditation reduce loneliness? You bet. You know, sometimes monks, nuns, we spend time in solitary retreat. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:38 Highlight the passage at 1:01:38

1:02:13 I love those times. I'm being honest, straightforward with you. For six months, I remember just... Going on a retreat where I never saw a human being for six months. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:02:13 Highlight the passage at 1:02:13

1:02:33 for six months and also never felt lonely at all. I enjoyed the sense of being alone, no one to interfere and the meditation got deeper and deeper and deeper and happier and happier and happier and recently... Just in the last range retreat, I had one month, not as beautiful as six months, but still, it really showed me just when a person is having fun and they're getting deep meditations and seeing even an ordinary carpet look beautiful. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:33 Highlight the passage at 1:02:33

1:03:14 Wow, you see much more beauty in nature. When I open my eyes, I can see the trees and the green leaves glistening. There are some blue little flowers on one of the trees. I don't know their names but I don't need to know their names. They look so gorgeous. And the sunshine this afternoon makes everything look like it's in a shop window. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:14 Highlight the passage at 1:03:14

1:03:43 Sometimes when you are still and alone you appreciate that. That was a phrase which I used to remember which the Buddha said. about sometimes you know when you see people approaching you leap in another direction so you can maintain that solitude it's not like you don't like people but you don't like the disturbance which they can sometimes cause and there's so much to enjoy with other beings, animals and Report an error in the passage at 1:03:43 Highlight the passage at 1:03:43

1:04:27 even sometimes it is wonderful relationships with animals In other words, you listen to them, you can pick out what they need. So, there's a wonderful question to ask a monk. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:27 Highlight the passage at 1:04:27

1:04:45 I am now 51 years as a monk and there's no way I would want to have too many people around and I love those opportunities where you're the only person there for day after day after day. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:45 Highlight the passage at 1:04:45

1:05:08 So regular solo meditation really does help with coming to terms with the absence of friends. I would never say lack of friends. The word lack is kind of negative. I say the absence of friends. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:08 Highlight the passage at 1:05:08

1:05:30 The friend is this moment. You are friends with oneself. The second question. As I meditate, I often feel the sense of indifference. As much as I let go of the things that cause me suffering and irritation, the joy also slips away. I feel emotionless. How to readjust? Of course. As indifference sometimes, that's not what upeka really means. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:30 Highlight the passage at 1:05:30

1:06:01 I've had this discussion recently with a lot of people. The idea of upeka, when you get very still, you have a lot of joy comes up. I love making reference to that joy. Learning how to see the beauty in front of you, even when you're not attaching to it. Learning how to enjoy the beauty of things like solitude. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:01 Highlight the passage at 1:06:01

1:06:30 Learning how to feel that body when it's relaxed, at peace. I love this. So the emotions, years and years and years ago I remember giving a talk about emotions. So not all emotions are to be let go of. Let go of the negative emotions and to develop the positive emotions, the enjoyment of peace. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:30 Highlight the passage at 1:06:30

1:07:06 Just valuing things like freedom. Just really seeing the gorgeous happiness of just being here, letting go and enjoying this silence. So Report an error in the passage at 1:07:06 Highlight the passage at 1:07:06

1:07:28 keep the positive emotions, the letting go of the negative emotions. From Germany, Dear Ajahn Brahm, If I keep following, watching my breath but never make it further, I am stuck at that point. Just breathing but no progress. Need peace. peace because Report an error in the passage at 1:07:28 Highlight the passage at 1:07:28

1:08:17 you are severely sick, It's wonderful to open the door of your heart to that sickness with unconditional awareness. If it's unconditional, you don't want anything. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:17 Highlight the passage at 1:08:17

1:08:32 It's amazing how free you feel. And you notice there's a beauty there which is more than enough to go way past any suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:32 Highlight the passage at 1:08:32

1:08:53 Oh, now they've got a fourth question here. Is there a reason why the beginner meditations next door are not recorded? Us beginner meditators overseas are missing out since we can't go next door. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:53 Highlight the passage at 1:08:53

1:09:12 That's a very lovely question. I don't know. That's a question for the organization. Is Report an error in the passage at 1:09:12 Highlight the passage at 1:09:12

1:09:27 that where he is, next door? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:27 Highlight the passage at 1:09:27

1:09:35 Sometimes this is kind of a good question. I am not sure because I'm never next door. For years if I'm in town I'm sitting right here. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:35 Highlight the passage at 1:09:35

1:09:52 Good question. I'll have to ask organisers about that one. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:52 Highlight the passage at 1:09:52

1:10:00 Anyway, any questions from the people here? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:00 Highlight the passage at 1:10:00

1:10:12 Yeah, thank you. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:12 Highlight the passage at 1:10:12

1:10:18 Ajahn, I'll just help with that last question if that's okay. Yeah, please. So online we have on our website two intro to meditation courses, one by you, which is an audio course. Yes. Which is very good. I would highly recommend it. And there's another one by Ajahn Brahmali, also excellent, which is a video course. So if they go onto our website and go to practice, then they can find them there. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:18 Highlight the passage at 1:10:18

1:10:44 Excellent. Thank you for getting me and Lekha off the hook. That's a good question. Oops. I Report an error in the passage at 1:10:44 Highlight the passage at 1:10:44

1:11:00 have a question. When I'm meditating, I might see nimittas or... It's an excellent sort of question again. If you see limiters in the mind, if you have more time or you're on a retreat where you can meditate hour after hour after hour, you can actually take those lights. ...and make them more stable and brighter. How do you do that? It kind of happens naturally when everything else outside disappears. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:00 Highlight the passage at 1:11:00

1:11:48 I mean outside your world and I mean outside the room here. You let it go for a while. Then the mind develops more power. It doesn't get so weak with all the things which we have to do. That's one of the reasons why. When a person does go on what we call a retreat, day after day after day, you let go of many of those things which suck up the energy from your mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:48 Highlight the passage at 1:11:48

1:12:18 Your mind gets more agile, more energized. So you can experience these lights. It's also important that you know these lights actually exist and you can experience them. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:18 Highlight the passage at 1:12:18

1:12:36 I love talking about these nimittas because very few other people do. One of the things which I enjoy about them is that there are colours you don't see in the real world. I love that because you see like a blue or yellow or green or whatever colour and it's much more intense, much more real, much more pure. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:36 Highlight the passage at 1:12:36

1:13:03 You've never seen a blue like that before. What it is, it's not perception of sight. That sense has disappeared. It's how the mind sees these things. You're turning on and encouraging what we call that sixth sense of mind consciousness. It's how the mind sees the colour. That's why it's more pure than other colours which you'll see with your eyes open. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:03 Highlight the passage at 1:13:03

1:13:35 And there's also... If it is a real nimitta, it can be incredibly beautiful, really incredibly joyful, more joyful than many other things which you see. The mind really, really sort of brightens up and that's one of the reasons why something like a nimitta or what comes next to Jhānas gives you such beautiful experiences. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:35 Highlight the passage at 1:13:35

1:14:03 It means the meditation is... So fantastic and satisfying. But it also means that these things we call five hindrances. You don't want anything. You don't get negative at all. No sloth and torpor and restlessness. The mind is really poised, which means if you want to see anything or understand anything, you can just look at... Report an error in the passage at 1:14:03 Highlight the passage at 1:14:03

1:14:32 I said that about the carpet. You look at the carpet and you see all the beautiful shades of red in that carpet. It's not just blue and purple and white or whatever. It's way more powerfully beautiful than that. That just comes up to your mind. It's amazing what you can see in the world. Especially those people who walk in nature. The little flowers you see, the wild flowers on the side of the road, on the side of the path. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:32 Highlight the passage at 1:14:32

1:15:06 I remember just seeing that and doing that years ago. See a monk just stop, this was over in Thailand, stop and just look at a small flower on the side of the path. To them it was really, really, really beautiful. I couldn't understand what was going on, it was a tiny flower, not that beautiful. But then your mind can really appreciate what you can see and other people walk straight past it. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:06 Highlight the passage at 1:15:06

1:15:39 Your mind is getting aware. With that awareness comes a lot of happiness and satisfaction. And then if you want to find out what beauty really is, and what is colour, the greens of the leaves outside, so many greens there, but they're full of life, much more than you ever thought. It's like you're waking up. And with that type of waking up, enjoy first. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:39 Highlight the passage at 1:15:39

1:16:12 Because with that enjoyment the mindfulness gets stronger and stronger and as it gets stronger and stronger other things which you want to sort of focus on or investigate. Instead of investigate I like the word explore. You explore your own body. What is it? Why is it? And it's not just you know what you were taught at school or if you were a doctor. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:12 Highlight the passage at 1:16:12

1:16:40 You can see it much more deeply. How it works, you can feel it, feel it from inside. And once you get to know your body, you can also feel just how to keep it healthy. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:40 Highlight the passage at 1:16:40

1:16:57 And by keeping it healthy, you can even feel parts of it and give it this beautiful unconditional awareness and a blast of energy. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:57 Highlight the passage at 1:16:57

1:17:07 It's amazing just how you can heal your own sicknesses. I don't know if I'm making any sense to you. That's how I look at my body. Thank you. I Report an error in the passage at 1:17:07 Highlight the passage at 1:17:07

1:17:25 was messing about the other day with Lawrence over there, messing around with my body the other day just because I'd had a long air flight from London over to Perth and by the time I arrived in Perth airport, it was a Wednesday afternoon, by the time I got to the monastery it was about 4, no about 5 o 'clock. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:25 Highlight the passage at 1:17:25

1:17:51 And straight away they asked me, do you want to give the talk last Wednesday afternoon? And I said, why not? So I should have been totally jet-lagged. But I told the monks, I decided I'm not going to be jet-lagged tonight. It's as simple as it was. And it's crazy. You can't decide, you know, on the surface of things, to do stuff like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:51 Highlight the passage at 1:17:51

1:18:24 I've played around with this a long time, I say playing around because I decided to be rebellious. I'm a rebellious monk, aren't I? Report an error in the passage at 1:18:24 Highlight the passage at 1:18:24

1:18:37 So I rebelled against sickness and jet lag. So instead I just gave a talk. It's wonderful when you're in that kind of mood, you can give a really nice talk. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:37 Highlight the passage at 1:18:37

1:18:49 Did the monks enjoy it? Yeah, yeah, thank you. For a lot of time I've been playing around with that, with sickness. An interaction with sickness and the mind, with beauty and the mind. You've heard me say all these crazy stories about, sorry I can't resist it, that when on a retreat having some wonderful meditation, going to the toilet, doing a number two and seeing the most beautiful piece of shit I've ever laid. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:49 Highlight the passage at 1:18:49

1:19:29 Honestly it was ordinary. But because you actually looked at it, and your mind was like free of all these conditionings, then you looked at it and said, honestly, I was going, wow, wow, look at that. And it wasn't just, you know, just being gross and for a funny story. It was, what that did, it took away that conditioning, that prison where this is beautiful, this is not beautiful, what you've been taught by others. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:29 Highlight the passage at 1:19:29

1:20:02 And seeing it afresh. And I love stuff like that because that is being totally rebellious. You're not supposed to be able to do that unless you're a gross monk. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:02 Highlight the passage at 1:20:02

1:20:15 It's not being gross at all. You're seeing different ways that you look at the world. And I love that sort of stuff. That's why I do like to break boundaries and conditionings. You feel so much freer that way. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:15 Highlight the passage at 1:20:15

1:20:38 Does that make sense to you? Or do you want to go and send me to Greylands? Report an error in the passage at 1:20:38 Highlight the passage at 1:20:38

1:20:48 Another question, I'm sorry. For Lawrence, yeah, thank you. Ajahn, I've often heard you talk about nimittas and seeing lights and focusing on lights and allowing relaxing and having experiences of inner light. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:48 Highlight the passage at 1:20:48

1:21:06 What about an event where there's been a prolonged period of stillness over many days There's nothing happening, arising in awareness, in the mind. And there seems to be a very calm, clear presence there. And a unique joy appears in the mind. Nothing to do with the lights. Just a very unique joy. And the attention goes to that unique joy. And everything disappears. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:06 Highlight the passage at 1:21:06

1:21:45 There's no body. There's no sense of a body, no sense of the senses. It can be quite abrupt. Just everything drops away. There's a complete absence, no subjectivity, no object to experience. And then at some point a bit later on, the senses come back online. It doesn't sound like the description of what you're talking about with lights and nimit. It sounds like something else's. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:45 Highlight the passage at 1:21:45

1:22:11 Taking place there or not taking place, a radical absence, a disappearance of everything. Could you make any comments about something like that? One of the first things I would ask or just observe in that person is what we call the afterglow. Once that disappearance is finished, how clear is that person's mind? Report an error in the passage at 1:22:11 Highlight the passage at 1:22:11

1:22:41 Just talking about a complete absence. It drops away quite abruptly. There seems to be nothing happening and then at some point the senses turn back on. Maybe the eyes start registering a bit of light and then there's a sense, here I am again. But what is the feeling like afterwards? Absence, vanishing, nothing there. Afterwards? Afterwards? Well, what the hell was that? Report an error in the passage at 1:22:41 Highlight the passage at 1:22:41

1:23:08 What was that about? and not really being able to make any sense of it. Usually if there is a real absence of things the mind gets... that's like a going to sleep experience. When you go to sleep experience that when you wake up you feel kind of refreshed but you don't feel the same sort of joy and clarity. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:08 Highlight the passage at 1:23:08

1:23:38 After going into a meditative experience, that's one of the reasons why these are my tricks which I've learned to employ to be able to check out if a person really has had a deep meditation. If it is a deep meditation, afterwards, there's things they have so much energy, your mindfulness is increased in power and you do see so much more joy and everything is really clear. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:38 Highlight the passage at 1:23:38

1:24:08 You don't feel tired. If you are writing something, you can write really clearly. If you are reading something, you can see so much more in the meaning of what's being written. So everything becomes clearer and you look more joyful. Other things is that you don't feel so sleepy. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:08 Highlight the passage at 1:24:08

1:24:35 I wasn't feeling sleepy afterwards and the attitude towards life changed and since I was grasping less I wasn't looking for things. So there was a change in behaviour in daily life as a consequence of these kinds of happenings. Yeah. Obviously just keep on experiencing them. Don't be afraid of them. And just see if that joy comes even more and the insights, the understandings become more. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:35 Highlight the passage at 1:24:35

1:25:05 This is one of the important parts of Buddhism, to be able to see dhammas, to understand them. You've heard them so many times, in theory. You know the words, but does it really mean anything to you? And a good example of that is every now and again when I talk about the Bahiyasutta, that's in the scene will be just the scene. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:05 Highlight the passage at 1:25:05

1:25:34 In the heard, just the heard. In the cognized, just the cognized. In the known, just the known. And as a result of that, the bahiya was fully enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:34 Highlight the passage at 1:25:34

1:25:47 How many of you were just fully enlightened? So the words were the same, but bahiya had such a powerful mind when he heard that. So a lot of times we hear so much dharma. If our minds were pure and receptive, the same thing would happen to us. And how do we make our mind pure and receptive? That is after the deep meditations when things have vanished. And when you come out of those deep meditations, your mind is so powerful. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:47 Highlight the passage at 1:25:47

1:26:27 You feel it's powerful. It's not burdened by so many other things. which stop us being able to stay with something and dive into it and see it clearly. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:27 Highlight the passage at 1:26:27

1:26:38 Does that make any sense to you? No, okay. so that you understand a bit of the meaning. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:38 Highlight the passage at 1:26:38

1:26:59 Ajahn Brahm, mind, when I meditate, you know, it is not nimittas, you know, but bliss arises, you know. Here, bliss, you know, you feel very blissful, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:59 Highlight the passage at 1:26:59

1:27:18 Can you say something about that? Yes, usually, In the deep meditations, you almost incline away from locating that experience anywhere in the body. So when bliss arises, I try to make sure that it's not arising anywhere in my body, not in my toes, not in my tummy, not in my head. I let go of the perception of the body. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:18 Highlight the passage at 1:27:18

1:27:52 So the bliss is not contained anywhere. And that is much closer to how the mind actually is. The mind is not in the head. The mind is not in the heart. The mind is separate from all of those physical parts. So after a while, when you meditate and it starts to get blissful, keep the bliss and just forget about the location. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:52 Highlight the passage at 1:27:52

1:28:19 Then the bliss will get stronger, like freeing from the body. I don't mean just being able to float outside the body. It's just those three-dimensional location ideas, it's gone. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:19 Highlight the passage at 1:28:19

1:28:34 The bliss is not in the chest there, the hollow between the breasts, there's a little hollow, that's the bliss. It's nice if you can start there. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:34 Highlight the passage at 1:28:34

1:28:48 Let the idea of where actually this is in our body to disappear so it's not contained in the body anymore. It's like the world of the mind is totally different. And once it gets free of the body it can last much longer and it can get much more deep and it makes the mind so much more powerful. Oh, can this be a healing thing too Ajahn Brahm? Report an error in the passage at 1:28:48 Highlight the passage at 1:28:48

1:29:15 Sorry? This bliss, can it be a healing thing? Oh my goodness, yes. It's very powerful, especially if it is a mind bliss. Because the mind is, as I kept on saying, the forerunner of all things. It's incredibly powerful. I even said something about that on Friday night, that old story about a psychic research society hypnotizing someone and touching their skin with a What we convinced them to thinking was a red hot nail. And of course they screamed in pain. It wasn't a red hot nail, it was just an ordinary four inch nail at room temperature. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:15 Highlight the passage at 1:29:15

1:29:55 They screamed, but then a blister came up there. And that really shocked me, how on earth can that happen? The mind had believed it was red hot. That mind belief actually caused the wound. And after that I obviously thought, if it can cause a wound... The mind, can't it dispel a wound? Can't it reduce a tumour? Of course it can. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:55 Highlight the passage at 1:29:55

1:30:26 Just one more. Ajahn Brahm, can we like, instead of sitting meditation or thing, when we lie down in bed, quietly this thing, and then we close our eyes, just peaceful, and sometimes this bliss comes out too. That's ok isn't it? Be careful there because if it really comes up strong, the bliss which comes up from the meditation gets so strong you can't sleep. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:26 Highlight the passage at 1:30:26

1:31:01 One of the stories which I love telling, somebody reminded me of it a few days ago, was just when I was... Sleep. Oh. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:01 Highlight the passage at 1:31:01

1:31:10 I was actually on a meditation retreat in Safety Bay. Do you remember those days down in Penguin Road? I had some nice meditation but at night I kind of had a very clear dream, a lucid dream. And in that dream I was visiting an old Thai cemetery. And there I saw a little shrine to one of my favourite monks at the time, which was Ajahn Tate. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:10 Highlight the passage at 1:31:10

1:31:43 And as soon as I saw that, because I knew that monk, he was one of the Arahats, an incredible monk, and as soon as I saw that, this beautiful light came up, it was nimittas, and I got so blissed out, I woke up, I couldn't sleep again for a day or so. I didn't mind not sleeping. Because you get that sort of energy and it satisfies any tiredness and you enjoy yourself immensely. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:43 Highlight the passage at 1:31:43

1:32:17 Yeah, that's what happens. So that's why I said be careful because it dispels sleep, it energizes your mind enormously. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:17 Highlight the passage at 1:32:17

1:32:28 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:28 Highlight the passage at 1:32:28

1:32:35 I've noticed in everyday life I tend to become a lot more emotional than I used to. Like, you know, tearing up at things that ordinarily wouldn't have affected me at all. Yes. Yeah, I was wondering is this a sign of progress? Progress, very much so. That's one of the reasons why. You know, when people say, is it okay to cry? Absolutely, as long as it's for the right reasons. I don't cry out of sadness, but out of inspiration, certainly. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:35 Highlight the passage at 1:32:35

1:33:10 It's usually in a positive way. Oh, yeah. and even, I don't know if I should say, okay. I'm starting so I'm going to say it that even just recently you know when I was talking about just returning back from UK on a long flight and should be jet lagged and gave that talk on Wednesday night at Bodhinyana monastery when I give a talk I listen to what I say and that was a nice talk and so it inspired me. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:10 Highlight the passage at 1:33:10

1:33:47 Especially that this could happen. And my eyes got teary. And I mentioned that to the Saṅgha at Bodhinyana Monastery, that every time you hear a beautiful talk... I'm not praising myself, it's not an egotistical comment. It was as if it felt so beautiful, this could be done, I shouldn't be able to do this. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:47 Highlight the passage at 1:33:47

1:34:14 But then, just... Beautiful talk and your eyes got teary. Emotionally just uplifted. I also remember another Thai monk who came to Bodhinyana Monastery and he gave a talk and for once I could actually listen to someone's talk rather than give it myself. So that gave me a bit of joy to begin with. And after his talk he came up to me and said, you enjoyed my talk, didn't you? Report an error in the passage at 1:34:14 Highlight the passage at 1:34:14

1:34:43 I said, oh yeah. And he said, how did you know? Tears streaming out of your eyes. A really good talk. It inspires you, just wow. It creates that emotional happiness. So please, if that emotional happiness happens, just please get it, it's beautiful. Thanks Ajahn. Good emotions grow. I'm Report an error in the passage at 1:34:43 Highlight the passage at 1:34:43

1:35:15 enjoying myself. I know I should wrap it up, 4.36. But anyhow, if any of you wish to stay, you're most welcome. Otherwise, just about three times and then you can go and do what you need to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:15 Highlight the passage at 1:35:15