A Peaceful Mindset

0:00 So this would be our last talk for a while. I'm not sure whether we're going to be coming back here or starting out somewhere else. But I think we'll be taking a short break after the wasa has ended because of the building project. But really, I'm not sure. I'm not sure because... I am looking forward to Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

1:00 the three months of meditation the monks get to have. I'm looking Report an error in the passage at 1:00 Highlight the passage at 1:00

1:14 Coming, I think, was it next week? Yeah. And we call that the Reign's Retreat. Yes. Reign's Retreat. And that's basically three months of doing nothing. Report an error in the passage at 1:14 Highlight the passage at 1:14

1:34 That's probably like the hardest thing that anybody can do. Being locked away voluntarily. voluntarily and Getting all this time and space to basically focus on one's meditation. So that's pretty much a life of a monk is focused around on the meditation practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:34 Highlight the passage at 1:34

2:04 But luckily in this tradition we do get the opportunity to sort of like amp it up. Every year for three months. And we just go into a lot of solitude and quietness. And we just basically work on the mind. And I think after a while, after a while, you kind of develop a mindset of a meditator. Of a meditator. Basically, and then also like this idea of when we do become monastics. Report an error in the passage at 2:04 Highlight the passage at 2:04

2:44 gymnastics We become monks with this idea of stepping away from the world. Stepping away from worldly attachments, worldly pursuits and basically just giving up the world that all of you live in. And you all know that you just get tied up in stuff. Family, jobs, kids, things like that. So we do get that opportunity to do that as monastics. Or even if you decide to go and stay in a monastery for like two or three months, in a sense you're kind of part-time giving up your life. Report an error in the passage at 2:44 Highlight the passage at 2:44

3:31 And you develop that mind of a meditator. You develop a mind of somebody who has, you know, just let go, let go. Report an error in the passage at 3:31 Highlight the passage at 3:31

4:42 by wanting these things. So meditation, meditation is about calming the mind down or getting to a place of peace but also understanding the ways of getting there. And one of the ways of getting to peaceful places in the mind is to be able to just let go of your world, your world for Report an error in the passage at 4:42 Highlight the passage at 4:42

5:45 But the thing is, I mean, I wasn't one of them, but you do hear stories about monks or even lay people who go on nine-day retreats or who just do like a weekend meditation and they're able to take their minds into a place where where there is a lot of peace and stillness. And that's with having a life in the world, a life with a job, a career, and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 5:45 Highlight the passage at 5:45

6:27 So sometimes we kind of look for excuses. You know, I can't meditate because I've got this, this, this, and this. But that's not true. I mean, people have meditated. have meditated Report an error in the passage at 6:27 Highlight the passage at 6:27

6:45 able to meditate well who have very busy schedules and sometimes you may think oh the monks they're so lazy they do nothing they just sit on their butts Report an error in the passage at 6:45 Highlight the passage at 6:45

7:00 life, they don't have to worry, they don't have to worry, they don't have to think about things, you know, the conditions are there, they can meditate so easily. Report an error in the passage at 7:00 Highlight the passage at 7:00

7:14 Well, that's not true. You've seen me at Kusla Hermitage. You know how busy I am and all the things that we kind of get involved in. But what happens is over the years you just learn how to work with your situation and you have almost like a journey to also have a peaceful life at the same time. So isn't that what we want? Report an error in the passage at 7:14 Highlight the passage at 7:14

7:48 We want to be able to live in the world with his busyness and also have a peaceful mind. And I think that's possible because if you look at, let's say you look at Ajahn Brahm, you know, he's so busy. He's travelling here and there. He's got to be on a, you know, he's got to teach in England or go do a retreat or talk to this person. Report an error in the passage at 7:48 Highlight the passage at 7:48

8:13 And, you know, people call him up and they have problems and they start telling them all his problems. He's got a lot to deal with, but he's able to handle these things, to be able to find peace in his life. And, you know, sometimes those monastics in this situation, people call you up and they tell you about all these problems. Report an error in the passage at 8:13 Highlight the passage at 8:13

8:40 problems Report an error in the passage at 8:40 Highlight the passage at 8:40

8:43 Oh, the other day I was like someone, the other day I was talking to somebody and they were telling me all their problems and it's like, oh, you try to figure things out, you know, you try to give them good advice and all that kind of stuff. And I think they think, and then they were telling me that because they were just going through just a difficult time and stuff like that, their house was getting a little bit messy. Report an error in the passage at 8:43 Highlight the passage at 8:43

9:09 So the advice I gave them was to clean up their house. Report an error in the passage at 9:09 Highlight the passage at 9:09

9:19 but but but yeah but sometimes that does that that does help like going into like a clean environment a clean house it's just sometimes you need that little bit of shift to kind of lift up your spirits to make you feel better and but that's that's not the point of the story the point of the story is when Report an error in the passage at 9:19 Highlight the passage at 9:19

9:42 Ajahn Chah gave this advice to the monks. He said, He said, you must be like a dustbin. You must be like a dustbin with a hole in the bottom. Have you heard about that one? No? Oh, hold on. So he says, being a senior monk and listening to all these problems that people have about their meditation practices, their marriages, things happening in their relationships. Report an error in the passage at 9:42 Highlight the passage at 9:42

10:14 relationships and And he gets all of it. He gets all of it. And he said that if he was a dustbin with no hole in the bottom, what people would do is they would just throw all this rubbish into his head. And can you imagine if you have all the rubbish from the people that you talk to and listen to, you carry that around. Oh! Report an error in the passage at 10:14 Highlight the passage at 10:14

10:43 Yeah, you need like a three-month meditation retreat or some medication or something to get better. But instead he said, if you're going to be in a position like that, if you're going to counsel people or deal with other people's problems, you have to learn how to be a dustbin with a hole in the bottom. Report an error in the passage at 10:43 Highlight the passage at 10:43

11:03 So whenever people put rubbish into the dustbin, it just falls out from the bottom. So that means you don't carry anything around. Well, you try not to carry anything around. And you can start to feel that. You feel a lot lighter. You feel a lot better. You feel there's a sense of relief in your mind. Report an error in the passage at 11:03 Highlight the passage at 11:03

11:31 And sometimes that's all. I think that's all we need to do as meditators. Report an error in the passage at 11:31 Highlight the passage at 11:31

12:44 My boss said this to me, it's time for me to let go. Or another thing is my mind has been a little bit frazzled. So maybe today I'll just be more mindful of the present moment. Things like that. The little things that you do that can add a little bit more peace into your life and you can carry that into your meditation practice. Report an error in the passage at 12:44 Highlight the passage at 12:44

13:15 Or even something which is not like focused on letting go and being peaceful is just okay. Maybe I'll just be a little bit more kinder today. I'll be nice to my kids. I'll be nice to my brother. Or you know the monk that annoys me, I'll be nice to him. You know, something like that. So we can always be a little bit more kinder. Report an error in the passage at 13:15 Highlight the passage at 13:15

13:49 I'll be nice to the person that drives me to meditation classes. These little things, even though they may not seem much, but they fit into our idea of wanting to become more peaceful people throughout our lives. So these are the little things that we do. And also another thing that we do as well is to meditate. And that's what we do here. Report an error in the passage at 13:49 Highlight the passage at 13:49

14:27 And that's what we do here. And it's a very easy thing to do. I always say it's an easy thing to do. And all you've got to do is just close your eyes and allow things to happen. And that's one of the nice things about This type of meditation practice is that we're just allowing it to happen. Just like nature. There's nature. People say, you know, the nature pill. Report an error in the passage at 14:27 Highlight the passage at 14:27

14:57 Going out in nature kind of makes you feel a lot better. And sometimes just allowing nature to calm our minds down in the meditation practice is the right way to practice meditation. So that's all we do here. We just close our eyes. Report an error in the passage at 14:57 Highlight the passage at 14:57

15:16 We're not trying to control or make anything happen, but we just know that what we're doing here is we're just doing those little things that can add more peace, more contentment, more stability into our lives. So that's where I'll stop the meditation. Oh, no, the talk, the meditation, and we can go home now. Report an error in the passage at 15:16 Highlight the passage at 15:16

15:43 So Report an error in the passage at 15:43 Highlight the passage at 15:43

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16:28 I hope... I hope you all have peaceful minds. Report an error in the passage at 16:28 Highlight the passage at 16:28

16:50 Sometimes it may seem like an uphill battle to calm the mind down. But Report an error in the passage at 16:50 Highlight the passage at 16:50

17:05 just be kind to yourself and understand that this is the mind that you have to work with at this time. Report an error in the passage at 17:05 Highlight the passage at 17:05

17:27 And remember, there's nothing wrong with having bad meditations. It's just a part of the process. Report an error in the passage at 17:27 Highlight the passage at 17:27

17:43 Maybe one of the reasons why you keep coming back to the meditation practice is because you've experienced some results. And Report an error in the passage at 17:43 Highlight the passage at 17:43

18:02 if you are experiencing peaceful states of mind, Report an error in the passage at 18:02 Highlight the passage at 18:02

18:13 you're on the right track and Report an error in the passage at 18:13 Highlight the passage at 18:13

18:18 all you're doing is you're just deepening that experience of a peaceful mind and you do that by being in the present moment with Report an error in the passage at 18:18 Highlight the passage at 18:18

18:42 the meditation object that you're with sometimes Report an error in the passage at 18:42 Highlight the passage at 18:42

19:13 it's one of the hardest things for us to do is to be fully aware of this moment and i think One of the reasons why we aren't fully aware of this moment is maybe because we're a little bit bored. This moment is not interesting enough. There Report an error in the passage at 19:13 Highlight the passage at 19:13

19:43 are times in our lives where we can do things without losing any focus. Like watching a movie or doing something exciting. Our minds stays. stays fully attentive to what we are enjoying So we do have that quality of mind and for some reason it's just difficult to put that quality into this present moment. Report an error in the passage at 19:43 Highlight the passage at 19:43

20:28 But Report an error in the passage at 20:28 Highlight the passage at 20:28

20:34 if you can do that or if you are working towards it, you can start to see your mind becoming clearer and more Report an error in the passage at 20:34 Highlight the passage at 20:34

20:51 in tune. Report an error in the passage at 20:51 Highlight the passage at 20:51

20:56 With the meditation, it's Report an error in the passage at 20:56 Highlight the passage at 20:56

21:06 just like sometimes we just need to turn up the lights a little bit in our minds to be able to be more aware of this present moment. Doing Report an error in the passage at 21:06 Highlight the passage at 21:06

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23:24 our best when we see our mind wander, we might feel down about it, if Report an error in the passage at 23:24 Highlight the passage at 23:24

23:39 our mind is sleepy and it can't really pay attention to the present moment. Ajahn Sometimes you can feel this is useless Report an error in the passage at 23:39 Highlight the passage at 23:39

24:03 or the mind, you know, we're not... Report an error in the passage at 24:03 Highlight the passage at 24:03

24:35 us being human beings and Not being very wise at times. Ajahn I'm not very wise at times, too. Report an error in the passage at 24:35 Highlight the passage at 24:35

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25:20 more peaceful meditations. So Report an error in the passage at 25:20 Highlight the passage at 25:20

25:28 we're Report an error in the passage at 25:28 Highlight the passage at 25:28

25:54 just doing our best to pay attention to this moment and Report an error in the passage at 25:54 Highlight the passage at 25:54

26:16 once you start becoming good at it, you can see that your mind has more clarity, has more sharpness to this moment. from your own experience Report an error in the passage at 26:16 Highlight the passage at 26:16

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26:39 That sharpness, that clarity, it gives the mind energy. And the energy is a part of the enjoyment of the meditation practice. And Report an error in the passage at 26:39 Highlight the passage at 26:39

27:20 it's the enjoyment that makes us keep coming back. And it's the enjoyment that gives us happiness in our lives. I Report an error in the passage at 27:20 Highlight the passage at 27:20

27:43 always like to say, Whatever you gain from the meditation, it bleeds out into your life in Report an error in the passage at 27:43 Highlight the passage at 27:43

27:59 so many useful and positive ways. Try Report an error in the passage at 27:59 Highlight the passage at 27:59

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34:42 to find it. That's Report an error in the passage at 34:42 Highlight the passage at 34:42

34:50 all you really need. Find Report an error in the passage at 34:50 Highlight the passage at 34:50

34:57 that niceness in the present moment and just build from that one moment after another moment after another moment and Report an error in the passage at 34:57 Highlight the passage at 34:57

35:19 then you'll start to see. The positive effects it can have on the mind. Report an error in the passage at 35:19 Highlight the passage at 35:19

35:36 Sometimes in my life when there's just too much going on in my mind, it's hard to, it's not easy to lead a monastery. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. But, Report an error in the passage at 35:36 Highlight the passage at 35:36

36:13 you know, you get to, you get to Report an error in the passage at 36:13 Highlight the passage at 36:13

36:21 You just get to a point where you don't really want to deal with the noise in your mind. So you can just go into this present moment. You just go into this present moment. There's always a niceness about this present moment. And you're not looking for answers. Report an error in the passage at 36:21 Highlight the passage at 36:21

36:56 You're not looking for a cure. You're not looking for anything miraculous. but you kind of know intuitively that this present moment is beneficial for you so you start to develop you start to develop a trust in this present moment and Report an error in the passage at 36:56 Highlight the passage at 36:56

37:33 you can use it in times when your mind is overwhelmed with things and Report an error in the passage at 37:33 Highlight the passage at 37:33

37:51 then For some reason, things work itself out. You find a different way of thinking about the problem or you just have a changing attitude. Report an error in the passage at 37:51 Highlight the passage at 37:51

38:11 There's something that happens when we go to these places in our minds to have a rest. There's Report an error in the passage at 38:11 Highlight the passage at 38:11

38:28 nothing magical. There's Report an error in the passage at 38:28 Highlight the passage at 38:28

38:35 even nothing spiritual. But it works. Three Report an error in the passage at 38:35 Highlight the passage at 38:35

· · · silence, 8 minutes

46:39 times. Report an error in the passage at 46:39 Highlight the passage at 46:39

46:53 Meditation. If Report an error in the passage at 46:53 Highlight the passage at 46:53

46:59 you've got any questions, you can ask. Last Report an error in the passage at 46:59 Highlight the passage at 46:59

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50:21 question for the season. Report an error in the passage at 50:21 Highlight the passage at 50:21

50:30 Yeah. That's stupid. I don't Report an error in the passage at 50:30 Highlight the passage at 50:30

50:40 Like a while I was meditating? Yeah. was myself seeing myself and then another self of mine was watching myself watch myself and then it went on and on and on and on so there was like I don't know how many selves watching me watch myself what does that mean what do you think that means Report an error in the passage at 50:40 Highlight the passage at 50:40

51:05 Was it like an out-of-body experience? Yeah, I felt like I wasn't in my body. Yeah, I don't really know what it means because I did hear a story from somebody that he was going through a hard time and he was doing his laundry and then because he just didn't want to be there he left his body. body so he Report an error in the passage at 51:05 Highlight the passage at 51:05

51:29 The way he told it kind of convinced me that it was a real thing that happened. And he was basically, he was out of his body and so you're not in your body anymore. So you do have this clear understanding that you've left your body. And he said he looked, I think he said he looked back and then there were like just a beautiful field of You know, rainbows and stuff like that. You know, all the nice stuff. And then he had a choice of whether he had a choice to either go to the nice place or go back into his body. Report an error in the passage at 51:29 Highlight the passage at 51:29

52:12 So that was almost like an out-of-body experience. So I don't know if you're talking about an out-of-body experience. That's what it sounds like. And so that's what happened to him. And then he decided he just went back to his body. and then he was doing laundry again yeah so i don't know what was the same for you when that happened i did i couldn't feel my body anymore so then when when there was many versions of myself watching watching watching versions then when i couldn't see the last one anymore like my body just i felt like a jolt in my body and i felt like i was back again mm-hmm Report an error in the passage at 52:12 Highlight the passage at 52:12

53:01 It sounds like a unique experience that just happens to a few individuals, I guess. I haven't heard about that much in my experience with other people. Yeah, but I guess if it leads to more peace and insight, then it's a good thing. Yeah, that's one of the... I think, yeah, because... Because meditation is unique to everyone and different teachings work differently for people, even from different traditions, different meditation teachers, different religions really. Report an error in the passage at 53:01 Highlight the passage at 53:01

53:46 And I just remember one quote that Ajahn Brahm would repeat in the earlier days as a monk and he would say, whatever like dhammas, Which is basically whatever truths or whatever teachings or whatever experience you have that lead to peace, that lead to peace, then you can kind of trust it and you can use it to further develop your mind. Report an error in the passage at 53:46 Highlight the passage at 53:46

54:23 So yeah, sometimes it's just a really personal experience, you know, and if it's something that's helpful, then you can continue doing it. When you meditate personally, is your mind clear or do you have thoughts that come in? Report an error in the passage at 54:23 Highlight the passage at 54:23

54:41 yeah I have thoughts coming it's it is clear yeah it's clear thoughts come in it's sleepy Report an error in the passage at 54:41 Highlight the passage at 54:41

54:51 it's good it's bad but nothing over time like over time you can feel the or you can experience the quality getting better yeah and and you kind of know that you're moving in the right direction so so so yeah the quality of the mind like the quality of peace the peacefulness becomes more peaceful kind of thing the mind becomes more energetic it becomes more clear and these are the little like the little little you know rewards or the little successes that we get as meditators and they kind of keep you going Report an error in the passage at 54:51 Highlight the passage at 54:51

55:51 Okay, we can go home. Report an error in the passage at 55:51 Highlight the passage at 55:51