Guided Meditation

0:00 Welcome everybody or continued hello to people who have been here since the morning. Now it's time for guided meditation where you can fall asleep and kind of look like you're meditating. So here's your chance. Anyway, I thought since we've been talking about sense restraint all day long, which from a kind of like explain it with PowerPoint and all that. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:25 That maybe it's good to just do a meditation where we actually practice some of the stuff we talked about earlier. And it's often not a practice we usually do when we sit down. We always think, oh, sitting down meditation is you watch the breath, you get quiet and peaceful and still. That's one kind of meditation. But we can also sometimes use our awareness of our sense organs. Report an error in the passage at 0:25 Highlight the passage at 0:25

0:51 organs and sense contact that is arising through them as a way to ground ourselves in the present moment in a really easy way. The breath is very subtle, so your mind actually has to be prepared to a certain level of mindfulness to be able to stay with the breath. Report an error in the passage at 0:51 Highlight the passage at 0:51

1:10 Ajahn Brahm, the way he teaches Meditation, he always starts out with present moment awareness. And usually lately, in recent years, he's taught it becoming mindful of the body and how it feels. And that's one, if you think about it, that's one organ of sense contact, which is through the body. Report an error in the passage at 1:10 Highlight the passage at 1:10

1:30 So that's something that we might be familiar with by doing body scans or relaxing different parts of the body. So we can start with that. But then today I thought, you know, let's try something beyond that, which is working with the contact we get to the eyes, the ears, the nose. Probably can't do much tongue unless anyone has chewing gum or something. But at least the other, you know, they're like under-practiced. Report an error in the passage at 1:30 Highlight the passage at 1:30

1:57 And that's why we get in so much trouble. When we see things through our eye or ear, when we see things through our ear, no, when we see through the eye, hear from the ear, smell with the nose, but most importantly, the thoughts that come to our mind. So we'll work a bit with those too. So because throughout the whole meditation, I'll be kind of talking to guide it through all of those senses, I won't talk too much at the beginning. Report an error in the passage at 1:57 Highlight the passage at 1:57

2:25 And let's just do it. I feel like I've been talking all day. So let's just meditate. So if you'd like to already, some of you look like you're in a very nice, comfortable position. And if you're not, please adjust accordingly. I will put on a beanie because I'm cold. And so Report an error in the passage at 2:25 Highlight the passage at 2:25

2:51 feel your body sitting on whatever you're sitting on. Feel the contact where you're Bottom meets the chair, the cushion. Report an error in the passage at 2:51 Highlight the passage at 2:51

3:06 Is it balanced? Is it painful in any way? Report an error in the passage at 3:06 Highlight the passage at 3:06

3:16 So go to a feeling where you actually feel some discomfort in your body. Report an error in the passage at 3:16 Highlight the passage at 3:16

3:29 It could be wherever. It's going to be different for different people. It could be only a slight discomfort or a major one. Report an error in the passage at 3:29 Highlight the passage at 3:29

3:39 If you don't want to work with something that's too painful, you can find something milder. Our bodies can hurt in many places all at once, let me tell you. So focus on something that you'd like to for now and Report an error in the passage at 3:39 Highlight the passage at 3:39

3:58 see if, notice if you're sort of clenching around that discomfort. See Report an error in the passage at 3:58 Highlight the passage at 3:58

4:11 if that itself is a kind of discomfort. The clenching itself, does that feel pleasant or unpleasant? So Report an error in the passage at 4:11 Highlight the passage at 4:11

4:32 what happens if you just stay with that feeling of discomfort? But Report an error in the passage at 4:32 Highlight the passage at 4:32

4:51 staying in a way that feels open. Report an error in the passage at 4:51 Highlight the passage at 4:51

4:57 Not staying, gritting your teeth, but sort of just seeing, well, what's it like? How does it move? Report an error in the passage at 4:57 Highlight the passage at 4:57

5:13 Does it last? Are Report an error in the passage at 5:13 Highlight the passage at 5:13

5:34 you thinking anything around this feeling? What am I going to do to make it stop? What's causing it? What are the thoughts you're having around this discomfort or unpleasant physical sensation? What Report an error in the passage at 5:34 Highlight the passage at 5:34

5:57 happens to it when you think those thoughts or repeat those thoughts in your mind? And Report an error in the passage at 5:57 Highlight the passage at 5:57

6:30 then we can just move on or you might found out the feeling has moved on so Report an error in the passage at 6:30 Highlight the passage at 6:30

6:40 now move on to a different part of the body or you might be feeling something pleasant maybe you like the feel of the fan blowing some cool air into your face or whatever it is that you find pleasant in the moment in your body right now do Report an error in the passage at 6:40 Highlight the passage at 6:40

7:08 you notice any reaction to it are you waiting for the next time the fan blade Do you have Report an error in the passage at 7:08 Highlight the passage at 7:08

7:28 any aversion to the cold air? Just notice your reactions and how those reactions manifest in your body. Where Report an error in the passage at 7:28 Highlight the passage at 7:28

7:45 do you feel it in your body? Report an error in the passage at 7:45 Highlight the passage at 7:45

7:54 Is that feeling pleasant or unpleasant or neutral? Report an error in the passage at 7:54 Highlight the passage at 7:54

8:14 Whether it's craving, whether it's aversion, does it feel pleasant or unpleasant? And Report an error in the passage at 8:14 Highlight the passage at 8:14

8:29 can we relax with that unpleasant feeling? Not push it away. As Report an error in the passage at 8:29 Highlight the passage at 8:29

9:02 our eyes are closed, maybe we can now turn attention to our ears. Report an error in the passage at 9:02 Highlight the passage at 9:02

9:11 What do you hear? I mean, we're in a pretty quiet room, but I can hear the roar of the distant cars on nearby streets. What can you hear? Just pick one sound, one noise, and notice your reaction to it, if you have one. Report an error in the passage at 9:11 Highlight the passage at 9:11

9:41 So does that sound? Felt by you as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. You Report an error in the passage at 9:41 Highlight the passage at 9:41

9:57 have craving, aversion, or indifference come up. Report an error in the passage at 9:57 Highlight the passage at 9:57

10:05 How do you know? How does it manifest? How does it feel in your body? What Report an error in the passage at 10:05 Highlight the passage at 10:05

10:27 happens if you imagine sending loving kindness to that feeling? Report an error in the passage at 10:27 Highlight the passage at 10:27

10:39 Just in the sense of, as Ajahn Brahm says, opening the door of your heart. Opening yourself to it. Letting it be. Stay, letting it do whatever it wants to do. Report an error in the passage at 10:39 Highlight the passage at 10:39

10:58 Let even an unpleasant feeling in the body. It doesn't have to be some kind of enemy you have to fight against. Just a feeling. Just a feeling. You Report an error in the passage at 10:58 Highlight the passage at 10:58

11:37 can try it again. Sometimes it happens so quick you can't quite put your finger on it. Try again. See what the sound feels like to you. See if you have any reaction to it. Report an error in the passage at 11:37 Highlight the passage at 11:37

11:56 Feel it in your body. Then have a sense of friendliness and openness and kindness to that feeling. What Report an error in the passage at 11:56 Highlight the passage at 11:56

12:10 effect does that have on it and on your mind? So Report an error in the passage at 12:10 Highlight the passage at 12:10

· · · silence, 1 minute

12:55 as you do this again and again, there's a sound that keeps coming. It's a new sound every second. So you can keep practicing like that. And even in the short time, you might notice a shift in how you experience that sound. Report an error in the passage at 12:55 Highlight the passage at 12:55

13:14 The noise of the cars might have first been annoying. It's meditation time. You don't want this background noise. It might have felt disturbing. Report an error in the passage at 13:14 Highlight the passage at 13:14

13:25 But after some time of being with the sound, being with the reaction, being with the unpleasant feeling in your body that comes up and opening to it and feeling at ease with it, the Report an error in the passage at 13:25 Highlight the passage at 13:25

13:45 sound might become actually a neutral experience or even a subtly Pleasant experience where it's kind of like a calming kind of white noise. Report an error in the passage at 13:45 Highlight the passage at 13:45

14:01 What's happening for you? Notice that. Report an error in the passage at 14:01 Highlight the passage at 14:01

· · · silence, 1 minute

15:04 So now we can try going to the nose. Report an error in the passage at 15:04 Highlight the passage at 15:04

15:10 It's kind of hard in this room. I don't really smell anything too obvious. Report an error in the passage at 15:10 Highlight the passage at 15:10

15:20 So then just that experience of smelling a neutral smell. Report an error in the passage at 15:20 Highlight the passage at 15:20

15:27 I don't know if maybe some of you can smell something you find pleasant or unpleasant. You can work with that as well. Report an error in the passage at 15:27 Highlight the passage at 15:27

15:36 But even noticing neutral feeling, what happens to us when we experience something as bland as unscented air. Report an error in the passage at 15:36 Highlight the passage at 15:36

15:50 We don't even notice it, right? If I weren't guiding this meditation, I wouldn't have even noticed what was going on with my nose. Report an error in the passage at 15:50 Highlight the passage at 15:50

16:03 Sometimes that doesn't mean that's dullness or ignorance, but it's just that you're paying attention to another sense organ, like your mind. Report an error in the passage at 16:03 Highlight the passage at 16:03

16:15 But when we're consciously working with the nose now, just see if your reaction is one of, eh, whatever, couldn't care less. Or if it's one of actually being really mindful and clearly aware of the experience of neither pleasant or unpleasant. Be Report an error in the passage at 16:15 Highlight the passage at 16:15

16:42 alive to it. Report an error in the passage at 16:42 Highlight the passage at 16:42

16:48 Actually, how does a neutral feeling manifest in your body? Report an error in the passage at 16:48 Highlight the passage at 16:48

16:59 So glad you almost might miss it. So let's bring awareness to it. Report an error in the passage at 16:59 Highlight the passage at 16:59

· · · silence, 1 minute

18:27 Actually, when we're really mindful and aware of a neutral feeling, do you notice that it can calm your mind? It's kind of a soothing experience. Report an error in the passage at 18:27 Highlight the passage at 18:27

18:52 You'll notice that's why, like in hospitals, they paint the walls a neutral color rather than a really loud red or, I don't know, orange. Report an error in the passage at 18:52 Highlight the passage at 18:52

19:10 They use neutral colors because it's soothing and calming to the patients. So notice how a neutral smell can be soothing and calming to your mind. Report an error in the passage at 19:10 Highlight the passage at 19:10

· · · silence, 1 minute

20:23 Now if we go to the tongue, we're not really eating anything right now, or drinking anything. So again, this might be an experience of neutral feeling. You might taste the subtle taste of your own saliva. Report an error in the passage at 20:23 Highlight the passage at 20:23

20:45 Actually bring awareness to that. What does saliva taste like? For Report an error in the passage at 20:45 Highlight the passage at 20:45

20:56 some people it might be slightly acidic. For Report an error in the passage at 20:56 Highlight the passage at 20:56

21:02 some people not. Report an error in the passage at 21:02 Highlight the passage at 21:02

21:06 Do you have any kind of reaction to it? Report an error in the passage at 21:06 Highlight the passage at 21:06

21:13 Even if it's a reaction of, gosh, this is pretty boring, I want to eat something to have a bit of enjoyment or excitement happening through my taste, sense, faculty, sense, organ, sense base, whatever you want to call it. Report an error in the passage at 21:13 Highlight the passage at 21:13

21:36 Or do I enjoy this kind of calm of neutral feeling, but Report an error in the passage at 21:36 Highlight the passage at 21:36

21:47 bringing awareness to it so it's not just a dull indifference. Report an error in the passage at 21:47 Highlight the passage at 21:47

· · · silence, 1 minute

22:35 How long can you stay with the neutral feeling before you find it so boring you have to think something? How many of you have already wandered off into thinking? Report an error in the passage at 22:35 Highlight the passage at 22:35

22:47 Just notice that relationship. See Report an error in the passage at 22:47 Highlight the passage at 22:47

23:03 if you can come back to the feeling of the experience of a neutral feeling. And again, notice how long it takes before you escape the boring by going into the thinking and creating. Report an error in the passage at 23:03 Highlight the passage at 23:03

· · · silence, 1 minute

24:12 So if you're thinking, what are you thinking about? Report an error in the passage at 24:12 Highlight the passage at 24:12

24:19 Are you thinking about something that's giving rise to any craving for essential desires or any aversion? Report an error in the passage at 24:19 Highlight the passage at 24:19

24:32 Nothing wrong with that. Just notice. Notice what's your tendency. What do you do when your mind is free to wander? Where do you like to wander? Notice Report an error in the passage at 24:32 Highlight the passage at 24:32

24:57 the physical sensation that comes with those thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 24:57 Highlight the passage at 24:57

25:15 If your mindfulness is really sharp, you can even see the craving to think that precedes those thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 25:15 Highlight the passage at 25:15

· · · silence, 1 minute

26:19 So now let's do an experiment where you consciously bring to mind something. So let's work first with people who worry about anger a lot. So let's work with something that brings up aversion. So for you, whatever it is, just the thought of it already brings up a kind of feeling of aversion. Report an error in the passage at 26:19 Highlight the passage at 26:19

26:47 If you don't really have anything, well, just try something that brings up a little bit of aversion. So just thinking about it, how quickly does the aversion reaction come up for you? And Report an error in the passage at 26:47 Highlight the passage at 26:47

27:05 how does that feel? Report an error in the passage at 27:05 Highlight the passage at 27:05

27:13 If you have mild aversion, how does that feel? Where is it in your body? What does it feel like? And if you have strong aversion, it's probably pretty obvious. But again, where do you feel it? Report an error in the passage at 27:13 Highlight the passage at 27:13

27:31 What does it actually? If you could describe it, what does it feel like? Is it a tightening? Is it a contraction? Is it a warmth? A burning sensation in your tummy? Or what is it? Are you Report an error in the passage at 27:31 Highlight the passage at 27:31

27:58 reacting to that with more aversion? And if you catch that, what happens if you're just going to be with it? Just let yourself feel unpleasantness for a little while. It's not going to kill you. What happens if you just be with it? Or are kind to it? it, or open to it, whatever word works for you. That allows you to just experience it and observe what happens to that feeling as it moves throughout your body, moves through your body. Report an error in the passage at 27:58 Highlight the passage at 27:58

28:39 So Report an error in the passage at 28:39 Highlight the passage at 28:39

· · · silence, 1 minute

29:15 let's try that again. And this time, after you bring up the thought of this person or thing or whatever it is that you feel aversion to, notice how quickly you think another thought about it. That reinforces that this person is so annoying or that thing is so horrible. How quickly does it go to a second thought and a third thought? Report an error in the passage at 29:15 Highlight the passage at 29:15

29:42 Or maybe it's already gone a whole paragraph. What happens when you're like, hey, I'm thinking unwholesome thoughts. Not helpful for me. Not helpful for my happiness. Are you able to actually cut it off? Is there some momentum there? Report an error in the passage at 29:42 Highlight the passage at 29:42

30:02 Just an experiment. See what happens for you. Report an error in the passage at 30:02 Highlight the passage at 30:02

30:27 So if reflection is not really helping, see if you can stop the thought by simply turning to your physical sensation. That might be what you need to do now rather than reflecting. So see if that works. Part Report an error in the passage at 30:27 Highlight the passage at 30:27

31:06 of practicing sense restraint is becoming sensitive to what the mind needs in order to either prevent unwholesome thoughts, Or stop them for continuing if they've already arisen. So this is something a guided meditation can't do. This can only play around with it. But in your own time, in your own space, you can experiment and see when your mind feels a certain way, how does your body feel? Report an error in the passage at 31:06 Highlight the passage at 31:06

31:46 When your body feels that certain way, what kind of practice seems to work? And then... You will develop a feel for it over time. And you know when it's the right time to just relax a feeling in your body. And when the mind is ready to use reflection and contemplation, this is just an opening or an invitation for you to continue that kind of investigation in your own practice. Report an error in the passage at 31:46 Highlight the passage at 31:46

32:35 So now we'll do the same with some kind of thought. of an object that brings up some craving whatever Report an error in the passage at 32:35 Highlight the passage at 32:35

32:49 it is that is your your weakness so to speak you just think of it and already you're like oh i'd like that yeah Report an error in the passage at 32:49 Highlight the passage at 32:49

33:11 see how fast it comes on and see how strong it comes on for you with that particular object that you conjure in your mind so Report an error in the passage at 33:11 Highlight the passage at 33:11

33:29 that question is craving feel pleasant or unpleasant that's not something you can think about you only know the answer from feeling it Report an error in the passage at 33:29 Highlight the passage at 33:29

33:42 So feel it, this object that you're craving. The experience of craving for you, is it pleasant or unpleasant? Is it a physical feeling of pleasant sensation or unpleasant? And Report an error in the passage at 33:42 Highlight the passage at 33:42

34:15 then what happens if you just relax with that feeling? Just like with an aversive feeling, we can just learn to relax with the physical manifestation in our body. See Report an error in the passage at 34:15 Highlight the passage at 34:15

34:36 it shift, flow. Report an error in the passage at 34:36 Highlight the passage at 34:36

34:45 Move on. Not any effort on our part. Once Report an error in the passage at 34:45 Highlight the passage at 34:45

35:00 the feeling has moved on, do you still feel like you need to go out and get that thing to Report an error in the passage at 35:00 Highlight the passage at 35:00

35:10 consume it or even to fantasize about it anymore? Report an error in the passage at 35:10 Highlight the passage at 35:10

35:21 Immediately after the feeling is gone, maybe you don't. But if you think about it again and you don't actually give yourself space to feel the physical manifestation of it, you might go out and get that thing or eat it or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 35:21 Highlight the passage at 35:21

35:42 So after this meditation, maybe Report an error in the passage at 35:42 Highlight the passage at 35:42

35:49 at dinner time, you can try and experiment with whatever it is you normally like to eat. See this process actually happening in Report an error in the passage at 35:49 Highlight the passage at 35:49

36:03 real life, in real time, with the real object, not just the mental one. So Report an error in the passage at 36:03 Highlight the passage at 36:03

36:24 finally, we Report an error in the passage at 36:24 Highlight the passage at 36:24

36:29 can just bring Report an error in the passage at 36:29 Highlight the passage at 36:29

36:34 some awareness to Report an error in the passage at 36:34 Highlight the passage at 36:34

36:40 what it is that just happened during this meditation. What it is you might have learned or glimpses of insights you might have had and how your sense organs operate. Report an error in the passage at 36:40 Highlight the passage at 36:40

37:03 What happens when there is contact in any of them and how we respond to the feelings that arise, the feelings as they manifest in our body. Report an error in the passage at 37:03 Highlight the passage at 37:03

37:20 It's a difference when we are able to let them be and when we can't. Report an error in the passage at 37:20 Highlight the passage at 37:20

37:33 Just reflecting back. See Report an error in the passage at 37:33 Highlight the passage at 37:33

37:49 if your mind has actually become calmer through this whole exercise, even though we haven't gone deeper, like in breath meditation. Report an error in the passage at 37:49 Highlight the passage at 37:49

38:00 See if bringing awareness to your senses and what your experience is in the present moment in regard to your senses, if that brings any peace and clarity to your mind, seeing Report an error in the passage at 38:00 Highlight the passage at 38:00

38:20 that that is another possibility. In how we can practice and develop mindfulness, situational awareness, on the cushion and off the cushion. Report an error in the passage at 38:20 Highlight the passage at 38:20

38:41 So I think we're supposed to stop at 3.45, so I will just end with a short sharing of merits. Every time we finish a meditation sitting, we can always connect our practice to something bigger than ourselves. A purpose wider than our own happiness, but Report an error in the passage at 38:41 Highlight the passage at 38:41

39:07 wish that our practice, as Ajahn Brahmali said at lunchtime, brings happiness to the world at large, brings happiness not just to ourselves, the people around us, the people we know, but just an energy of wholesomeness and goodness and the happiness that brings to the wider world. Report an error in the passage at 39:07 Highlight the passage at 39:07

39:36 So in this way, we share the so-called merits. What's that? Sharing the benefits, the peace, the happiness of our practice with all beings. So may all beings be well and happy, be free from all suffering, live with ease, and be fully and truly liberated. Report an error in the passage at 39:36 Highlight the passage at 39:36

40:17 So whenever you're ready, you can Open your eyes and deal with the sense contact that comes to your eyes. So I guess we open for questions now. So anyone in the room, if you have anything to ask, or if you want to just keep meditating, that's okay too. Is it 4 p.m.? I forgot the format. Do we have Q &A until 4 p.m.? Until 4, right? Report an error in the passage at 40:17 Highlight the passage at 40:17

40:56 Okay, so yes. I take it a good sign when people don't have questions. Oh, okay. I also take it as a good sign when people have questions. I Report an error in the passage at 40:56 Highlight the passage at 40:56

41:12 can't hear you yet. Report an error in the passage at 41:12 Highlight the passage at 41:12

41:17 Yeah, just when I meditate, my body tends to kind of jerk around a little bit, and I was just wondering if that's something that is, you know, I mean, I'll just go with it, but is that kind of something that happens? It kind of just bounces? It bounces? Yeah, just like jerks. Just jerks, yeah. Oh. Yeah, you know, all sorts of things can happen when you meditate. So sometimes you have some kind of energy that's been stuck in your body and maybe through the relaxation you're able to bring through meditation, it allows that energy to express itself. Report an error in the passage at 41:17 Highlight the passage at 41:17

41:54 Maybe you've been holding it in and then it's just like, oh, release. And so maybe that can cause a jerking. I don't actually know, but I'm just saying that no matter what happens in your meditation, the like, the like, whatever, cure all. or the standard thing you can apply to anything is, ah, well, no big deal. It's just something new. Report an error in the passage at 41:54 Highlight the passage at 41:54

42:34 I see Report an error in the passage at 42:34 Highlight the passage at 42:34

42:47 an iPad coming. And just bring awareness to it and if you bring awareness to whatever experience and you're not You're practicing sensory strain and you're not leading into craving or aversion and you're just being able to be sort of equanimous with it You know can't go wrong. Can't go wrong. So Report an error in the passage at 42:47 Highlight the passage at 42:47

42:53 Thank you. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 42:53 Highlight the passage at 42:53

42:59 I am a beginner and I have strong difficulties with actually starting to meditate and make it a practice. How can I trick my mind into wanting to stop what it's doing and just sit in meditation instead? Report an error in the passage at 42:59 Highlight the passage at 42:59

43:11 Indeed. You know, I struggled with this for years when I was, like, starting to meditate and I knew it was good and I kind of liked it when it happened. But, yeah, it was really hard. Report an error in the passage at 43:11 Highlight the passage at 43:11

43:24 Really hard to actually stick to it because like anything, there's always something else you find more important if you don't actually find this more important. So really, you kind of, the only way I think that would really have, you know, really work in the long term aside from making New Year's resolutions and having a meditation buddy and all this stuff, I mean, that kind of helps. Report an error in the passage at 43:24 Highlight the passage at 43:24

43:46 But what you've got to do is actually meditate a little bit and just do a little bit each day. Until you start feeling some kind of benefit from it, you know, I would say even in your first sitting, I mean, honestly, when you just take one deep breath in the middle of a stressful moment or stressful day, anyone can do that. Report an error in the passage at 43:46 Highlight the passage at 43:46

44:11 Doesn't that bring you a bit of relief already? Like one breath? Report an error in the passage at 44:11 Highlight the passage at 44:11

44:18 So if that's all you can handle as your meditation, like, you know, resolution for the day, just take one breath and notice its benefit. Report an error in the passage at 44:18 Highlight the passage at 44:18

44:32 And you will naturally be motivated. I'm going to do another breath tomorrow. Yeah. And then the more you do it, you're going to actually want to do two breaths and three breaths. And so just start humble, but notice the benefit. And I remember the story Ajahn Ram told, which I thought, oh, very good story. Report an error in the passage at 44:32 Highlight the passage at 44:32

44:51 I think he was some young, traveling days, and he went to like... Paris, and there was, I don't know why these details matter, but I remember them. And then, you know, he met some guy at the Eiffel Tower, and they, you know, had coffee on the sidewalk, al fresco as you do in Paris. And he said that the guy was also a meditator, so they had stuff to talk about. And Ajahn Brahm even said, yeah, it was hard for him to do it every day and start a daily practice. Report an error in the passage at 44:51 Highlight the passage at 44:51

45:19 So come on, you know, you, everyone, everyone starts from that. And the guy, the French guy or the other guy, whatever he was, he said, oh, you know, every time you meditate at the end, you should ask yourself, oh, what benefit did I experience of anything? Is there any difference at the end than when I first began? Such a simple question. It's not a loaded question. Just is there any difference at the end than when I first began? Report an error in the passage at 45:19 Highlight the passage at 45:19

45:46 And if you honestly answer the question, it'll be like, I think. I do feel a little better. Even from one breath, you can notice you kind of feel a bit better. So every time you reflect like that at the end of your meditation sitting, no matter how short it is, you might think, oh, it doesn't count, it's only two minutes. Report an error in the passage at 45:46 Highlight the passage at 45:46

46:02 But if you notice the subtle benefit, that will encourage you and motivate you just naturally without any force to sit longer. So for me, I finally was able to establish a daily practice after I went to a 10-day retreat. I'd been to a 7-day retreat. It was only my first 10-day retreat when I really felt, oh, how nice when the mind is not constantly singing. Report an error in the passage at 46:02 Highlight the passage at 46:02

46:25 I mean, a little bit here and there, but, you know. And how nice it is when there's a bit of, you know, just equanimity and, like, more easily touching to the kindness inside of yourself. And you're like, wow, I want to preserve this. I want to keep meditating because this is so nice. So that's when I was finally able to establish a daily practice, when I really, you know, experienced enough benefit to motivate me to keep going. Report an error in the passage at 46:25 Highlight the passage at 46:25

46:53 So I think that is the best method. But you can't force it, right? So don't sit for any longer than you really feel is, you know, like comfortable for you. You know, you can push the envelope a little bit, but start humble and start consistent. That's most important. Okay, question from the UK. Ajahn, the Buddha said anger arises from focusing on a repulsive object. What should we do when that repulsive object arises during meditation? Report an error in the passage at 46:53 Highlight the passage at 46:53

47:19 Thanks. Oh, we just did that today on purpose. We actually intensely brought up a repulsive object. That seems a bit harsh language. Maybe an object, like I said, an object of aversion. But even if you bring up a repulsive object or it shows up in your mind because... what it is that you consider a repulsive object. Sometimes something that we've been, you know, worked up about in our day comes up in our mind when we meditate, and so that repulsive object comes up. Report an error in the passage at 47:19 Highlight the passage at 47:19

47:47 So what do we do with it? Well, here's our chance. Here's our chance to actually bring some awareness to it. Bring some, like, in the day, you're just like, okay, whatever, whatever. You brush it off, you move on to your next thing and finish your task and whatever. And so you haven't quite processed that repulsive object that had come into your, you you know. know, into your life. Report an error in the passage at 47:47 Highlight the passage at 47:47

48:07 During the day, so when you meditate, and this is another reason why it's good to have a daily practice, is because you can process all of those difficult things that come up during the day and they don't just get stuffed somewhere into your, you know, big pile of random unprocessed repressed emotions, you know, and so you can bring it, not even, you don't even have to bring it up, it'll come up in your mind when you have a bit of space. Report an error in the passage at 48:07 Highlight the passage at 48:07

48:30 For it to come up. And then you do that same simple practice of like, okay, how does it make me feel? How does it feel in my body? Can I be with that feeling without reacting to that feeling? And when I'm able to be with that feeling with openness, kindness, equanimity, whatever angle you want to take on it, and be able to sit with it until it passes, then what does that do to my level of aversion to that thing? Report an error in the passage at 48:30 Highlight the passage at 48:30

48:59 You know, you can notice that. And you don't have to like analyze, like, oh, why do I hate this thing? Or why does it build up? Forget it, you know, just go to your body and it's simpler. And then when you're calmed down, you can kind of be like, okay, what perceptions do I have that make me find this object so repulsive? I mean, like, if it's a person that you don't like, it's like, why do they have friends? Report an error in the passage at 48:59 Highlight the passage at 48:59

49:19 Like, how can it be? It seems like completely like, you know, like unfathomable what people can like in this person. They obviously do. These people have friends, you know. And so, you know, then you can try to shift your perceptions and, you know, not just be stuck on your one perception of fixed perception of anyone or anything and kind of try to see things from different angles. Report an error in the passage at 49:19 Highlight the passage at 49:19

49:43 Because when your mind is more calm and soft, it can be more flexible. Then it's able to do that. But when your mind is too, you know, it's either too disturbed or it's too caught up in rigidity. I am right. We know that one, right? Because we're always right. But when it's rigid like that, it can't shift the perceptions. There's no movement possible. Report an error in the passage at 49:43 Highlight the passage at 49:43

50:04 You're just stuck in your perception box. And then that's where the repulsion continues. So yeah, develop some kind of Learning how to relate to the object in a more beneficial way in our meditation allows us to develop the flexibility to play with our perceptions. So that would be my answer for that one. Hope that helps. And then question from Germany. Dear Ajahn, what is a feeling? If there is no self, how can there be feelings? Report an error in the passage at 50:04 Highlight the passage at 50:04

50:30 Thank you kindly. Yeah, it's a problem with English. Everybody learn Pāli. Because English, it doesn't do it justice. You know, feeling. Report an error in the passage at 50:30 Highlight the passage at 50:30

50:43 What is it? It's like sometimes it's used to explain emotional states. Sometimes it's used to explain just sensation, a physical sensation, you know? So when I'm talking about feeling, I'm talking about, yeah, the way I was using it today in talking about sense restraint is just the affective tone. I don't know if that's a more complicated word, but you know that whether it's Pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral? Is your experience, does it feel pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral in that sense? Not like, do I feel angry or sad about it, but what's the tone of it? Report an error in the passage at 50:43 Highlight the passage at 50:43

51:18 And if there is no self, how can there be feelings? Well, feelings are feelings, period. You don't have to have a self to feel feelings. They exist. Only consciousness has to know. All you need is consciousness to be aware of the feelings, and you've got feelings. So whether you have an overlay of a sense of self or you're an arahant, you have no sense of self. An arahant still feels things. They experience the world. Report an error in the passage at 51:18 Highlight the passage at 51:18

51:44 They still live in, you know, a world where they are seeing things, hearing things, touching things, smelling things, you know, tasting things. And those different sense contexts will bring up a pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral tone. It's something experienced just by the nature of having sense bases and consciousness. So you don't have to have a self, you know, to have feelings in that sense. Report an error in the passage at 51:44 Highlight the passage at 51:44

52:10 You don't have to have a self to even have feelings in the English word sense, anger or sadness, whatever. These are all experiences that you just, they will exist or be known as long as you have consciousness. So really, the thing is, as long as you have consciousness, you're going to have any of the other five khandhas, any of the other, yeah, the four other khandhas. So, yeah, so don't worry. Report an error in the passage at 52:10 Highlight the passage at 52:10

52:35 If you have a self and you have feelings, that's the same as if you don't have, you've seen non-self, you still have feelings, the so-called you. Oh, talking about non-self and feelings, these are all such confusing words in English, but that's the best I can do. So hope that helped. Okay. It's four on the dot. Yes, one more. So when we are thinking, meditating, should we focus on something positive? Report an error in the passage at 52:35 Highlight the passage at 52:35

53:03 Because I notice that I'm focusing on the thing that I want to not think. So will it lead into more cravings? Will it what? Cravings. Because it feels me peaceful with the thought, but then again, I don't want that thought, so will it lead to cravings? If you want the thought. Like if I think of it during meditation. Oh. Well, see, meditation is a very broad word. Report an error in the passage at 53:03 Highlight the passage at 53:03

53:32 You can, you know, if you define meditation as sort of bringing mindfulness or awareness or whatever, a knowing, the knowingness of whatever you're experiencing, you can experience craving and then, you know, explore that experience. The mind is so fast. Like, in the moment of craving, it's unwholesome. But in the next little moment, you know, just one microsecond or whatever it is, you know, you can have the knowingness that knows you just had craving. Report an error in the passage at 53:32 Highlight the passage at 53:32

54:06 And then you can experience the craving leads to some physical manifestations that last beyond just that initial, you know, sense impact. And so then you can become aware of those feelings and then you kind of get to know what craving actually feels like. It's like you can't be like, I don't want to have craving in my meditation because then you'll never understand what craving actually feels like. Report an error in the passage at 54:06 Highlight the passage at 54:06

54:30 And craving feels like crap. Craving is actually, it doesn't feel good. So then you'll be, if you actually have that experience of knowing that actually craving is a very unpleasant experience, then... You'll be less likely to entertain your cravings, especially when you see that one craving once satisfied leads to another craving and then another craving. Report an error in the passage at 54:30 Highlight the passage at 54:30

54:53 And so then it's only through your experience through so-called meditation that you can develop that understanding. So yeah, it's like everything is meditation in that sense. Thank you. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 54:53 Highlight the passage at 54:53

55:09 Okay. Is that Uncle Eddie back there? I'm getting blind. I'm getting deaf. I'm only 47. I don't know what's happening. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 55:09 Highlight the passage at 55:09

55:23 Ajahn Munissara, can you tell us something between the similarities or differences between meditation and personal quiet chanting? Report an error in the passage at 55:23 Highlight the passage at 55:23

55:40 Personal quiet chanting? I mean, that's also, you know, like, it depends how you define meditation. For me, I consider, Meditation is a broad word that includes any kind of mental cultivation. Meditation often connotes cultivating mindfulness and states of stillness, so you can use that framework. Report an error in the passage at 55:40 Highlight the passage at 55:40

56:11 Mantra practice is such a big practice in... All schools of Buddhism, I mean, what is Budo but a mantra? What is Om Mani Padme Hum? It's a mantra. You know, in Chinese, they might do, you know, some kind of Kuan Yin mantra or something. Everybody uses mantras because it's effective. The wisdom of the ages has shown us that, you know, we have a mind that likes to think. So let it think a wholesome, repeated thing. And it'll take up the space in our mind from our random proliferations and then just be like, om mani padme hum, om mani padme hum, you know. Report an error in the passage at 56:11 Highlight the passage at 56:11

56:43 And then it will keep your mind, you know, at least from being dispersed and distracted enough. It's not completely silent yet because you've got om mani padme hum going, but at least it's a very kind of focused. Kind of a thinking track. And it's also, if you know the meaning, or even if you don't know the meaning, mantras can be very calming. Especially, I find, when a mantra is in a foreign language, can be very calming. Report an error in the passage at 56:43 Highlight the passage at 56:43

57:12 Because I keep on, I'm doing this in Dharma school tomorrow. I'm milking it for all it's worth. But any Chinese speakers here, Auntie Burr, you know, you know, you're like, you're like, at first we were doing this, I went to this monastery in America where they're doing Tibetan, Chinese chanting, all sorts of chanting. Report an error in the passage at 57:12 Highlight the passage at 57:12

57:29 And at first I was like, they were just doing it. And I was like, it's so calming. It's so calming. And I'm like, why are they just showing me the pinyin? What does it actually mean? And then I figured it out from the, They didn't match the words, but I figured out from the English translation that it's homage to our fundamental teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha. And I was like, oh, Namo Bunshu must mean fundamental, because Shutyamuni is Shakyamuni. Report an error in the passage at 57:29 Highlight the passage at 57:29

57:55 I was like, oh, Shutyamuni, I know that guy, Shakyamuni. And then Fo is Buddha. So then when I knew the meaning, and it has sort of a calming tone to it, then doing it over and over again, it kind of made me... Report an error in the passage at 57:55 Highlight the passage at 57:55

58:26 emotional. It touches a part of us that's not intellectual. And it can also, if you're reflecting on the qualities of the Buddha, it can also be something that kind of, it touches into those qualities you have in yourself. So you can do it at many levels. Come to Dhamma school tomorrow. I'm totally doing this tomorrow with the kids. So if you're interested, what is it, 8.30 in the morning? Yeah, so we can explore how we can use mantra on different levels. Report an error in the passage at 58:26 Highlight the passage at 58:26

58:53 But yeah, I think it's a totally, like it's a great meditation practice. And sometimes your mind becomes so peaceful, it drops the mantra. That's what they always say about Budo. You use Budo, Budo, Budo at first, or you use whatever mantra. Then after a while, your mind is so peaceful, it just naturally drops it. Report an error in the passage at 58:53 Highlight the passage at 58:53

58:46 9? What is it? 8.30 in the morning? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 58:46 Highlight the passage at 58:46

59:08 And then it's ready to be with a more subtle meditation object. And then it's sort of a doorway to other practices too. So, yeah, there's no... That's the reason why Om Mani Padme Hum is so popular. It's effective. Yes. Just one quickly. Recently, I came here to do meditation here. It was only two, three weeks ago, I think. And this guy was here. He was playing this meditation music. It was so very good. Report an error in the passage at 59:08 Highlight the passage at 59:08

59:38 I said, no, no, you keep going on. After that, I talked to him. He says, you Google meditation music. And then the first one, you get it. So when I went back, I Googled the meditation music, and a few came out. And I chose the one which is similar to what he had. And then I played. It was so soothing. In fact, I was going to ask Ajahn Brahm during his talk. Now I ask you. Report an error in the passage at 59:38 Highlight the passage at 59:38

1:00:07 It's a meditation music, you know. It's so very calming to, when you listen to it, extremely calming. Yeah, you know, I feel it. But it's only, I talk to you now, but if you really listen to it, then you will know. Yeah, I don't know which meditation music, there's many kinds. Many, yeah. There's many kinds, yeah. Yeah, depending how it suits you, you know. This one has got... Report an error in the passage at 1:00:07 Highlight the passage at 1:00:07

1:00:33 I can't describe it. You'll have to send me the link. Google meditation music and then choose the one you like. You play this thing and you can see it's so relaxing, you know, I find. Yeah, you know, it depends on, yeah, if it's kind of a not so melodic, no instruments kind of music. No, no, it's just like a bell ding, ding. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:33 Highlight the passage at 1:00:33

1:00:59 I mean, frankly, it sounds like a lot of the bells, the use of bell instruments in chanting. Just a little background for bells. Very nice. They have an effect, you know. This is why monasteries in all traditions all over the world, they have bells. Because there's something about the resounding sound of a bell. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:59 Highlight the passage at 1:00:59

1:01:17 It's so peaceful. Because you know why? It brings you into the present moment so easily. You just stay with the resonance of the sound. I remember one meditation retreat I went to, Plum Village style, and it was like I was in such a distraught state of mind. I was like, the only thing I could do was listen to the bell. You know, it's like all this meditation is like whatever. But whenever they just rung the bell at the beginning of the meditation or at the end, I'm like, ah, I'm in the present moment. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:17 Highlight the passage at 1:01:17

1:01:46 I'm peaceful. So bells, you know, I feel. You can't make generalizations like, oh, meditation music is bad or whatever. Because honestly, if you listen to so much of the chanting and even Theravāda, so much of it is like, it's very sing-song, let me tell you. Especially Sri Lankan chanting. There's a lot of up and down. There's a melody there, let's be honest. And so that actually can be very calming. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:46 Highlight the passage at 1:01:46

1:02:14 So we see what happens in your mind. But if it ends up beginning to be a tune, this happens to me. Even Om Mani Padme Hum can be perverted into a tune. If you start feeling, hey, when I start catching myself saying, hey, it's not a song. It's like, wait, Report an error in the passage at 1:02:14 Highlight the passage at 1:02:14

1:02:35 wait, wait, it's not a song, it's not a song. And you have to come back to like, no, no, where is my mind going with this? And then you're the one who knows whether using it as meditation music or meditation mantra. Wait, wait. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:35 Highlight the passage at 1:02:35

1:02:46 And that's something which we have to track for ourselves. So if it's helping us develop truly peaceful, calm, bright states, then yay, go for it. But if it's not, then you can pervert anything. Yes, sure. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:46 Highlight the passage at 1:02:46

1:03:02 Okay, no more customers. That's okay. Maybe it's time to call it a day. Call it a day. Day. Okay. Well, thank you, everybody, for your questions. And now we will bow out. I have a knee injury, so I will not kneel. I will just bow out standing, but everybody bow out normally if you can. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:02 Highlight the passage at 1:03:02