Guided Meditation

0:00 So let's be serious. Sometimes I just can't be serious. But anyhow, welcome everybody. For those of you who come into the introduction to meditation class, that is being held in the room to my right over here. As you go out of the door, turn right in the next room, where Bianca is teaching the introduction to meditation class. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:23 She's an incredible teacher. So it's wonderful if any of you... If you want the basics of meditation, that's the place to go. Over here we teach more advanced levels of meditation and this is one of the most important things of our Buddhist society in West Australia to teach that meditation and to teach it deeply. Report an error in the passage at 0:23 Highlight the passage at 0:23

0:48 There is, he was here yesterday, one of our committee members and he also had a similar background which I had. Being taught by this man over in UK about some of the deep meditations and it became known eventually as the Samatha Society. And I have a lot of respect for that group. When they taught me meditation, I had very little idea of what meditation was. Report an error in the passage at 0:48 Highlight the passage at 0:48

1:19 And what they taught me, they said, our main goal in this meditation is to get each one of you Up to the first stage of meditation, the first jhāna. I didn't realize how radical that statement was until much later in my life as a monk. And some people did that. Lay people, you guys, why not? And I know one person who got one of those deep stages of meditation and it was... Report an error in the passage at 1:19 Highlight the passage at 1:19

1:57 It changes a lot of your life. It's a spirituality which is deep, powerful, and what's most important, attainable. It's not just a theory. And so how we were doing that is teaching people how to, what I say these days, relax to the max, so deeply. You really relax. And how you relax? With mindfulness and kindness. Report an error in the passage at 1:57 Highlight the passage at 1:57

2:27 Those two qualities. What you're aware of, you can be aware of it with negativity or you can be aware of it with a sense of wishing it well. Report an error in the passage at 2:27 Highlight the passage at 2:27

2:41 And I say this because a lot of times people have negativity towards themselves. For some reason they feel either through guilt or through having done some actions they feel Not happy with and they're having a difficult time just being at peace and being happy. Even some of us when we get old or we get sick, ill, some of those diseases we have to face in life can be very threatening. Report an error in the passage at 2:41 Highlight the passage at 2:41

3:18 What do we do about them? And the wonderful thing is about this meditation, when you know how to make peace with your body, And peace with your mind, very deeply. It's amazing how bodies tend to get so much better. And of course, I can't say this unless I know it through personal experiences as well. Report an error in the passage at 3:18 Highlight the passage at 3:18

3:44 Many times you thought you were really getting extremely sick. One time when I was a young monk in Thailand, never knew what disease I had, and eventually They found out it was scrub typhus, which is a disease just the same as typhus. And on the outside, that's what it looks like, but they couldn't find any typhoid inside of my blood. Report an error in the passage at 3:44 Highlight the passage at 3:44

4:12 And it was just scrub typhus. The reason they could not find it was because all the locals had immunity. You only got it once, and then you were free of it for life. So many of us Western monks going up to this area, Report an error in the passage at 4:12 Highlight the passage at 4:12

4:33 It would usually recover by itself. I had a bad case of it. I remember being in hospital. This was hospital in Ubon. It's no negative report on Ubon, but that's a very poor country at that time. And that was one of the most deprived parts of Thailand at that time in the northeast. on. Report an error in the passage at 4:33 Highlight the passage at 4:33

5:01 And so they were trying their very best, but I was getting weaker and weaker and weaker. And to this day, I'm 74 now, and that was the weakest, at least, energy I've ever had in my life. You really thought, you know, that you were going to pass away because of no energy. But I do remember, recall amazingly, through meditation, I couldn't believe you could meditate with so little energy and fevers. Report an error in the passage at 5:01 Highlight the passage at 5:01

5:31 But you can, when you get into a deep meditation, when you come out afterwards, that's the beginning of the recovery. That's the end of the fever. And it's experiences like that which change the way I teach, was taught over so many years. You know that something works. Why? And this is actually why. even, Report an error in the passage at 5:31 Highlight the passage at 5:31

6:05 Great. Even when you have a cough. Many times I've had a cough. I've loved that cough. You all know this old saying, it's never the cough that carries you off. And I've started it off again. It's my fault. I apologize. But what the nice thing is, that through this meditation you make so many discoveries about even things like your health, how you can relax. Report an error in the passage at 6:05 Highlight the passage at 6:05

6:36 I make great deals of peace and recoveries without intervention from other health authorities. You do it yourself. And that is kind of weird, but it works. Now, once you can calm your body down, your body gets really healthy. This is one of the things I was talking about last night. When the body is really healthy and relaxed, if you look at it carefully, you'll find it actually does appear to be a very happy body. Report an error in the passage at 6:36 Highlight the passage at 6:36

7:17 When I do the leading of the meditation, the guided meditation, the beginning, you'll notice I say that once things are very relaxed, see if you can notice their happiness, their joy. Report an error in the passage at 7:17 Highlight the passage at 7:17

7:31 That is important. It's important because once you can notice the pleasure in a relaxed body, it gives you the incentive to continue, to go deeper. We are beings who have been trained since birth with rewards, sometimes punishments, but those punishments, we understand that they don't work and they're even illegal these days. Report an error in the passage at 7:31 Highlight the passage at 7:31

8:01 Instead, the rewards. Your body feels at ease. Aches and pains can disappear and those things inspire us. It's not what you read in a book, it's what you experience in your own body and then you go to relaxing your own mind. Many people wonder what on earth is this thing we call the mind and after a while, the more you are... Report an error in the passage at 8:01 Highlight the passage at 8:01

8:34 Our experience with it, just by knowing it, seeing how it works, even making mistakes, please don't be afraid to make mistakes. That's where we learn. I always say it's one of the things which I was inspired when I read how the Buddha taught monks and nuns, if you make a mistake, no punishment, learn from it and grow, get better. Report an error in the passage at 8:34 Highlight the passage at 8:34

9:02 That's the only thing you need to do, acknowledge knowledge Work even harder to make sure those mistakes don't happen again. That's growth. So here we learn just how to make the mind peaceful. This is one of those interesting parts whenever I teach a meditation retreat. Mainly the people on that retreat make so many mistakes. Report an error in the passage at 9:02 Highlight the passage at 9:02

9:31 I don't mind. Because I probably made more when I was a young meditator. Follow me. From the mistakes we never give up, instead we learn. And after a while the meditation gets deeper and deeper and deeper. Report an error in the passage at 9:31 Highlight the passage at 9:31

9:49 One of the things which happens in meditation, I only do a 15 minute talk at the beginning, one of the things when we really relax, the body, we know it's happy, we can feel that joy in the body, and then the body disappears. Report an error in the passage at 9:49 Highlight the passage at 9:49

10:08 It's kind of relaxed enough. We don't need to bother with it anymore. And then we get to our mind. And in that mind, there's so much busyness which we have. And don't think, I'm a monk, I don't have any business to perform. You ask Ajahn Brahmali, who's also just finished committee meetings, and you volunteer for his committee meetings, I've got a huge amount of respect for you. Report an error in the passage at 10:08 Highlight the passage at 10:08

10:37 But after a while, do you keep thinking about that? Does it really bother the mind, all the work you do for your living? Or can you go to work, do the job as best you can, and then at the end of the day put it all down and leave it alone? Report an error in the passage at 10:37 Highlight the passage at 10:37

10:58 That's what I was trained to do. What Ajahn Chah taught me, he said that one day I'd be a teacher and I'd be talking to so many people about so much different stuff which I know nothing about, their marriage, problems, work problems, life problems. What do I know about that? I'm a monk. I was trained was in theoretical physics. Report an error in the passage at 10:58 Highlight the passage at 10:58

11:27 What he did say to me, he said, be kind, listen and see what comes up. But after I've talked to any of you, or you've talked to me, His best piece of advice was please try and remember to be a waste paper basket. You accept everything which people give to you, everything. Make sure you're a waste paper basket with a hole in the bottom. You never keep anything. Report an error in the passage at 11:27 Highlight the passage at 11:27

12:13 You let it come in, accept it gracefully and let it go out the bottom. Would you like one of those? So people tell you all their problems and difficulties and after a while you can let it all go. Which means your waste paper basket is always empty for the next person who needs to tell you something. Report an error in the passage at 12:13 Highlight the passage at 12:13

12:42 I thought it was such a brilliant simile which I tried to practice. What it does mean is your mind, your brain doesn't keep too many things. Report an error in the passage at 12:42 Highlight the passage at 12:42

12:54 So you're always open and free. One of the problems of meditators today is they keep too much. All those problems and difficulties. Report an error in the passage at 12:54 Highlight the passage at 12:54

13:07 Can't we just let it go? Or do you need to find a solution for it first? So when we learn how to let things go, at least letting it go for a meditation session, 45 minutes. Don't you deserve that? Report an error in the passage at 13:07 Highlight the passage at 13:07

13:26 Say to yourself, I do deserve this. So see if you can put aside all of those problems and difficulties and duties, all that unfinished business, so you can be peaceful and free. Report an error in the passage at 13:26 Highlight the passage at 13:26

13:40 Once you can do that, there's not much to think about. If you let go of the difficult problems, then the easy problems should be even obviously more simple. You just leave them alone. Report an error in the passage at 13:40 Highlight the passage at 13:40

13:57 One of my tricks, which I continue to practice, if there is any problems in my life, especially before meditation, I always let them go. Not the right time to think of them now. You find solutions later. I'm not saying that's just not doing your duties or being negligent. When the mind is peaceful and free, it's amazing how much more power it has. Report an error in the passage at 13:57 Highlight the passage at 13:57

14:29 You can find amazing solutions to difficult problems when you don't try and find solutions straight away. You let the solutions come to you. I know that may sound like some spiritual hogwash. I've never had a job as a CEO in a company, but it actually works. Leave the problem alone for a while, and then when the mind has a chance, To seize the problems and solutions, it always comes. Even ordinary problems, I'm going to stop soon because I always talk too long. Report an error in the passage at 14:29 Highlight the passage at 14:29

15:14 On Saturdays, when I come to Nala Mala, one of my indulgences is doing the cryptic crosswords. There's a difficult one today in the West Australian, so I just read it. Do the best I can and the difficult problems I just don't even think about. I just do the meditation, take rest, do other duties and then the solutions come all by themselves. Report an error in the passage at 15:14 Highlight the passage at 15:14

15:52 It's a weird phenomena how to use your mind without forcing it and good solutions. This is one of the reasons why You can find solutions to things which you know nothing about, like marriage, like kids, like work. You can find solutions which are innovative when you learn how to stop thinking about them. Report an error in the passage at 15:52 Highlight the passage at 15:52

16:20 I've done that so many times now. I value that silence. And when I start valuing the silence, then the silence grows. And you come to a pivot point in meditation. Report an error in the passage at 16:20 Highlight the passage at 16:20

16:39 I kind of like the term pivot point. It's a time when you're meditating and you start to experience the joy and happiness of a peaceful still mind. Report an error in the passage at 16:39 Highlight the passage at 16:39

16:54 Even though you don't know why yet, once you can experience that peace and joy in the mind, you are getting closer to some of these goals in meditation. Some of these states where you feel so free and light and joyful. Once you start to experience those, then the meditation takes off. So I call it pivot point. And of course, personally I get nothing out of this, except the joy in seeing meditators come to me and say they saw this beautiful light in the mind. Report an error in the passage at 16:54 Highlight the passage at 16:54

17:33 They really did have a lot of happiness, a lot of joy, a lot of solutions. To almost insoluble problems. You see it for yourself. You don't need to check is that what it says in the suttas and the Buddha's teachings. You have that as your reality and it works. And then, and then, I always find that it is exactly how the Buddha taught. Report an error in the passage at 17:33 Highlight the passage at 17:33

18:04 I missed a couple of points early on. But then they get told to me by great monks like Ajahn Brahmali. And you realize, wow, the best way of understanding deep meditation is experiencing it for yourself. Report an error in the passage at 18:04 Highlight the passage at 18:04

18:22 So, let's give it a try. Number one, each one of you can do this. It's possible. I cannot predict which ones get these beautiful states of mind. Just know you keep on going. Get to that pivot point of happiness in the meditation. Then the rest, I just need to encourage you to carry on. This is more important than anything else. Report an error in the passage at 18:22 Highlight the passage at 18:22

18:56 Okay, so let's get started. So, as you're sitting, if you need to adjust your posture, please do so. Is that comfortable for you? If you get here early enough, you can claim that as yours. Report an error in the passage at 18:56 Highlight the passage at 18:56

19:13 So let's get going. Report an error in the passage at 19:13 Highlight the passage at 19:13

19:19 So you sit down and close your eyes. Report an error in the passage at 19:19 Highlight the passage at 19:19

19:26 The reason we close our eyes is because there's less distractions. Report an error in the passage at 19:26 Highlight the passage at 19:26

19:34 When you close your eyes, I often imagine I'm in a cave. I love caves. They're natural, they're peaceful, they're dark, and they're usually soundproof. So Report an error in the passage at 19:34 Highlight the passage at 19:34

19:55 this is my little cave, which I imagine I'm in, in Noamara. It's a seat I usually park my body on. Report an error in the passage at 19:55 Highlight the passage at 19:55

20:09 And the first thing I do, even if I'm in a cave of a serpentine, is make sure that my body is in a good position. I never assume it. Report an error in the passage at 20:09 Highlight the passage at 20:09

20:27 I check my feet first. Even though I first look at my feet, I know my feet well enough. They're in a good position. They don't need much. Nevertheless, I become aware of every toe. Report an error in the passage at 20:27 Highlight the passage at 20:27

20:51 I can feel them. Report an error in the passage at 20:51 Highlight the passage at 20:51

20:55 As I feel every toe, because my attention is confined in that small area of toes in both feet, and there's nothing which is disturbing there, Report an error in the passage at 20:55 Highlight the passage at 20:55

21:14 I start, please excuse me, I really mean this, I start to feel happiness in my toes. Report an error in the passage at 21:14 Highlight the passage at 21:14

21:26 It's light and joyful. It's one of the things you recognized years ago. That good relaxation, when the body is at ease, deeply at ease, feels pleasurable. And Report an error in the passage at 21:26 Highlight the passage at 21:26

21:49 often I use this if I need to go to sleep at the wrong times, I've been traveling jet-lagged or something. Being able to feel the sensations in the body, in a small area, relax them to the max, until I feel that happiness. I let that happiness be. Report an error in the passage at 21:49 Highlight the passage at 21:49

22:13 It relaxes so deeply. There are times when I'm surprised I've never had such relaxed toes before. This is just the start. And I move my attention up my feet, soles of the feet, the heels, the uppers, and all those things inside. Report an error in the passage at 22:13 Highlight the passage at 22:13

22:42 I don't give a name to those feelings. A lot of times I don't have names. I just know them. Report an error in the passage at 22:42 Highlight the passage at 22:42

22:53 I don't try and find a name. I enjoy the fact that those feet are at ease and so relaxed and Report an error in the passage at 22:53 Highlight the passage at 22:53

23:09 that leads me to carry on sweeping that attention from past my feet to my ankles. Sometimes you can twist an ankle and it kind of aches even though it's not a danger to you. Report an error in the passage at 23:09 Highlight the passage at 23:09

23:25 So you learn how to relax it. Report an error in the passage at 23:25 Highlight the passage at 23:25

23:32 Each of us Find your own way of relaxation. I like just trying to free any commands, any trying to hold my ankles this way or that way, to let them be totally at peace. Report an error in the passage at 23:32 Highlight the passage at 23:32

23:52 I don't tell my body what to do. I let it be. Report an error in the passage at 23:52 Highlight the passage at 23:52

24:01 And then my body relaxes so beautifully. I allow it to relax. Okay, and sometimes people say, Ajahn Brahm, you should take more attention and care on how you look so you can impress people. I say, no way. My body is free. If it looks good, great. If it doesn't look good, don't care. As long as it feels good. Report an error in the passage at 24:01 Highlight the passage at 24:01

24:41 As I go up my legs, up my lower legs, calves, muscles in the back of my legs, Blood vessels, bones, skin, as I sweep it up slowly, just paying attention with kindness, actually heals. It makes those sensations in my lower legs relax my body. Report an error in the passage at 24:41 Highlight the passage at 24:41

25:19 It's as if you've ever been pushed and pulled and told what to do. Sometimes it's hard to relax. But if you are feeling free, and all those muscles feel free, and they can expand and relax and loosen up and be at ease, after a while it's a beautiful feeling. I go to my knees. Those knees, I kind of learned how to open them up to make sure that all of those passages within my knees are free. Report an error in the passage at 25:19 Highlight the passage at 25:19

26:00 So whatever flows through those knees can flow through with no blockage. It's a beautiful expression of freedom with nothing blocking anything. Report an error in the passage at 26:00 Highlight the passage at 26:00

26:15 It can flow just without any impediment. Report an error in the passage at 26:15 Highlight the passage at 26:15

26:23 That's why when we get onto the mind we have this word, the five hindrances, to try and make sure we have no mental impediments, blockages. Report an error in the passage at 26:23 Highlight the passage at 26:23

26:39 And once my knees are relaxed and open, go up to the thighs. Really big muscles, but they don't usually cause me much of a problem. Report an error in the passage at 26:39 Highlight the passage at 26:39

26:51 The worst which I get is like a tick bite or something. It just gets itchy. That's not a problem. I go up to my buttocks, sitting on a cushion. There's pressure there. Report an error in the passage at 26:51 Highlight the passage at 26:51

27:11 Without pressure, I make sure it's balanced. Not too much on the front or the back, not too much on one side and little on the other side. Once that feeling in the buttocks is even, I know from experience it soon vanishes until I can't feel any sensations in those buttocks anymore. Report an error in the passage at 27:11 Highlight the passage at 27:11

27:38 That's so nice. Things which are impediments, sensations on the physical body tend to vanish. And when they do, I notice they vanish. They stay vanished for a long time. It feels so free. Even that kind of encourages to carry on. Report an error in the passage at 27:38 Highlight the passage at 27:38

28:07 And you go to my waist. I feel it needs a bit of adjustment, which I'm going to do. I'm never afraid to adjust my posture when you're doing the scanning part of the meditation to make it more comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 28:07 Highlight the passage at 28:07

28:25 And once my waist is Relax. Go up my spine. Years ago, I really injured my spine laying concrete. Report an error in the passage at 28:25 Highlight the passage at 28:25

28:41 Exercises are just what cured it. But at least it made me very aware of the feelings in my back and how to look after them. Report an error in the passage at 28:41 Highlight the passage at 28:41

28:55 It made this meditation on the feelings of the body, the sensations, even more important. Report an error in the passage at 28:55 Highlight the passage at 28:55

29:07 Once my back feels good, I go up my body once more, this time inside, going up the digestive tracts as best I know them. Report an error in the passage at 29:07 Highlight the passage at 29:07

29:23 As I go up, scanning, if I come across anything which feels out of the ordinary, I'll pause there. I'll pause and relax that part. How I usually do that is going right into the middle of it. Report an error in the passage at 29:23 Highlight the passage at 29:23

29:46 I'm spreading this kindness, not forcing anything, but just this feeling of may you be well and happy. I'm really behind you. I'm supporting you. I want you to feel not pushed or embarrassed. Make sure you feel as free as you've ever felt ever before. Nothing pushing, no goals to reach, nothing to escape from. Report an error in the passage at 29:46 Highlight the passage at 29:46

30:19 Because you're happy just to be here and Report an error in the passage at 30:19 Highlight the passage at 30:19

30:26 after a while you notice what those sensations, what those feelings, the way you look at those sensations, how they affect the sensations and Report an error in the passage at 30:26 Highlight the passage at 30:26

30:41 you soon find out how to calm, ease, soothe sensations in your own body when the worst reasons of pain or sickness is called fear. Report an error in the passage at 30:41 Highlight the passage at 30:41

30:57 Fear tenses up your muscles or bones or anything. I always see that as one of the biggest dangers. No fear, I let this sensation be. Report an error in the passage at 30:57 Highlight the passage at 30:57

31:19 As I move up and eventually get to my lungs, I do suffer from hay fever. Sometimes my lungs and the rest of that respiratory system get very itchy. Report an error in the passage at 31:19 Highlight the passage at 31:19

31:38 But a lot of the times, You learn how to relax and then the symptoms of things like hay fever get less and less. I Report an error in the passage at 31:38 Highlight the passage at 31:38

31:55 often use my understanding of science to know when you're meditating you're not breathing that much, you're not metabolizing that much, so you don't need much oxygen, so you don't need to breathe that much. And Report an error in the passage at 31:55 Highlight the passage at 31:55

32:18 then even go up to my heart region. Report an error in the passage at 32:18 Highlight the passage at 32:18

32:22 And there, for me anyway, it's always, always I can feel the result of doing the mindfulness with kindness. I feel this beautiful energy start to build up in that heart region. It's kindness. Report an error in the passage at 32:22 Highlight the passage at 32:22

32:44 You don't want to harm anything. You just want to soothe and give and care for things. And Report an error in the passage at 32:44 Highlight the passage at 32:44

32:55 that just relaxes you as well. And I go further up to my... After my heart region gets to my shoulders, and as I said this last night and say this now again, usually my shoulders are tense. Report an error in the passage at 32:55 Highlight the passage at 32:55

33:14 The last couple of days they've been loose. What do I mean by loose? I'm not holding anything. I'm not pulling or pushing or trying to assume a posture which is going to give me any rewards. Report an error in the passage at 33:14 Highlight the passage at 33:14

33:32 I'm relaxing everything, not holding it tight. Not even holding it at all. I'm asking my muscles in my neck and shoulders, you choose. Report an error in the passage at 33:32 Highlight the passage at 33:32

33:50 It's up to you to find out the most comfortable position for yourself. Just like offering the lady the comfortable chair. It's kind of what I'm doing to my shoulder muscles. Report an error in the passage at 33:50 Highlight the passage at 33:50

34:09 Then I run my attention down my arms, past my elbows, forearms, wrists. Report an error in the passage at 34:09 Highlight the passage at 34:09

34:22 I've had injuries to my arms, fallen off motorbikes, fallen off cliffs, but I know how to relax. And those injuries kind of left no scars. Report an error in the passage at 34:22 Highlight the passage at 34:22

34:44 Finally I get to my hands and my fingers. And I've meditated so much over the years that sometimes I've had beautiful meditations with fingers in one position. Another with fingers in a different position. I don't ever think it's the best position. Instead I ask my own fingers, how are you? Report an error in the passage at 34:44 Highlight the passage at 34:44

35:19 Do you want to be adjusted? Do they have to be honest with you? They say yes. So I adjust them. Report an error in the passage at 35:19 Highlight the passage at 35:19

35:31 If ever you're like that with your body, I hope you experience what I experience, that parts of your body respect you. They realize they're not going to be ignored. So they relax so much more. I've relaxed all my body from the toes up to the neck. It feels good. And I go up my neck. You can feel how it is. There's some tightness, tension there, but not that much. Report an error in the passage at 35:31 Highlight the passage at 35:31

36:08 So I move my head forward and then back to each side to find out the optimum position. Once the optimal position is reached, the head feels balanced. I know that any difficulties will soon vanish. Report an error in the passage at 36:08 Highlight the passage at 36:08

36:33 My head will be at peace without aches or pains. I usually also finish up with being aware of the muscles around my eyes, nose and mouth. A lot of times you can tell if a person has a relaxed face by how they look. Report an error in the passage at 36:33 Highlight the passage at 36:33

37:00 eyes are closed too tight, it's like they're screwed up. must be very painful after a little while. mouth is shut tight. Report an error in the passage at 37:00 Highlight the passage at 37:00

37:10 soon also begets sore. make sure that mouth and eyes are closed. Report an error in the passage at 37:10 Highlight the passage at 37:10

37:25 any tension. Report an error in the passage at 37:25 Highlight the passage at 37:25

37:29 my whole body, here, now putting everything together. The whole body from head to toe is at ease. Report an error in the passage at 37:29 Highlight the passage at 37:29

37:45 And now I do this little exercise of being aware of the whole body. If I see any part of it which needs a bit more relaxation, I will do it straight away. Report an error in the passage at 37:45 Highlight the passage at 37:45

37:59 And now I look for the whole body, its sense of relaxation. It always occurs, it's wonderful. I can see the happiness of a relaxed body. My body feels great. Report an error in the passage at 37:59 Highlight the passage at 37:59

38:20 And then, as I feel it being so relaxed, I feel the happiness of relaxation come. And to me that's so important. When my body feels at ease and happy, the relaxation goes deeper. I Report an error in the passage at 38:20 Highlight the passage at 38:20

38:45 feel satisfied, not critical. I indulge in that for a few minutes and that becomes a really powerful foundation for the mental qualities of awareness and happiness. Report an error in the passage at 38:45 Highlight the passage at 38:45

39:14 A little technique which kind of I practice. I look for peace. What is peace? How does it feel? It just gets me pointed in the correct direction. Peace is a quality of the mind, not of the brain, of the mind. Report an error in the passage at 39:14 Highlight the passage at 39:14

39:42 And once you get to know what peace is, it becomes an even more beautiful object to be aware of. Report an error in the passage at 39:42 Highlight the passage at 39:42

39:53 You're actually experiencing peace. How rare that is in this world and Report an error in the passage at 39:53 Highlight the passage at 39:53

40:03 how many levels of peace there are. What causes that peace? Not having anything to be concerned about with your body. That part of your life has been settled for a while. Report an error in the passage at 40:03 Highlight the passage at 40:03

40:27 So be careful. Too much past and future will destroy that peace. You'll be thinking too much. Report an error in the passage at 40:27 Highlight the passage at 40:27

40:43 Years and years ago I decided that's not the way to go, thinking. Instead, in peace, you start noticing silence. In Report an error in the passage at 40:43 Highlight the passage at 40:43

41:07 silence you don't give anything names. You Report an error in the passage at 41:07 Highlight the passage at 41:07

41:14 feel this moment, understand its emotional quality. Soon Report an error in the passage at 41:14 Highlight the passage at 41:14

41:27 the happiness gets deeper and more solid. You Report an error in the passage at 41:27 Highlight the passage at 41:27

41:35 feel your way. Into deep meditation. You never think your way. It Report an error in the passage at 41:35 Highlight the passage at 41:35

41:44 feels right. It's happy. Then carry on. I will now be quiet until the end of the meditation. Report an error in the passage at 41:44 Highlight the passage at 41:44

41:59 Another ten minutes. So Report an error in the passage at 41:59 Highlight the passage at 41:59

· · · silence, 13 minutes

54:42 coming close to the end of this meditation, how do you feel? What's it like inside? Is Report an error in the passage at 54:42 Highlight the passage at 54:42

54:58 this pleasant? Have Report an error in the passage at 54:58 Highlight the passage at 54:58

55:05 you developed some happiness again? Report an error in the passage at 55:05 Highlight the passage at 55:05

55:21 Don't try and find solutions. Let solutions come to you. How Report an error in the passage at 55:21 Highlight the passage at 55:21

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56:04 does the body feel? Report an error in the passage at 56:04 Highlight the passage at 56:04

56:15 Sometimes I'm amazed. I've been looking at the body for a while and it relaxes and feels so free. And Report an error in the passage at 56:15 Highlight the passage at 56:15

56:35 when you are ready, I'm going to ring the gong to invite you out from the meditation. Thank Report an error in the passage at 56:35 Highlight the passage at 56:35

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57:23 you. Report an error in the passage at 57:23 Highlight the passage at 57:23

57:29 That's so fast. Report an error in the passage at 57:29 Highlight the passage at 57:29

57:34 That's some really good people who serve our society. Here we go, first question. Dear Ajahn, do out-of-body experiences occur in the limiter stage of meditation or prior to it? Is it when the body is gone and all you feel is a gorgeous energy? Any tips? Thank you. Sometimes I don't know why people even want out-of-the-body experiences. Report an error in the passage at 57:34 Highlight the passage at 57:34

58:03 It was me, and you had the choice. You'd allow the nimittas, beautiful lights in the mind, to actually get so powerful, the body's kind of vanished for you. Report an error in the passage at 58:03 Highlight the passage at 58:03

58:17 So out-of-body experiences, usually maybe after you've had some deep meditations. From Poland, Dear Ajahn, During meditation, I see only colors, purples, blues, and greens, and I feel like I've come home. Report an error in the passage at 58:17 Highlight the passage at 58:17

58:40 Hang on. What's the flag of Poland? Is it purple, blue and green? Red and white. Okay, thank you. So you haven't come back to Poland. But the purples, blues and greens, if they are more blue than any blue you've ever seen, more purple than any purple, rich, deep, powerful, then those are really great nimittas, good colours. Report an error in the passage at 58:40 Highlight the passage at 58:40

59:13 And they're stable. The deeper, the more powerful, the better. Recently my colours have started changing into other colours and visions I don't fully understand. I feel like my energy is changing, not only mine but also everyone's. Does this indicate a change? No, not always. It's just how we perceive things changes. Report an error in the passage at 59:13 Highlight the passage at 59:13

59:35 The things don't change themselves, it's our perceptions. But as long as it gets more peaceful, more beautiful, wonderful. Report an error in the passage at 59:35 Highlight the passage at 59:35

59:44 Those nimittas, they should be very delightful to watch. As you watch them more and more, they get more delightful, more stable, more peaceful. They get incredibly delightful. And then, of course, there's the experience of just falling into them or them enveloping you. You don't ever do that. You let it happen. And when you go into there, that becomes a jhāna experience from the UK. Report an error in the passage at 59:44 Highlight the passage at 59:44

1:00:18 Is there a benefit to meditating longer, for example, two hours better than one hour? You can't even just judge by timing the meditation. Usually, in general, the longer you meditate, kind of the deeper you can go. But don't force it. There are times when you meditate, you just don't want to get up. Great, stay. But don't force anything. From Sri Lanka, Dear Ajahn, When someone becomes enlightened, do they see the reality as a picture in meditation? Is nibbāna a thing that exists? Does nothing exist? Report an error in the passage at 1:00:18 Highlight the passage at 1:00:18

1:01:01 It's kind of an oxymoron. Nibbāna when things vanish. Freedom. The idea of nibbāna is real. But actually to understand what it means, that is far deeper than a question like the one which has just been asked. You don't look at it as a picture in meditation. It's just that feeling that things have vanished and there's hardly anything left and you're free. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:01 Highlight the passage at 1:01:01

1:01:31 It proves to you how little you need and actually how little you are, which is beautiful. Don't try and find out who you are. To get success in meditation, please focus on what you're not and what's missing and what's not essential. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:31 Highlight the passage at 1:01:31

1:01:54 Otherwise, you'll have more burdens to carry. And if you have burdens, that's not Nibbāna. Okay. Got some good questions these days. So, any questions from any one of you? I Report an error in the passage at 1:01:54 Highlight the passage at 1:01:54

1:02:17 know in the last year, I always had that schedule from 3 to 3.15, a little talk. I went a little bit over this time for 3.20. And then 40-minute meditation. And then followed by... Questions till 4.15. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:17 Highlight the passage at 1:02:17

1:02:39 I think that's still the schedule, isn't it? It's what I've been doing for years. So anyway, the opportunity for questions is great. But if there's no questions... Okay, yes. There is a question. Good. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:39 Highlight the passage at 1:02:39

1:03:01 Have you heard any good jokes recently? Report an error in the passage at 1:03:01 Highlight the passage at 1:03:01

1:03:08 I've heard many bad jokes. Which one would you prefer? A bad one or a good one? Yes, there's lots of... Good jokes. You know sometimes when you get some nice meditation going, even I just notice the jokes kind of disappear. The best time to ask that question is at the beginning of the talks. Yes I have, Report an error in the passage at 1:03:08 Highlight the passage at 1:03:08

1:03:46 but I don't think it's the right time to tell them. Perfect. Is that okay? Absolutely. Excellent, great. Was that funny? No, not really. Okay. So we can... What happens now is we finish off, we bow three times, and then afterwards, that's when people start lining up. That's when the real questions come. I accept that. So anyway, thank you all for coming today, and I hope you had some very beautiful meditations. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:46 Highlight the passage at 1:03:46

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1:05:43 Okay. I often said that if... You have a duty to perform and you keep thinking about it, you never get a good answer. But without thinking about it, there was this kid who was going to the school prom and he said, it's too much problem to go to a prom. But his girlfriend said, no, come on. So the kid decided, okay. He went to get the tickets for the school prom and he had to queue in line for a long time to get the tickets. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:43 Highlight the passage at 1:05:43

1:06:18 He got a couple of good tickets, and then he had to go and get a good suit to wear, to hire one. Again, he went to the shop. It's prom season, so he had to wait in a line, in a queue, to get the suit. Then he had to get a cab or a limo or something to take his girlfriend to the prom. And again, he went to the shop, had to wait in a queue. And then... Report an error in the passage at 1:06:18 Highlight the passage at 1:06:18

1:06:47 He had to get the flowers. He had to wait in line for the flowers. He always had to wait in line. And even when he went to the venue, he had to wait in line where people checked everything. But then, when he went to get a drink, there was no punchline. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:47 Highlight the passage at 1:06:47

1:07:13 You asked for it. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:13 Highlight the passage at 1:07:13

1:07:22 You got one. An ex-president. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:22 Highlight the passage at 1:07:22

1:07:32 When I was in high school, I always wanted to be an Olympic hurdler. But then I got over it. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:32 Highlight the passage at 1:07:32