Day One: Morning Instructions (Retreat at Spirit Rock)

0:01 This morning we'd like to begin the progression of meditation instructions. When we practiced in Burma and in India, generally all the instructions were given at one time. And so the whole range of how to be with the breath and the body and feelings and sensations and mind states and thoughts and emotions, it was all... In one half hour, all the instructions were given and then we were off on our own. When we came back to the States and started teaching, where people did not necessarily have a background, you know, in the Buddhist teachings or the meditation instructions, we found it more helpful to actually break up the instructions and each day emphasize one or more aspects of it. And so over the course of the retreat, we'll cover all of that material, but it'll be in a slightly more graduated way. Suggest a fix for the passage at 0:01

1:12 You know, as most of, probably all of you may know, the name in Pāli for this kind of meditation is Vipassanā. And the literal meaning of that word, Vipassanā, is seeing things clearly or seeing things in a special way. Suggest a fix for the passage at 1:12

1:33 So if somebody asks you what kind of meditation you're practicing, You can say, I'm practicing seeing clearly meditation, because that's what the whole essence of the practice is about, and all the wisdom that is derived when we can see clearly, freed from the clouds of our conditioned delusions. Suggest a fix for the passage at 1:33

1:59 The methodology for seeing clearly, methodology for developing the skill, and it is a skill which takes practice, The way we develop this skill to see clearly is through mindfulness. And this is one of the great contributions of the Buddha's awakening to our own path. The instructions for Vipassanā practice, for seeing clearly practice, are all contained in one amazing discourse of the Buddha, which again many of you are probably familiar with. It's called the Satipaṭṭhāna discourse. Which means the discourse of the sutta on the four foundations of mindfulness. Or the four ways of establishing mindfulness. And what's amazing is that in a few short pages, the whole discourse, I'm not sure, maybe eight pages, nine pages, there are over 50 different approaches to doing vipassanā contained within that sutta. So it's an amazingly rich explanation. explanation of the Buddhist teachings. Suggest a fix for the passage at 1:59

3:24 The first of the foundations of mindfulness, and it's the one that is really the anchor in many ways for all the rest, is mindfulness of the body. In one place it said, the Buddha commented, mindfulness of the body leads to Nibbāna, leads to the highest peace. So we shouldn't think that because It's the first instruction. It's somehow less important and we'll get to the real stuff later on. Mindfulness of the body is the anchor for the whole practice and in and of itself it will lead all the way. So it's really worth from the very beginning of a retreat to learn how to establish one's awareness in the experience of the body. In myriad forms and activities and ways. So we're going to begin the instructions by just exploring a little bit different ways of becoming mindful of the body. Suggest a fix for the passage at 3:24

4:40 In this sutta, in this discourse, the Satipaṭṭhāna discourse, there's one line in it, in the section of mindfulness of the body, that in recent years I found extremely helpful, In my own practice. And it really changed. The way I was practicing. When I came to understand. This one particular line. And the line says. Very simple. Be mindful. And then in the poly equivalent of quotes. It's a grammatical construction. Be mindful. Quote. There is a body. Unquote. To the extent necessary. For clear knowing and continuous mindfulness. So that's the instruction. Be mindful, quote, there is a body. And what does that quote signify? According to Annalio, who's a German monk who's written a lot of books on Satipaṭṭhāna and mindfulness and a lot of other things, he suggested that the fact that it's in quotes in the Pāli, Might suggest that that phrase, there is a body, could be used almost as a mental note. As a reminder, an intermittent reminder to come back into the awareness of there's a body. Just feeling the body. When you sit and know you're sitting. So it's very simple. This is not complicated. We don't have to go searching for anything. So right now, for a moment, either with eyes open or eyes closed, just take a moment and repeat the phrase a few times, there is a body, and relax into the experience of it. Suggest a fix for the passage at 4:40

6:53 It's not looking for anything in particular at all. It's just the awareness there is a body. And see what emerges in that field. Suggest a fix for the passage at 6:53

7:10 No striving, no looking. It's just being receptive. To whatever experience arises. Suggest a fix for the passage at 7:10

7:30 And you can use the phrase, there is a body, almost like a mental note. We just repeat it from time to time as a way of reconnecting, resettling into the feeling of the body. Suggest a fix for the passage at 7:30

7:53 Again, in terms of effort, it's just to the extent necessary for clear knowing. You don't have to be searching, not efforting. It's totally relaxed. Relaxed back into the body, acknowledging there is a body, experiencing whatever it is that's arising. Suggest a fix for the passage at 7:53

8:27 And one of the things you may begin to notice as you're sitting in this field of bodily awareness, you may begin to notice the sensations of the body breathing. Suggest a fix for the passage at 8:27

8:44 Again, no effort is required in this. This is a natural function of the body. And keep in mind that it is not a breathing exercise. So there's no particular way you need to breathe. Suggest a fix for the passage at 8:44

9:05 There is a body, you're holding the bigger frame of the whole body sitting. And then within the frame, become aware of whatever sensations may appear as the body is breathing in and as it's breathing out. Suggest a fix for the passage at 9:05

9:45 And experiment a little bit. With seeing the difference in your experience when you focus in on the breath, where you narrow your attention to the breath and feel just the movement of the breath, the rise and fall of the chest or abdomen or the air at the nostrils. Suggest a fix for the passage at 9:45

10:13 Spend a couple of moments with that narrow focus of feeling the breath. See what that's like. Suggest a fix for the passage at 10:13

10:46 And then go back to the feeling of the whole body. There is a body where you're taking that larger frame of the whole body posture, resting in that broader frame, and then simply becoming aware of what arises within it, like the sensations of the body breathing. But from this perspective, we don't need to narrow the attention on the breath. We're keeping the larger perspective, there is a body, settling at ease effortlessly. And then simply noticing what's arising in your experience within that larger frame. And it may very well be the sensations of the body breathing. Suggest a fix for the passage at 10:46

11:47 But in this perspective, we're not narrowing the attention. We're keeping the attention more open and feeling the sensations of the breath within it. [silence] And it's not that one perspective or the other is the correct way to do it. They're both equally valuable. Suggest a fix for the passage at 11:47

12:48 If you find the mind is very scattered, just lost in long trains of thought, then the narrower focus and just the specific place in the body where it's breathing could be helpful. Suggest a fix for the passage at 12:48

13:07 If you're feeling like the mind is getting tight and you're trying too hard or efforting in some way, some sense of struggle, then the broader perspective could be helpful. Settle back, open up, there is a body. Simply sitting and becoming aware of whatever arises within that larger space. Suggest a fix for the passage at 13:07

13:36 You can interweave these two approaches as appropriate. [silence] In the awareness there is a body. There's no struggle. There's no efforting. Simply a settling back and being receptive to whatever experience arises. You don't need to go looking for anything. Suggest a fix for the passage at 13:36

17:43 Letting the breath find its own rhythm. Sometimes there are pauses between the breath, that's fine. [silence] As you're sitting in the body, just check to see that the eyes are soft and relaxed, that the jaw is relaxed, the shoulders, the belly. [silence] At times when it's a narrow focus on the breath at a particular place in the body, like the nose or the chest or the abdomen, and you're simply feeling the sensations of the breath at that place, Sometimes it's helpful to support the practice through using a very soft mental note, acknowledging the in and out of the breath. So you could note in, out, in, out, or rise and fall if you're feeling it in the belly or abdomen. Suggest a fix for the passage at 17:43

23:35 Remembering to keep the note if you use it very soft like a whisper. Suggest a fix for the passage at 23:35

23:45 The point is simply to use the note. As a reminder, a connector to the experience of the breath, in, out, rise, fall. Suggest a fix for the passage at 23:45

24:11 If you settled into the more open perspective, repeating the phrase, there is a body from time to time, serves the same purpose. [silence] Be aware of whether you're allowing the breath to come in its own time, in its own rhythm, or this. Some subtle sense of pulling the next breath in. Suggest a fix for the passage at 24:11

27:17 If you notice that, again settle back. Let the whole breathing process happen just on its own in a completely natural way. Suggest a fix for the passage at 27:17

27:35 Our job is simply to be aware of how it's felt. [silence] Within the frame there is a body, a feeling of the whole body. Be aware of what arises within that frame. Not necessarily narrowing the focus, holding the larger frame and simply being aware of what appears in it. Suggest a fix for the passage at 27:35

31:52 Sometimes repeating the phrase, there is a body as a reminder. Suggest a fix for the passage at 31:52

32:10 At other times, you may narrow the focus and the feeling of the breath at a particular place, refining your awareness of the very particular sensations contained within each breath. Suggest a fix for the passage at 32:10

32:33 Contained within the movement of the rise and fall. Suggest a fix for the passage at 32:33

32:41 Sometimes making that soft note, in, out, rise, fall. There [silence] are several different things we want to do this morning before going into the walking practice. But first, do you have any questions about these very basic instructions? Suggest a fix for the passage at 32:41