How to Meditate - Weekend Course with Jonathan Landaw (part 2)

· · · silence, 3 minutes

2:49 So let us start this morning by finding, as looks like everyone here has done, a posture which is comfortable and yet at the same time comfortably upright. Report an error in the passage at 2:49 Highlight the passage at 2:49

3:09 There are many different sections or descriptions of the ideal formal meditation posture. It's not necessary. Sorry to go into that right now, but one part of it which is significant is that the trunk of our body, that which holds our spinal column, should be upright. Of course, we know that the spine has a natural set of curves in it. We don't mean by being straight and upright that we straighten that out, but just that the vertebrae are stacked one on top of each other. Report an error in the passage at 3:09 Highlight the passage at 3:09

3:56 So trying to avoid... Any twisting or slouching or slumping, but being comfortably upright. If we have that, then the rest of the aspects of the posture, which I'll talk about later, fall rather naturally in place. Report an error in the passage at 3:56 Highlight the passage at 3:56

4:35 And then we withdraw, or we could say contract, the field of our awareness so that we're paying attention to our physical presence from the inside. Report an error in the passage at 4:35 Highlight the passage at 4:35

4:49 It's not as if we're looking at the body from an outside, it's we're taking a photograph, but instead we're focusing on the sensations which arise within the body itself and we're paying attention to that. Report an error in the passage at 4:49 Highlight the passage at 4:49

5:16 And a very helpful way of establishing that is to do a brief body scan. I'll describe one of the ways in which such a scan can be done. Report an error in the passage at 5:16 Highlight the passage at 5:16

5:32 We can start... By bringing our attention up to the crown of our head. Some of us, simply by just thinking of that area, immediately tune into some sensations. Report an error in the passage at 5:32 Highlight the passage at 5:32

5:50 But it can be very subtle. So if you can't find the crown of your head just by using your attention, then just tap the top of your head lightly with one of your fingers for a moment. Report an error in the passage at 5:50 Highlight the passage at 5:50

6:07 And then when you return your... Hands to your lap. You should be able to home in on where those sensations were or the echoes of those sensations. Report an error in the passage at 6:07 Highlight the passage at 6:07

6:25 And by doing that, you're automatically placing your attention at the crown of your head. Report an error in the passage at 6:25 Highlight the passage at 6:25

6:36 And now we'll start a very slow sweeping from top to bottom and then from bottom to top. I will describe the sweeping according to my own... You may find that you go a little bit faster or a little bit slower than I do. That's fine. Report an error in the passage at 6:36 Highlight the passage at 6:36

7:07 So we experience the sensations at the very top of our head, the Report an error in the passage at 7:07 Highlight the passage at 7:07

7:19 scalp area. Report an error in the passage at 7:19 Highlight the passage at 7:19

7:24 One might notice a certain tightness there or a certain itchiness or any other sets of sensations you might tune into. Report an error in the passage at 7:24 Highlight the passage at 7:24

7:44 And then slowly lower the field of attention. To take in the forehead, the brow. Report an error in the passage at 7:44 Highlight the passage at 7:44

7:59 This is an area that many of us, where many of us hold on to tension. The furrowed brow effect, for example. So if the forehead feels tight or wrinkled or tense, just spend a moment just relaxing that feeling. Report an error in the passage at 7:59 Highlight the passage at 7:59

8:28 Because whatever sensation we notice will only last a moment. And then fade away again. It may come back, but only to fade away. So whatever sensation we notice is bound to change. Report an error in the passage at 8:28 Highlight the passage at 8:28

8:56 Now we bring the attention down to the lower part of our face. Excuse me. Better to start with the eyes. Feel the sensations in the area around the eyes. Report an error in the passage at 8:56 Highlight the passage at 8:56

9:19 Again, if it seems tight or tense. Report an error in the passage at 9:19 Highlight the passage at 9:19

9:25 Just relax. Just let go to whatever extent possible. Report an error in the passage at 9:25 Highlight the passage at 9:25

9:34 And if on this scanning journey down and up through the body, we discover any area that is particularly tense, particularly opaque, very difficult to relax and let go, then we can use our breath to help us. Report an error in the passage at 9:34 Highlight the passage at 9:34

9:59 We feel that the air that we're breathing has a very soothing, clarifying nature to it. And we just breathe into the center of wherever that blockage or tension may be. So, for example, we were just at the eyes. Report an error in the passage at 9:59 Highlight the passage at 9:59

10:18 If they seem tight, tense, if we can let go of that tension just by paying attention to it, that's sufficient. Otherwise, we can breathe in the calm, clarifying energy of the subtle air. Right into the center of that tension, Report an error in the passage at 10:18 Highlight the passage at 10:18

10:47 dissolving it and then letting go with our exhalation. Report an error in the passage at 10:47 Highlight the passage at 10:47

11:00 Then when we're ready, we continue the downward journey. Report an error in the passage at 11:00 Highlight the passage at 11:00

11:06 By the time we reach the jaw muscles and the neck and the shoulder area, many of us find quite a lot of tension. Report an error in the passage at 11:06 Highlight the passage at 11:06

11:19 So we spend a little time in these areas, relaxing, Report an error in the passage at 11:19 Highlight the passage at 11:19

11:30 if helpful. Breathing into the center of the tension, whatever tension we might find there, Report an error in the passage at 11:30 Highlight the passage at 11:30

11:40 and then with the exhalation, just letting go. Report an error in the passage at 11:40 Highlight the passage at 11:40

11:48 Exhalation is a natural letting go process. So as we let go of the breath during an exhalation, we can use that to help let go of any tension, any interference, any tightness we might be experiencing. Report an error in the passage at 11:48 Highlight the passage at 11:48

12:13 We're not shoving that away from us. We're just gently opening, allowing it to dissipate to whatever extent it can. Report an error in the passage at 12:13 Highlight the passage at 12:13

12:38 Now we may be down to the shoulder and upper chest area, Report an error in the passage at 12:38 Highlight the passage at 12:38

12:47 scan this area with our attention. Report an error in the passage at 12:47 Highlight the passage at 12:47

13:08 In general, it's very good during this scanning process to remain still. However, when we get down to the shoulders, for example, we might discover Again, a certain tightness or a tension or a blockage in this area. And very often, much of that tension or tightness can be relieved by making very slight movements in the shoulder. Report an error in the passage at 13:08 Highlight the passage at 13:08

13:43 A very slight shoulder shrug, for example, Report an error in the passage at 13:43 Highlight the passage at 13:43

13:50 bringing the shoulders back a little bit or Report an error in the passage at 13:50 Highlight the passage at 13:50

13:57 rotating the shoulders Report an error in the passage at 13:57 Highlight the passage at 13:57

14:04 front to back, for example. Very slight movements like that, you may discover releases a lot of the blockage or interferences. Report an error in the passage at 14:04 Highlight the passage at 14:04

14:18 So, if gentle movements like that are helpful, then of course, by all means, use them. Report an error in the passage at 14:18 Highlight the passage at 14:18

14:38 Then continue the downward journey to the lower torso, the area of the abdomen. You Report an error in the passage at 14:38 Highlight the passage at 14:38

15:04 will notice that this area in particular is an area of constant motion, as was referred to. Yesterday, the rhythmic movement of the breath is particularly evident in the rise and fall of the abdomen, its expansion and its contraction. Report an error in the passage at 15:04 Highlight the passage at 15:04

15:32 So later, when we are specifically paying attention to the incoming and outgoing breath, paying attention to the rise and fall of the abdomen is an excellent way of getting in touch. With that rhythmic movement. Report an error in the passage at 15:32 Highlight the passage at 15:32

16:10 Now we continue our journey down into the area of the hips, the pelvic girdle, Report an error in the passage at 16:10 Highlight the passage at 16:10

16:24 and then make our way down the legs, from the upper legs to the knee area, Report an error in the passage at 16:24 Highlight the passage at 16:24

16:38 through the calves, Report an error in the passage at 16:38 Highlight the passage at 16:38

16:46 through the ankle, Report an error in the passage at 16:46 Highlight the passage at 16:46

16:54 into the foot and out to the tip of the toes. Report an error in the passage at 16:54 Highlight the passage at 16:54

17:10 Then pause for a moment, trying to get an overall picture. Report an error in the passage at 17:10 Highlight the passage at 17:10

17:19 Excuse me, not an actual picture, an experience of the sensation of the entire body that we've just traveled through with all these changing sensations. Report an error in the passage at 17:19 Highlight the passage at 17:19

17:36 And then we can begin an upward journey through Report an error in the passage at 17:36 Highlight the passage at 17:36

17:45 the foot and ankle and Report an error in the passage at 17:45 Highlight the passage at 17:45

17:51 the calves and knee, Report an error in the passage at 17:51 Highlight the passage at 17:51

18:02 up the thigh, Report an error in the passage at 18:02 Highlight the passage at 18:02

18:11 approaching the pelvic girdle from below. And as always, if we experience any particular blockage or tension in any of these areas, Report an error in the passage at 18:11 Highlight the passage at 18:11

18:26 See if we can just dissipate it through paying attention or gently breathing into it and Report an error in the passage at 18:26 Highlight the passage at 18:26

18:39 then letting go. Report an error in the passage at 18:39 Highlight the passage at 18:39

18:58 Then we reach the abdomen. Report an error in the passage at 18:58 Highlight the passage at 18:58

19:04 And at this point, if our hands are resting in our lap or in that area, our upward journey takes us through our hands, Report an error in the passage at 19:04 Highlight the passage at 19:04

19:20 the wrist through Report an error in the passage at 19:20 Highlight the passage at 19:20

19:33 the elbow joint and Report an error in the passage at 19:33 Highlight the passage at 19:33

19:43 the upper arm, which connects to the shoulders. Report an error in the passage at 19:43 Highlight the passage at 19:43

19:56 And at the same time, we can... Make the upward journey through the chest, Report an error in the passage at 19:56 Highlight the passage at 19:56

20:14 into the neck, Report an error in the passage at 20:14 Highlight the passage at 20:14

20:32 the jaw, our Report an error in the passage at 20:32 Highlight the passage at 20:32

20:43 face, Report an error in the passage at 20:43 Highlight the passage at 20:43

20:51 our eyes and forehead, our Report an error in the passage at 20:51 Highlight the passage at 20:51

21:01 entire skull, Report an error in the passage at 21:01 Highlight the passage at 21:01

21:07 and back to the crown of the head. Report an error in the passage at 21:07 Highlight the passage at 21:07

21:38 As we get familiar with this scanning process, it becomes a very easy way of getting in touch with the body, of being able to withdraw the field of our awareness so that it is within the envelope. of our physical being. Report an error in the passage at 21:38 Highlight the passage at 21:38

22:03 will be proved to be extremely helpful. Now, at this point, Report an error in the passage at 22:03 Highlight the passage at 22:03

22:35 it can be very helpful to do a cleansing breath exercise. I'll describe it first, briefly, and then we can practice together. Report an error in the passage at 22:35 Highlight the passage at 22:35

22:52 We start by imagining or visualizing that the air we're breathing contains a subtle energy. Report an error in the passage at 22:52 Highlight the passage at 22:52

23:13 Which is in the nature of the goodness that exists throughout the universe. Report an error in the passage at 23:13 Highlight the passage at 23:13

23:26 We might object to this idea of the universe being filled with goodness, since we see so much evidence of evil and badness. Report an error in the passage at 23:26 Highlight the passage at 23:26

23:47 But take a situation in which everyone regards as a disaster, as a catastrophe. Report an error in the passage at 23:47 Highlight the passage at 23:47

23:58 as any of the major natural disasters have been experienced in the world over the last few years. Report an error in the passage at 23:58 Highlight the passage at 23:58

24:08 earthquakes, Report an error in the passage at 24:08 Highlight the passage at 24:08

24:19 experience of tremendous And Report an error in the passage at 24:19 Highlight the passage at 24:19

24:27 yet, in the midst of every single one of those experiences, if we check up, Report an error in the passage at 24:27 Highlight the passage at 24:27

24:44 a certain extraordinary goodness arises. Report an error in the passage at 24:44 Highlight the passage at 24:44

24:56 At the moment, I'm thinking, Report an error in the passage at 24:56 Highlight the passage at 24:56

25:03 Of some footage I saw of the great earthquake that hit Haiti a few years ago. Extraordinary destruction, hitting a population which was already impoverished. Report an error in the passage at 25:03 Highlight the passage at 25:03

25:22 And in the middle of all of that grief, that sadness, that suffering, Report an error in the passage at 25:22 Highlight the passage at 25:22

25:31 what happened? Report an error in the passage at 25:31 Highlight the passage at 25:31

25:36 Many, many people put aside their own grief and unhappiness to help somebody else. Report an error in the passage at 25:36 Highlight the passage at 25:36

25:53 To rescue others from the rubble, to Report an error in the passage at 25:53 Highlight the passage at 25:53

26:01 bring in supplies and medicine, Report an error in the passage at 26:01 Highlight the passage at 26:01

26:07 to do any of a number of things to help relieve the suffering of others. Report an error in the passage at 26:07 Highlight the passage at 26:07

26:19 And the others whose suffering they were attempting to relieve weren't always their near friends and relatives, or even their close neighbors. Report an error in the passage at 26:19 Highlight the passage at 26:19

26:31 In some cases, they might be strangers. Report an error in the passage at 26:31 Highlight the passage at 26:31

26:40 And yet, from some deep well of goodness, Which could not be extinguished by the disaster. They provided care and help. Report an error in the passage at 26:40 Highlight the passage at 26:40

26:57 And this is something we see time and time again. Report an error in the passage at 26:57 Highlight the passage at 26:57

27:05 People putting aside their own self-concern to care for others. Report an error in the passage at 27:05 Highlight the passage at 27:05

27:17 The very heart of compassion. Report an error in the passage at 27:17 Highlight the passage at 27:17

27:27 So, if you are comfortable with visualization, you can think of the entire world in which we're living. Report an error in the passage at 27:27 Highlight the passage at 27:27

27:42 For all its suffering and difficulties as being pervaded by Report an error in the passage at 27:42 Highlight the passage at 27:42

27:52 this caring attitude, this deep goodness. It Report an error in the passage at 27:52 Highlight the passage at 27:52

28:09 imbues our entire atmosphere. Report an error in the passage at 28:09 Highlight the passage at 28:09

28:18 The air we breathe, looked at grossly, is made up of oxygen and nitrogen and other gases. But on a subtle level, it's made up of an energy endowed with goodness. So Report an error in the passage at 28:18 Highlight the passage at 28:18

28:45 when we do this, Cleansing breath meditation. We breathe in long, slow, deep inhalations in through the nostrils and pulling it down to our lower abdomen where we hold it for a moment, but not until it becomes uncomfortable, and Report an error in the passage at 28:45 Highlight the passage at 28:45

29:08 feel that the cleansing energy that we've drawn into ourselves dissolves blockages wherever it's experienced in the body. Report an error in the passage at 29:08 Highlight the passage at 29:08

29:25 Any darkness that's experienced in the mind is illuminated by this gentle radiance we're drawing in with each deep inhalation. Report an error in the passage at 29:25 Highlight the passage at 29:25

29:40 It dissolves those blockages, that darkness, and then when it's time to breathe out, gently expel everything that has been cleansed, all the pollution, all the darkness, all the suffering, as if it were now The color of smoke leaving the chimney. And we just breathe out an exhalation which is the mirror image of the inhalation. Report an error in the passage at 29:40 Highlight the passage at 29:40

30:17 If the inhalation was long and slow and deep, then the exhalation is similarly long and complete. And with it we let go. Report an error in the passage at 30:17 Highlight the passage at 30:17

30:32 It takes quite a while to describe this process, but only a few moments to experience it. So when you feel ready, Report an error in the passage at 30:32 Highlight the passage at 30:32

30:48 turn your mind. Towards this pervasive sense of positive energy which Report an error in the passage at 30:48 Highlight the passage at 30:48

30:59 imbues our entire universe, particularly the air that we're breathing, and then take a long, slow and deep inhalation, drawing that energy down into our lower abdomen, holding it for just a moment, not until it becomes uncomfortable, Report an error in the passage at 30:59 Highlight the passage at 30:59

31:28 allowing it to dissolve whatever tensions it encounters. And then letting go of all interferences like smoke from a chimney. Report an error in the passage at 31:28 Highlight the passage at 31:28

31:44 Repeat that process two or three times. Very gently, not pushing, relaxing. Report an error in the passage at 31:44 Highlight the passage at 31:44

· · · silence, 1 minute

32:30 And when we have completed three or perhaps four such cleansing breaths, then just pause, Report an error in the passage at 32:30 Highlight the passage at 32:30

32:58 gently experiencing the body as a whole. Report an error in the passage at 32:58 Highlight the passage at 32:58

33:11 You might check to see if the sensations you're experiencing now, after having done some cleansing breaths, is any different from the sensation of the body as a whole that we had before doing the cleansing breaths. Report an error in the passage at 33:11 Highlight the passage at 33:11

· · · silence, 1 minute

34:07 Now at this point, we're going to have a brief break. Report an error in the passage at 34:07 Highlight the passage at 34:07

34:17 We've been seated for a half an hour or so and it's possible that our seated posture has started to become a bit uncomfortable. Report an error in the passage at 34:17 Highlight the passage at 34:17

34:27 If it has, we can use this brief break, which will only last about three minutes or so, to stand or stretch or do any gentle motions that we may have learned from yoga or tai chi, for example, to help relieve that tension. Report an error in the passage at 34:27 Highlight the passage at 34:27

34:46 And then we'll return and continue the practice. Report an error in the passage at 34:46 Highlight the passage at 34:46

· · · silence, 5 minutes

40:12 So there will be a time for some questions about these practices. But before that, I would like to segue. From the cleansing breath meditation that we just did to the breath awareness meditation which we touched upon at the very end of yesterday. Report an error in the passage at 40:12 Highlight the passage at 40:12

40:34 So before we do any meditation practice, it's a very good idea to do at least one or two or three cleansing breaths. is like evening the field. Report an error in the passage at 40:34 Highlight the passage at 40:34

40:52 if we were to walk into meditation room or into the gophe like this and... then just immediately sat down and then just thought to start a practice like that, we would be carrying a lot of the energy of the last few hours with us. it would take a while before the mind reached a serviceable place in which we can engage in meaningful meditation. Report an error in the passage at 40:52 Highlight the passage at 40:52

41:19 So it's very good when we're going to start. Just to pause and give ourselves a chance to kind of cleanse the field, taking a long, slow in-breath, holding it for a moment, not until it becomes uncomfortable, and then letting go in exhalation. Report an error in the passage at 41:19 Highlight the passage at 41:19

41:39 And if we wish to add to that, that visualization which I offered, that the breath that's coming in is of the same nature as whatever goodness may exist in the universe, and that this is helping with the cleansing process. That's excellent. If not, just breathing in, dissolving and breathing out. Report an error in the passage at 41:39 Highlight the passage at 41:39

42:05 Now these breaths, the cleansing breath process, is a deep breathing process. And so we shouldn't do it too much. Two or three such breaths is usually sufficient. If we were to do this practice extensively, We get a little bit lightheaded, a little bit giddy. It's like hyperventilation. So we have to check that we're not getting into that. Report an error in the passage at 42:05 Highlight the passage at 42:05

42:34 But we're doing it deeply and long enough to help cleanse the whatever interfering energy we might be experiencing and to allow clear energy to pervade our being. Report an error in the passage at 42:34 Highlight the passage at 42:34

42:52 And for each of us, this will be different. For some, it'll be just one breath, some two, some three, like that. So this is an excellent thing to do whenever we're starting an enterprise such as meditation. It's also an excellent thing to do whenever we have to use our mind, our energy to focus on any task. Report an error in the passage at 42:52 Highlight the passage at 42:52

43:19 Like in April, we have to fill out the taxes if we haven't done that already. And for some of us this is a big chore, right? And then just sitting down at the desk and just starting in on it often is no help. But if we were to sit down and just spend a brief moment doing a cleansing breath exercise, getting down to something deeper in our nature, then we do that very worldly task with much more clarity. Report an error in the passage at 43:19 Highlight the passage at 43:19

43:53 It's like clearing the area. But here we're clearing the area inside ourselves. So, keep that in mind. These cleansing breath practices can be used not only as an adjunct to meditation, but even to any worldly tasks that we have to do. We just stop, we pause, we take a brief break from whatever we've been involved in, especially if what we're involved in has been up in cloud cuckoo land, and then allow that. Report an error in the passage at 43:53 Highlight the passage at 43:53

44:31 Clarity to settle. And then within that state of mind, enter into whatever task that follows. Does that make sense? So just try that. Experiment with that and see if it's helpful. Now, here today, the task we're going to do is not that ordinary worldly task, let's say, of filling out taxes, but engaging in meditation practice. Report an error in the passage at 44:31 Highlight the passage at 44:31

45:28 And whenever we're going to begin a practice like meditation, or in fact any other significant activity, we should pay attention to the motivation with which we're doing this practice. Report an error in the passage at 45:28 Highlight the passage at 45:28

45:45 Because it is said that of the three parts of any action, and that is to say the beginning, the middle and the end, the beginning, which is setting the motivation for engaging in that practice, is more significant. Then the second part, which is the action itself, or even the third part, which is the dedication at the end. That the motivation with which you do an action is the main determining factor whether that action will prove to be truly beneficial or not, truly effective. Report an error in the passage at 45:45 Highlight the passage at 45:45

46:23 So, Report an error in the passage at 46:23 Highlight the passage at 46:23

46:27 to keep this discussion from being, I call it discussion, but I'm the only one speaking, to keep it from being too abstract, take this present situation we're in. We're about, I don't know, 17, 18, 19 people here together, and we're all engaged in a common action. I'm the only one sitting here facing you and speaking, but we're all engaged in some collective action here. Report an error in the passage at 46:27 Highlight the passage at 46:27

47:00 And it's meant to have something to do with the practice of meditation. So if I look at myself, for example, Sitting up here can be very much like being an entertainer, you know, an actor or a comedian. I'm saying things and my motivation could be that you like me, that you find my jokes not lame but funny, that you like the explanation, you like the way I talk, that you like me. Report an error in the passage at 47:00 Highlight the passage at 47:00

47:41 Now, if that's my motivation, Then, at that moment, am I truly concerned for your welfare or not? No, I'm truly concerned for my welfare, alone. And your presence here is just to either validate or contradict that. So, it might look like I'm teaching meditation, you know, that I'm a Buddhist teacher. Report an error in the passage at 47:41 Highlight the passage at 47:41

48:12 But at that moment, all I'm doing... is indulging in self, indulging in ego, self-grasping, self-cherishing. And if that's my motivation, then even if it happened that the practices I led were led quite nicely and you received good experiences from them and it proved to be helpful, the effect that will have on my own mind, the negative effect of that tight, grasping ego concern, Will be the main effect that it has on me. And whatever benefit that my words may have given will be insignificant compared to that. Report an error in the passage at 48:12 Highlight the passage at 48:12

49:00 You might find it tremendous. But for me, because my motivation is so narrow, I'm not going to derive hardly any benefit at all from it. Report an error in the passage at 49:00 Highlight the passage at 49:00

49:12 Can you see how that could be true? And we can switch roles. For example, we have all the people here. And I venture to say that all of us have many, many different motivations for being here. Like for some of us, if we were to say, why are you, why did you come to the gompa this morning? Sometimes the answer is no more profound than, well, it was 10 o 'clock and on the schedule it says at 10 o 'clock you go to the gompa. Report an error in the passage at 49:12 Highlight the passage at 49:12

49:47 So that's why I'm here. It's on the schedule. It's time to do it. I know from my own personal experience that a lot of my life is ruled by the clock. I got that from my mother. I asked her, are you hungry, Mom? And she would say, what time is it? And if it was noon, then she was hungry. If it wasn't yet noon, no. Like that. Report an error in the passage at 49:47 Highlight the passage at 49:47

50:13 So I picked up a lot of that, you know, having our life ruled by this kind of abstract notion of time. Report an error in the passage at 50:13 Highlight the passage at 50:13

50:26 Here, coming to the gompa with no more of a motivation than it's time to do it, that's not a negative motivation, but it's certainly not a positive motivation. It's as if we're just on automatic pilot or being carried through life on a conveyor belt. But it's better if our actions, if our life, had more of a purpose to it. Report an error in the passage at 50:26 Highlight the passage at 50:26

50:51 So it's very good to get some sense what our motivation is. For any particular action is. Now this is a very big topic. If any of you ever have the opportunity to receive teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, he spends a huge amount of time on the motivation in the beginning. But in brief, what we can think of is we're attempting to do something for our own benefit to start with. Report an error in the passage at 50:51 Highlight the passage at 50:51

51:24 We have some reason for believing that there's some There will be some benefit in our life if we become more proficient at that practice known as meditation. Because we came to a course that said how to meditate, so we must be interested in it. So why are we interested in it? And so yesterday we started talking about some of the reasons that our mind is too cluttered, that we're too nervous, this, that, the other thing. Report an error in the passage at 51:24 Highlight the passage at 51:24

52:00 And so when we start checking up, Our motivation is, this is very good, this grounds us in our experience, and it sets us up for taking the maximum benefit of however we are going to spend the next half hour, hour, or whatever it might be. Report an error in the passage at 52:00 Highlight the passage at 52:00

52:22 But it's always helpful whenever we tune in to whatever it is that we want to recognize that on some basic level, for all our differences, Report an error in the passage at 52:22 Highlight the passage at 52:22

52:36 Our wishes and the wishes of all other beings are ultimately the same, just as we wish to be happy, to experience peace of mind, calmness, clarity, good health, joy, a sense of well-being, Report an error in the passage at 52:36 Highlight the passage at 52:36

53:02 a sense of flourishing, not just existing on this planet, but actually flourishing, just as we have those wishes for ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 53:02 Highlight the passage at 53:02

53:13 Everyone else, with their slight variations, have the same type of wishes. And just as we wish to be released from pain and suffering and disappointment and frustration and all these other negative experiences, so, too, everyone else wishes. There's no one who actively wishes, oh, today, how wonderful it would be if I were unhappy. Nobody. Report an error in the passage at 53:13 Highlight the passage at 53:13

53:47 From the person we admire most in the world to the villain that we despise the most in the world, none of them is actively desiring to be miserable. Report an error in the passage at 53:47 Highlight the passage at 53:47

54:01 On the contrary, everyone, no matter what his or her own personal definition of happiness is, is looking for that. Now, of course, simply wanting that is not enough. Report an error in the passage at 54:01 Highlight the passage at 54:01

54:19 Wish to be happy and peaceful and then in your experience do nothing but engage in those actions of body, speech and mind which bring about nothing but misery for yourself and others. Report an error in the passage at 54:19 Highlight the passage at 54:19

54:35 I want to be happy. I need a lot of money to live my lifestyle. I know a scam by which I can embezzle a huge amount of money. And then I'll be able to move into a good neighborhood and buy a nice house. So the wish is to be happy, at least materially happy. The method to engage in is harming others. So that will be what will be the main thing that determines the result of our action. Report an error in the passage at 54:35 Highlight the passage at 54:35

55:12 If our scheme is not successful, You know, if we're not able to embezzle the money or rob it or whatever we were going to do in an underhanded manner to get it, if we're not successful, of course, that's suffering. That's frustration. But what happens if we are successful, if we get that money in that illegal, underhanded, negative way? Report an error in the passage at 55:12 Highlight the passage at 55:12

55:41 How much can we enjoy that? What, in fact, will be the long-lasting result? Report an error in the passage at 55:41 Highlight the passage at 55:41

55:51 If we check up, we see it's nothing but misery. So whether we're successful in these negative actions or unsuccessful, it's unsatisfying. Report an error in the passage at 55:51 Highlight the passage at 55:51

56:08 So what we are recommended to do is to check before any action what is the most best, most expansive, most wholesome, most virtuous type of action, excuse me, motivation that we can generate in order to perform that action. Report an error in the passage at 56:08 Highlight the passage at 56:08

56:32 So like if I go back to what I said at the beginning, if I just view myself as an entertainer and looking to entertain you and then to be gratified by your positive reaction to it, then very, very little benefit for me is going to come from what happens during this session. Report an error in the passage at 56:32 Highlight the passage at 56:32

56:56 But if I bring to mind the reality that just as I wish to be happy... And I'm looking for different ways of achieving some form of lasting happiness. So the same thing is true for you, for all our differences. Report an error in the passage at 56:56 Highlight the passage at 56:56

57:16 I can't imagine that there's anyone here who came here thinking, well, I hope by the result of this practice I'll become more uptight, more tense, more confused, more unhappy. No, I want something else. So if I recognize that, Then immediately there's a sense of fellow feeling. It's not me against you. It's not us against them. The interconnectedness of us, the fact that in some very real sense, we're all different elements of one large organism, Report an error in the passage at 57:16 Highlight the passage at 57:16

58:00 that's an underlying reality. And if we look at things that way, then the heart begins to open. And that openness in the heart itself is its own reward. Report an error in the passage at 58:00 Highlight the passage at 58:00

58:17 Even if the action we do is not very successful, not done particularly well, could have been better, is a bit disappointing, the very fact that our heart is opened to the reality, to our total reality, itself is a positive result. Report an error in the passage at 58:17 Highlight the passage at 58:17

58:40 Itself is the essence of growth, Report an error in the passage at 58:40 Highlight the passage at 58:40

58:47 of spiritual awakening. Now, when it comes to cultivating this motivation, we can expand upon this impulse in many ways. And a lot of that may depend on which spiritual path we've been introduced to, assuming we have been introduced to any path. So, for example, for the last 40 years I've been involved in the path that's laid out in Buddhism in general. Report an error in the passage at 58:47 Highlight the passage at 58:47

59:20 The Tibetan Buddhist tradition in particular. And in that, the highest aim is to be able to cleanse oneself of everything that is currently shrouding our deepest, our purest nature, which in Buddhist terms is called the Buddha nature. In other words, we have within us all the same elements that all the enlightened beings have. But at the present moment, They're shrouded. Report an error in the passage at 59:20 Highlight the passage at 59:20

59:56 So the deepest nature is fundamentally good. We're not fundamentally evil, but through mistakes, this fundamental goodness gets covered over. Report an error in the passage at 59:56 Highlight the passage at 59:56

1:00:10 A very nice image, which means quite a lot to me, is of a crystal vessel like a vase that we have sitting on a shelf. If we neglect it for a while, if we don't clean it or dust it, after a while, Some grime and dust builds up on its surface and its clear luster gets dimmed. And we might think, oh, what a shame. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:10 Highlight the passage at 1:00:10

1:00:39 It was a very nice crystal vessel and now it's been polluted. But when we check up, that pollution, that covering of grime, is completely external to the vase itself. Nothing in the crystalline structure of that vase has been compromised in any way. So, with some dusting or soap in water, we can remove that covering, and lo and behold, there is that crystal purity, as pristine as it ever was. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:39 Highlight the passage at 1:00:39

1:01:13 And this becomes an analogy for our heart, our deep heart, that at its deepest level, it has a fundamental purity. We could call it a fundamental goodness if we want, Report an error in the passage at 1:01:13 Highlight the passage at 1:01:13

1:01:31 it can get covered over Basically, what are mistakes? Mistaken ways of using things, mistaken ways of acting, which lead to the buildup of this dust and this crime, grime, which obscures this fundamental crystalline purity. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:31 Highlight the passage at 1:01:31

1:01:58 But we should not mistake to think that any of the negativity that happens to arise in our mind, in our heart, is our fundamental nature. No, that's in the aspect... of what is obscuring our fundamental nature. And it's not one with it. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:58 Highlight the passage at 1:01:58

1:02:18 You can't remove the blackness of coal without somehow destroying the coal. But you can remove whatever is obscuring the crystalline purity of a vase or the crystalline purity of our deepest heart by just removing what's inauthentic to it, what is not essential, what is in fact ultimately superficial. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:18 Highlight the passage at 1:02:18

1:02:44 So the practice of meditation is a practice of getting to understand the nature of our mind and the nature of external reality in such a way that we can separate out what is fundamental and pure and basic to our nature from that which is, and it's a good word that I learned a few years ago, adventitious. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:44 Highlight the passage at 1:02:44

1:03:06 It means it's not fundamental, it's not innate, it's just a cruise. Due to causes and circumstances. And when those causes and circumstances pass, then these adventitious taints, or these coverings, are removed. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:06 Highlight the passage at 1:03:06

1:03:29 I lived in England for a period of time in which winter, a sunless winter, could last for a very, very, very long time. And after a while it almost became the case in which the sun... The existence of a sun was more like a rumor than a reality, because we hardly ever saw it or felt it. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:29 Highlight the passage at 1:03:29

1:03:55 And some people, when you check in ancient mythologies and so forth, especially people who live in the polar or subpolar regions, their mythologies are filled with the idea of the sun having been swallowed by some demon. And I can tell you, living in northern England, we could really dig that mythology, because it was as if... Report an error in the passage at 1:03:55 Highlight the passage at 1:03:55

1:04:19 Despite what we know about astronomy and so forth, it was as if the sun had been swallowed, as if it had been destroyed, taken away by a demon. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:19 Highlight the passage at 1:04:19

1:04:30 But of course, the reality is that the sun is, what, 93 million miles away, that the clouds that are obscuring it are just a few miles above us, and that once the weather conditions change, the clouds part, and then there's this new rebirth. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:30 Highlight the passage at 1:04:30

1:04:50 It's almost like a surprise. Even though we've experienced it hundreds of times in our life, whenever the sun comes up, after having been hidden for a while, it's as if, oh, it didn't die. I can feel it. I can see it. Life is coming back. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:50 Highlight the passage at 1:04:50

1:05:13 So that's similar to a higher aim of meditation, is to get back in touch with who and what we fundamentally are, which is this openness, This radiance that can give a birth to all the positive qualities that we talked about before, starting with loving kindness and compassion and others that we'll talk about later. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:13 Highlight the passage at 1:05:13

1:05:43 So when it comes to what is our motivation for attending a meditation session, if our motivation is just something automatic, you know, that sense of being on a conveyor belt, we're here because it's time to be here, then just recognize, That doesn't get us anywhere. You know, it's neither particularly good nor particularly bad. It's just like being in the car, shifting into neutral and stepping on the gas. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:43 Highlight the passage at 1:05:43

1:06:12 You know, there's no movement. And if the motivation is nothing but self-serving, what's in it for me? I hope people like me. I hope I do well. Then recognize that that concentration on I, me, me mind. As George Harrison sang, that compulsive Report an error in the passage at 1:06:12 Highlight the passage at 1:06:12

1:06:41 focusing in on that trio of I, me and mine doesn't bring us the happiness that we're looking for. Instead, it traps us in the sense of being separate, building out of clay or out of sand a structure of self which cannot be maintained. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:41 Highlight the passage at 1:06:41

1:07:12 Which can only last a brief moment. And during that time we have to be worried about shoring it up, promoting it, protecting it, defending it. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:12 Highlight the passage at 1:07:12

1:07:25 But if we let go, if we can let go, it's not as if we disappear. It's not as if we're annihilated. But we have a chance of touching something deeper in ourself. Something deeper in ourself that resonates with what's deeper in everybody else. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:25 Highlight the passage at 1:07:25

1:07:46 So it's a broader, broader reality, a broader identification. It's not an annihilation or a denial of our existence on this earth. It's recognizing that our existence is an integral part of the existence of all the other beings on this earth, or throughout the universe for that matter. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:46 Highlight the passage at 1:07:46

1:08:09 There's one image, and then I'll pause, that I like, that it was an image that meant a lot for me when I first saw it. Many years ago when the movie E.T. first came out. I'm going to assume that everyone has seen E.T. If not, well, then you haven't. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:09 Highlight the passage at 1:08:09

1:08:32 But in the beginning, when these creatures are making their way through this redwood forest and they're picking up samples of the stuff that grows there, at one point there is a hint of danger. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:32 Highlight the passage at 1:08:32

1:08:49 And the creature who we come to identify as the hero, or as the main figure, E.T. himself, the camera's on him, and he experiences this sense of danger or foreboding, and some light comes on in his heart. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:49 Highlight the passage at 1:08:49

1:09:10 Immediately, the light in all the other beings' hearts come on, sympathetically. Do you remember that scene? Some of you are nodding. It was very wordless. Nobody spoke to one another. But the experience of fear and apprehension that one of them experienced was immediately resonated in all of their hearts. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:10 Highlight the passage at 1:09:10

1:09:39 So were they actually completely separate beings? In one sense, yes. They had separate bodies. But on another level, their resonance drew them into... A communal experience of being in which a threat to one was a threat to all, and on the other side, happiness to one is happiness to all. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:39 Highlight the passage at 1:09:39

1:10:07 So I think we're kind of like these ETs, you know. We can be involved in just ourselves and be cut off from our connection with others, or we can start to recognize what's fundamental in our being. Fundamental below the level of our ego identity, below the level of our separate personalities, in terms of what is very deep, what is crystalline, deep within our being, which connects us with others. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:07 Highlight the passage at 1:10:07

1:10:38 And so, if we're coming to the gompa to meditate, or going to do any other practice related to what we might call spiritual evolution, Report an error in the passage at 1:10:38 Highlight the passage at 1:10:38

1:10:52 If we can do it with the most extensive, most altruistic motivation that we can realistically create, that itself is going to be the main factor ensuring that the practice is going to bear fruit. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:52 Highlight the passage at 1:10:52

1:11:10 Whereas we can do very, very profound practices and only want personal power as a result. And then instead of experiencing enlightenment, We just experience ego-hood. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:10 Highlight the passage at 1:11:10

1:11:41 So I was going to segue from the cleansing breath meditation into the breath awareness meditation that we touched on before, which is something we're going to practice several times today. I was going to do that, but something came up. So now it's a good time to give ourselves a more meaningful break because we're halfway through the morning session. So this break, instead of just being two or three minutes for standing and stretching and getting a drink, this break will be 15 minutes. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:41 Highlight the passage at 1:11:41

1:12:22 And so we'll come back when it says 11.30 on the clock. Now, if certain things have come up, even from this brief introduction, Report an error in the passage at 1:12:22 Highlight the passage at 1:12:22

1:12:35 Even this brief cleansing practice, which has started to introduce you to something kind of, for want of a better word, deeper in your experience, then you might consider during this break to just stay Report an error in the passage at 1:12:35 Highlight the passage at 1:12:35

1:12:52 more silent, more separate, and allow yourself to experience that, rather than immediately start talking and flying up to cloud cuckoo land. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:52 Highlight the passage at 1:12:52

1:13:07 Because the quieter that we can stay within ourselves, then it's the easier when we come back to enter into the meditation practice, the breath awareness practice that we're going to do. But of course, you are welcome to talk, to converse, to do whatever you need to do. But it's good to keep in mind that if we're in the process of cultivating something, we can lose it by engaging in all of these, what should I call it? Report an error in the passage at 1:13:07 Highlight the passage at 1:13:07

1:13:37 Fundamentally meaningless activities. Okay? So, I'll see you in 15 minutes. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:37 Highlight the passage at 1:13:37