How to Meditate - Weekend Course with Jonathan Landaw (part 7)

0:24 Okay. First I want to mention that the nine round breathing meditation that we're going to taste in a moment is presented twice in the material that has been passed out to you. There's a short version of it in one of the packets. And a longer, somewhat more detailed version in the packet called Learning the Basic Skills of Focusing the Mind. So those two are not contradictory, they're just different recensions of the same basic practice. Report an error in the passage at 0:24 Highlight the passage at 0:24

1:08 So it's something that if you want to research further, you have the beginnings of it in the handouts, and then you can flesh it out more. with more practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:08 Highlight the passage at 1:08

1:23 As Report an error in the passage at 1:23 Highlight the passage at 1:23

1:32 for the meditation that we just concluded, this analytical meditation, friend, enemy and stranger meditation, it's sometimes called. It's very, very difficult for me to know, since I don't have clairvoyance and can't read your minds, whether I have a sense. Of whether anything actually went on during that meditation session. I mean, I was speaking. That was happening. But whether any of that aroused recognition based on your own experience, I have no way of knowing. Report an error in the passage at 1:32 Highlight the passage at 1:32

2:14 So I'm just interested. In that meditation that was just completed, was there any movement of your mind, of your attitude? Or did it kind of stay in this kind of... hazy gray area in the beginning and kind of concluded the same way did you discover something evolving or changing Report an error in the passage at 2:14 Highlight the passage at 2:14

2:39 It's easier to empathize or have an interest in the stranger. And it's quite effortless with the friend. Right. So you notice those... Those differences in the quality, right? Did you notice that in the evolution of the practice, or at least the way I was trying to lead it, that, let's say, Report an error in the passage at 2:39 Highlight the passage at 2:39

3:16 the empathy that you had for the stranger, whether it got stronger during the practice? Like in the beginning, maybe you didn't feel very much empathy. because, you know, and, uh... Kind of an abstract figure. But the more you got to know him, your sympathy increased. Did you notice that? There was some movement in the mind. It was concerning if we see Jared again, then... Could you say that? Report an error in the passage at 3:16 Highlight the passage at 3:16

3:48 If we were to see each other again, my thought, my mindset would be different in ways that I have this person's best interest in mind. I am... Genuinely interested rather than steamrolling over the conversation. Yeah, or being dismissive or something. Correct. Well, that's, you know, if even brief exposure to something like this gives us a sense that there's more to the people that we meet than the immediate impressions that we have of them either being friend, enemy or stranger. Report an error in the passage at 3:48 Highlight the passage at 3:48

4:28 And in this case, especially those who are stranger that we tend to be indifferent to. And this is a very, very helpful way to jumpstart that process of opening our heart. Report an error in the passage at 4:28 Highlight the passage at 4:28

4:45 Because if we can only open our heart to those people who have done us wonderful favors in our life, who have been great support, who have loved us and given us things, if those are the only people that we can open our heart to, well, first of all, It's not real love. It's conditional. It's conditional love. When we say, I love you to that person, we're saying, I love you as long as you continue to help me. Report an error in the passage at 4:45 Highlight the passage at 4:45

5:15 I love what you do for me, rather than relating to them as a real person. I don't mean to denigrate the love that we have for our loved ones, but very often... what we feel is more an attachment to ourself rather than a concern for the welfare of the other. Report an error in the passage at 5:15 Highlight the passage at 5:15

5:42 then if this practice can somewhat modify the aversion that we feel or the lack of sympathy or empathy to the person that we categorize as being distant. So that's why I was asking if there was any movement. Report an error in the passage at 5:42 Highlight the passage at 5:42

6:07 Sometimes, and I know this from my own experience, I can attend a meditation session that someone else is leading, and wherever my mind was in the beginning, it's not really any different at the end. Report an error in the passage at 6:07 Highlight the passage at 6:07

6:21 But sometimes there's movement, and it doesn't have to be a great movement. It can be some kind of opening, and that can be the basis for growth. Report an error in the passage at 6:21 Highlight the passage at 6:21

6:35 So, I didn't mean to put anyone on the spot, but I was just curious if anything happened. Report an error in the passage at 6:35 Highlight the passage at 6:35

6:44 Because I kept... Speaking anyway, whether anything happened or not. All right. Report an error in the passage at 6:44 Highlight the passage at 6:44

6:55 So this practice known as the nine round breathing can be done in a number of ways. And I'm going to walk us through one of those ways. Report an error in the passage at 6:55 Highlight the passage at 6:55

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7:43 And it might be useful in the beginning to mention that from the point of view of very, very advanced Buddhist teachings, every state of mind is associated with its underlying energy. That underlying energy is known by different names. You may have heard in yoga, for example, the expression prāṇa, the energy winds, or acupuncture, you may have heard of chi. Report an error in the passage at 7:43 Highlight the passage at 7:43

8:20 All of these indicate a flow of energy. in this... Advanced Buddhist tradition, the Vajrayana tradition is the one that talks about this in detail. It's the tradition from which the tantric teachings come. In that, every state of mind, positive and negative, as it were, rides or rests or relies on its underlying prāṇa or energy wind. Report an error in the passage at 8:20 Highlight the passage at 8:20

8:57 It's as if the state of mind is the horse rider. And the energy is the horse he's riding on. So that's the imagery that's used. And the way we direct our attention has an effect of how the energy flows in our body. And by controlling the energy flow in the body, we also bring about a change in our mind. So there's a very, very powerful connection between body and mind. Report an error in the passage at 8:57 Highlight the passage at 8:57

9:35 some extent on the Gross physical level, but here we're talking about the subtle level, the energies of the mind, subtle energies of the body are related to each other. And these subtle energies in the body, whether we call them prāṇa or chi, whether we talk about channels or meridians, whatever language we use, flows throughout different parts. Report an error in the passage at 9:35 Highlight the passage at 9:35

10:04 Throughout our entire body, following certain paths of energy. And in some of these pathways, certain negative energies tend to congregate based on negative actions that we've engaged in. You know, whether they're hateful thoughts or hateful speech or hateful actions. By engaging in that, it clogs up some of these arteries. Report an error in the passage at 10:04 Highlight the passage at 10:04

10:35 is with negativity. Report an error in the passage at 10:35 Highlight the passage at 10:35

10:39 So, on that basis, if we want to experience true health and well-being, we not only have to pay attention to the gross physical body, and we not only have to pay attention to the kinds of things that go on in our mind and try to replace non-virtuous destructive actions with virtuous constructive. Actions and attitudes, not only that, but we can also begin the process of manipulating some of the underlying energy on which these states of mind rely. Report an error in the passage at 10:39 Highlight the passage at 10:39

11:20 That, in a real nutshell, is the theory behind something like the nine round breathing. Report an error in the passage at 11:20 Highlight the passage at 11:20

11:32 So, in the nine round breathing, we're focusing on... The direction of our different breaths that we're going to take. We're going to take three breaths in through the right nostril and out through the left. Then three breaths in through the left nostril and out through the right. And then three breaths in through both nostrils. Report an error in the passage at 11:32 Highlight the passage at 11:32

12:02 And I'll describe where they go afterwards. Of course, in gross terms, if we breathe In through both nostrils and we breathe out again, obviously the breath comes out of the nostrils as well. But the subtle energy we visualize as coming up through the center of our being. Report an error in the passage at 12:02 Highlight the passage at 12:02

12:28 In certain practices we can even imagine it coming up all the way to the crown of our head. But we don't have to worry about those details here. We're not doing the practice on such an intricate level. Report an error in the passage at 12:28 Highlight the passage at 12:28

12:42 But we are trying to balance out and cleanse the different places in which negative energy can accumulate. The negative energy of hatred, for example, the negative energy of desirous attachment, and then all of the other related delusions. Report an error in the passage at 12:42 Highlight the passage at 12:42

13:04 So, first I'll just describe it in general, and then we can practice it together. It doesn't take long to practice it. It takes longer to describe it, but if I describe it first, then we can get into the practice, instead of having to interrupt the practice. So, as I've made brief mention of earlier, we imagine that the air that we're breathing in is filled, as it in fact is, with this subtle, pervasive, pranic energy, the energy winds. Report an error in the passage at 13:04 Highlight the passage at 13:04

13:41 This is something that... Okay. Report an error in the passage at 13:41 Highlight the passage at 13:41

13:43 Great yogis, practitioners of various martial arts, healers and so forth have experience for millennia. So we have the gross physical air and then within that atmosphere there's also this mentally related energy, these energy winds, the prāṇa, the chi, whatever you want to call it. Report an error in the passage at 13:43 Highlight the passage at 13:43

14:13 We try to visualize that what we're breathing in is imbued with this clear, vibrant, white light energy. If you can visualize it as white, radiant or sparkling, if you feel comfortable doing that, then imagine that within the air that we're breathing, which is invisible, there is the prāṇa, which is also invisible, but we're seeing it, we're visualizing it as having this Cleansing, bright, sparkling quality. And then we're going to draw that into us to help cleanse out from the arteries through which these energy winds pass any accumulated gunk. Report an error in the passage at 14:13 Highlight the passage at 14:13

14:57 This is kind of spiritual roto-rooter. You know, we're kind of cleansing out the arteries clogged by the residue of destructive thoughts, words and actions. Report an error in the passage at 14:57 Highlight the passage at 14:57

15:13 And we don't have to remember what any of these actions were. We're just experiencing their cleansing quality. So, we start feeling that we're in an atmosphere filled with this positive energy. And if we've already made some kind of contact with people in our lives, whether it's a guru or a role model or someone who is an exemplar of... Report an error in the passage at 15:13 Highlight the passage at 15:13

15:45 Positive qualities such as the ones we've been talking about, compassion and love and wisdom and so forth. If we've met someone like that or if there's someone like that in our past or in our racial history, then we can think that this pranic energy is coming from that source, coming from that enlightened source. Report an error in the passage at 15:45 Highlight the passage at 15:45

16:11 And then we breathe in first through the right nostril and then out through the left. So when we breathe in through the right nostril, that clear, vibrant energy, we feel we draw it. If we want to be technical, as we breathe in, it can raise up towards the crown of our head first, and then curve downwards deep into our lower torso, and then accumulate on the other side of our body. Report an error in the passage at 16:11 Highlight the passage at 16:11

16:47 So we're breathing in through the right. And then this cleansing energy is going down through the right side and then accumulating on the left. Report an error in the passage at 16:47 Highlight the passage at 16:47

16:58 And then when we breathe out, we're evacuating this left side of all the negativity that has been, in a sense, flushed out by this prāṇa, this vibrant prāṇa that we've breathed in. There is a way of doing this description which is extremely technical with exactly where these channels are and what their size is and what their colors are. Report an error in the passage at 16:58 Highlight the passage at 16:58

17:25 I'm not going to do any of that. I'm just going to keep it very general that the first breath comes in through the right, accumulates on the left and begins the process of dissolving any of the negative energy that is found on the left and then that leaves when we finally breathe out. That negative energy, again like smoke from a chimney, we used that example before, rises up to the top of our head and then out of our nostril and then completely evaporates, completely disappears. Report an error in the passage at 17:25 Highlight the passage at 17:25

17:57 So the first three breaths are in through the right, out through the left, in through the right, out through the left, in through the right and out through the left. Report an error in the passage at 17:57 Highlight the passage at 17:57

18:14 The next three breaths are just the mirror image of that. In through the left, coming down, accumulating on the right side, beginning the process of dissolving and purifying any negativity, any blockage that we may experience there, and then out through the right. Maybe this morning when we were doing the body scan, and we said when we reach certain parts of our body where there's tension or blockages, I suggested that you might want to just breathe into the center of that blockage and see if you can disperse it. Did any of you have that experience that you were able to kind of loosen just by the process of breathing into the center of the blockage that you were able to release some of that tension? Report an error in the passage at 18:14 Highlight the passage at 18:14

19:09 Did you have some of you felt that? Well, this is very much the same thing. The energy that we breathe in through one side is then dissipating to whatever blocked energy might be experienced on the other side. Report an error in the passage at 19:09 Highlight the passage at 19:09

19:27 So in through the next three breaths then, in through the left, out through the right, in through the left, out through the right, in through the left, out through the right. Those are the first six rounds. Then the last round, the seventh, eighth and ninth, we're breathing in through both nostrils. So it curves up towards the top of our head. We bring it down to our lower abdomen. And then when we breathe out, of course, the gross air that we breathe in is going to go out of our nostrils. Report an error in the passage at 19:27 Highlight the passage at 19:27

20:07 But instead of focusing on that, we focus on the subtle energy that was contained in the gross air and feel that rises up the center of our being. Report an error in the passage at 20:07 Highlight the passage at 20:07

20:21 And we do it very slowly, very gently. Sometimes there may be a lot of blockage and it doesn't rise very high. Other times we may be able to get the air up towards the chest or the throat or even up to the top of our head. But the important thing is not to push, just to accept whatever the experience is. We don't want to push, that kind of overloads the wiring, you know, and cause a problem. Report an error in the passage at 20:21 Highlight the passage at 20:21

20:52 So we're just gentle with ourself. So in through both nostrils, and then when we breathe out, just allowing the clarifying energy to arise as high as it will, gently up what's called the central channel. Report an error in the passage at 20:52 Highlight the passage at 20:52

21:13 Now, you may have had a question in your mind, how do you control the breath coming in through one nostril and out through the other? Some people can do it just by concentration. You know, they can just focus their concentration strongly enough so that when they breathe in, it's coming through one nostril, and when they breathe out, it's going out the other nostril. Report an error in the passage at 21:13 Highlight the passage at 21:13

21:45 But for most of us, that's not really possible, is it? So what do we do? Report an error in the passage at 21:45 Highlight the passage at 21:45

21:55 I can't hear you. Use your fingers. Yeah. And there's different ways of using the fingers. Dinah was demonstrating one way in which you hold your hands in a certain manner and selectively close the nostrils. I'm going to show the way that I was taught, that I was more comfortable with, and that is we use the extended index finger of our right hand. Report an error in the passage at 21:55 Highlight the passage at 21:55

22:25 So when we breathe in through the right nostril, we use the... Index finger to press against the left nostril. So it's kind of like the back of the index finger. Report an error in the passage at 22:25 Highlight the passage at 22:25

22:42 And with it gently pressed, you don't have to press hard at all, even a very slight pressure will close that nostril. And then when we breathe in, all of that air goes in through the right nostril, rises up and collects down below on the left side of our body. Then when it's time to breathe out, we shift that index finger and now we close the right nostril and breathe out through the left. Report an error in the passage at 22:42 Highlight the passage at 22:42

23:15 And we continue that for breaths number two and three as well. In through the right, out through the left, in through the right, out through the left, in through the right, out through the left. Now at this point, we've already got the right nostril blocked, don't we? And we're going to breathe in now through the left, so we're already in position. We don't have to move the index finger between the third and the fourth breath. Report an error in the passage at 23:15 Highlight the passage at 23:15

23:46 It's already in the right place. We're already closing the right nostril, so we breathe in through the left, out through the right, in through the left, out through the right, in through the left, out through the right. And then at that point, when the sixth breath is finished, We don't need to use our fingers anymore, so we can place them back in our lap in a comfortable position. And then simply breathe in through both nostrils, bring it down, and then as we breathe out, gently allow that subtle energy to rise up the central channel. Report an error in the passage at 23:46 Highlight the passage at 23:46

24:29 And the important thing is not to push, just to be gentle with ourselves. So, I think we have enough time maybe to go through, That nine round breathing twice. And so Report an error in the passage at 24:29 Highlight the passage at 24:29

24:53 we make sure that our posture is comfortable but upright so there's no kinks in the arteries through which these subtle energies are going to travel. Report an error in the passage at 24:53 Highlight the passage at 24:53

25:10 And then bring to mind that what we're bringing in is the essence of the goodness that pervades the entire universe. In the form of this subtle pranic energy wind. If you can visualize it as white and bright and sparkling, that's good. If not, just feel. Feel the cleansing quality of the breath. Report an error in the passage at 25:10 Highlight the passage at 25:10

25:41 Then with the extended index finger, with the nail side of it, we close the left nostril and then we start the practice. In Report an error in the passage at 25:41 Highlight the passage at 25:41

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26:48 through the left and out through the right. Report an error in the passage at 26:48 Highlight the passage at 26:48

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27:32 Then in through both. Report an error in the passage at 27:32 Highlight the passage at 27:32

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28:18 Then relax. Report an error in the passage at 28:18 Highlight the passage at 28:18

28:25 The only way to do this practice effectively is to breathe in a slow, deep manner. No forcing, not pushing, not breathing quickly or in spurts, but a long, slow inhalation, which we draw down deep into ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 28:25 Highlight the passage at 28:25

28:48 Hold on for a moment, and a long, slow exhalation, which is the mirror image of the inhalation, lasting the same amount of time. Report an error in the passage at 28:48 Highlight the passage at 28:48

29:01 And during the exhalation, very gently, very gently expelling whatever negative energy has been cleansed by the in-breath. Report an error in the passage at 29:01 Highlight the passage at 29:01

29:17 So in the remaining three minutes, let's do the nine-round breathing one more time. Gently, slowly, deeply, all the time. There's no need to rush or push, being gentle with ourselves, but focused. Report an error in the passage at 29:17 Highlight the passage at 29:17

· · · silence, 2 minutes

31:45 In the conclusion of the ninth breath, we just simply rest for just a moment or two in whatever resulting state of clarity and purity has been generated through this practice. Report an error in the passage at 31:45 Highlight the passage at 31:45

32:06 Just experiencing the openness of the clear, radiant mind in a clear, radiant body. Report an error in the passage at 32:06 Highlight the passage at 32:06

32:43 I think there may be some people here who... We'll be leaving before the last meditation session of today. Is that true? Is there anyone who will be leaving a little bit early? So we'll be meeting again, as the schedule says, tomorrow morning here. But I wanted to mention something very briefly before that happens. I should mention it now because some of you are leaving. Report an error in the passage at 32:43 Highlight the passage at 32:43

33:22 The next door to us is a small gompa and it's called the small gompa which in Tibetan is gompa chung chung and that area is used by the kids who are part of a program developed at the kids school next year and it's run by one of the teachers. Report an error in the passage at 33:22 Highlight the passage at 33:22

33:50 so Two things that don't normally happen or haven't normally happened during this meditation course are going to happen tomorrow morning. The first is that there's going to be a contemplative practice which normally takes place up the hill, in the temple up the hill, is going to take place here between, I think, 9.30 and 10.15. Report an error in the passage at 33:50 Highlight the passage at 33:50

34:17 So our practice... Won't start until that's over. Is that correct? Right. So our session, I believe, starts at 10.30. I'm sorry? 10.45? Report an error in the passage at 34:17 Highlight the passage at 34:17

34:43 Yes, I'm sorry. At 10.45. And the reason for that start, instead of starting, you know, like 10 o 'clock the way it did today, was to allow that group that's... Using this main gompa to have the space and then to leave and for things to be arranged so that we can use the gompa from 1045 on. Report an error in the passage at 34:43 Highlight the passage at 34:43

35:12 But at the same time that we're using the gompa, the kids are going to be using the gompa chung chung. And so we have to expect there's going to be noise. So instead of depending on just how things evolve, I consider it an important session, but it probably will not have the focus on... meditation practice as much as we do in other sessions. But there's plenty of time to discuss various forms of practice and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 35:12 Highlight the passage at 35:12

36:03 And excellent time for questions and answers and things like that. And then, so that's the morning. And then there's one final Report an error in the passage at 36:03 Highlight the passage at 36:03

36:15 Lunch is at 12.30 and this session... It's going to start an hour after that. So if you're going to come to that last session, that means you go and have the lunch and you finish it. You don't have to gulp it down, but the session is going to take place within an hour of when lunch begins. Report an error in the passage at 36:15 Highlight the passage at 36:15

36:42 So if you're going home, have a good rest at home. We'll see you tomorrow. And if you're going to be here... Have a nice dinner. Thank you very much. I Report an error in the passage at 36:42 Highlight the passage at 36:42

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37:26 didn't hate your charm when the session was over. so you have Report an error in the passage at 37:26 Highlight the passage at 37:26