In this guided meditation,
We will be learning a technique I call Do Nothing Meditation.
But it's also known by other names,
Such as Just Sitting,
Shikintaza,
Or Natural Meditation.
In this meditation,
We won't be training the mind,
Using a mantra,
Or investigating the nature of consciousness.
The idea here is to simply rest in the natural state,
Open awareness,
Without the pressure to fix,
Change,
Or achieve anything.
This technique reveals,
Through direct experience,
That awareness is already free from suffering,
And nothing needs to be done for that to be achieved.
However,
There is a paradox here.
When we try to actually do the do nothing technique,
It turns out to be quite challenging because without training,
The mind will become distracted out of habit.
So in this meditation,
We will be doing nothing in order to break the habit of being distracted,
So that the mind eventually recognises that distraction leads to more suffering,
Rather than less.
And from there,
Doing nothing will become the default mode of operating,
When needed.
And when that realisation is experienced directly for a long enough period,
A shift will occur,
That makes the practice become easy,
Enjoyable,
And fun,
And very peaceful.
It will be as if the mind enjoys resting in the natural state,
Once this insight is clear enough.
But a word of warning,
Before we arrive there,
We might have to work through some frustration and confusion,
In the process of getting the mind to recognise the freedom that is innate in doing nothing.
Also,
Just as a little motivator for you,
Please note that this technique is used in the Zen tradition,
Because it has a track record of triggering spontaneous awakening for those who practice.
There's a saying in the Zen tradition,
Spiritual awakening is an accident,
But spiritual practice makes you accident prone,
And this is definitely one of those techniques that can make you ripe for a happy spiritual accident.
But don't try to get there,
It's not a goal,
Or something you can work your way towards.
If it happens,
Great,
But if not,
That's okay too.
It's not something that you can choose.
So the pressure is off here,
All you have to do,
Is practice,
And see what happens.
One more thing before we start.
There's really only one instruction needed for this meditation,
And I'll give it to you now.
Do nothing,
Let whatever happens,
Happen,
And if you notice an intention to control your attention,
You drop the intention.
Return to doing nothing.
I mean,
That is pretty much it,
But I'm going to give you lots more instruction to help you stay on track.
So let's try it out.
Please take a comfortable sitting position.
Ideally you'll be sitting upright,
Awake and alert,
Yet relaxed.
Your eyes can be open or closed for this meditation,
And if they're open,
Try to defocus the gaze.
All you have to do is follow my instructions.
So let's start by taking some nice,
Slow,
Calming,
Deep breaths.
We will breathe in for 6 seconds,
And out for 7 seconds.
So follow along with me now.
Nice big,
Deep breath in,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Breathing out,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Breathing in,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Breathing out,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Breathing in,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Breathing out,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Very good.
And now you can let go of the counting,
Let go of the effort,
And just breathe in a way that feels natural to you.
Let the breath find its own natural rhythm.
You don't breathe,
The body breathes,
And you allow everything to be exactly as it is.
Let everything find a balance.
This practice is all about noticing when an intention arises,
And then dropping that intention.
Or noticing when you're distracted,
And dropping the distraction,
If you can.
So when you pick up on either of those things,
Intention or distraction,
See if you can drop it and do nothing.
Sometimes even if you drop something,
It will continue on,
And that's fine.
It's not intentional,
So you can let yourself off there.
There's no pressure to make this be a certain way.
Over and over again,
We're just going to keep dropping intentions,
And this is how we teach the mind to recognize the perfection of the natural state.
So just rest here now,
Drop any intention to control anything at all,
Drop any intention to be mindful.
You are awake,
You are aware,
And do nothing.
Let go of the idea that there is anything to achieve here,
And be purposeless.
See if you can rest in the natural openness and clarity and freedom that is already available here in awareness.
There's no work to be done,
Just effortless being.
So let whatever happens,
Happen.
There are thoughts,
Feelings,
Emotions,
Just allow them to be there.
But if you notice an intention to control your attention,
You drop that intention.
Do nothing.
At some point you'll become distracted,
Or an intention to do something will arise.
If that happens,
See if you can drop it,
And simply do nothing.
You're not trying to stop thoughts,
Or suppress anything,
You're just giving up intentionally doing things.
At the same time,
See if you can drop all preferences,
There is no direction or goal here.
Allow yourself to be radically uninvolved with the story of you and your intentions.
You don't need to actively scan your experience for intentions,
That would be doing something.
If you're doing anything at all,
See if you can release it.
Whatever your experience is right now,
That's fine,
Don't get involved.
If you're sleepy,
That's okay,
If you're agitated,
That's no problem,
Just don't get involved.
Do nothing.
Sometimes you will notice and let go of an intention,
And it will stick around.
In that case,
It's no longer voluntary,
So you allow it.
What we're doing here is dropping intentions and urges.
So allow thoughts,
Feelings,
Emotions,
Distractions to happen if they are unintentional.
And just stand back from it all,
And stay uninvolved.
There's no pressure on you to make this feel good,
Or to be thought free or peaceful.
You're simply for a short time,
Ignoring the urge to try and control things,
Or do things,
And instead you're doing nothing.
So just let it all happen.
Try not to react or respond to urges,
Desires or intentions.
The mind is discovering something here,
Even if it doesn't feel that way on the surface.
Good things are happening below the surface.
So trust the process,
And do nothing.
Just let whatever happens,
Happen.
And if you notice an intention to control your attention,
You drop the intention and return to doing nothing.
Rest in the open presence of awareness,
And enjoy the fact that there's no pressure to do anything.
Do nothing.
By doing this meditation,
You will learn where your mind naturally goes when it's not directed.
And you will teach the mind to let go with ease,
And over time this will reduce mind wandering,
Rumination and worry.
So just rest here in open awareness,
And do nothing.
At some point you'll become distracted,
Or an intention to do something will arise,
And if that happens,
See if you can drop it and do nothing.
You're not trying to stop thoughts or suppress anything,
You're just giving up intentionally doing things.
Allow thoughts,
Feelings,
Emotions,
Distractions to happen if they are unintentional.
There's no pressure to make this feel good,
Or be thought free or peaceful,
You simply for a short time ignore the urge to try to control things,
Or do things,
And instead do nothing.
And when you do this,
You will notice there is a natural awakeness,
Right here,
Right now,
And you can rest as that.
So whatever is happening,
Just let it happen,
But stay uninvolved,
Don't give in to intentions and urges,
Do nothing.
Call off the search for happiness,
Call off the search for success,
Call off the search for anything other than this,
Just this is enough.
The great Tibetan Yogi,
Known as Longchenpa,
Said this,
Resting in the natural state,
Without seeking anything,
Without any specific method concerning how or when to rest,
That is meditation.
Do nothing.
If you have lots of thoughts or memories,
No problem,
Don't get involved,
They will pass,
And it's the same with emotions,
Just don't indulge the content of thoughts and emotions,
Let everything be just as it is,
Right now,
Just this.
Whatever you are feeling right now,
Good,
Bad,
Positive or negative,
Or indifferent,
It's no problem,
Just drop back and let it all be,
Drop your preferences and be radically uninvolved with your experience.
You don't need to examine your experience,
See if you can let go of trying to make this better or special in some way,
Let whatever is arising naturally carry you,
And just rest in the effortless unfolding of experience.
We have now come to the end of the guided meditation,
But you may continue if you wish.
Thank you for your practice.
