Four Element Contemplation

A meditation which calms and clears the heart. We use this clear mind to develop peace and wisdom, understanding the impermanent nature of this body and radiating the peace that overflows from the heart.

Transcript

Welcome. We start our meditation by paying respect, So that we open the heart, We align, We connect with the higher energies. What we pay respect to, The heart opens to, And this is the energy which can come in. So we can all pay respect in our own way. A Buddhist, Christian, Whoever, Can pay respect in their own way. If we have no spiritual tradition, We can pay respect to all that is holy in the universe. Namo Buddhaya, Namo Dhammaya, Namo Sanghaya, Buddham, Dhammam, Sangham, Saranam, Gacchami. We close the eyes, We open the heart, And we bring our attention to the body, To the present, Just being aware of all the sensations of the body, Being aware of the body posture, And we can visualize ourselves as we sit there. Where we send our attention, We send our mental energy. So by visualizing our body, We're directing our attention, Our energy, To our own body, Where the energy increases. We bring our attention to the breathing. We can focus our attention at the nose, Where we feel the sensation of the breath as it passes the nostril, Just keeping our attention at that one point, At the gateway of the breath. Or we can focus our attention at the lower abdomen, As we feel the abdomen rising on the in-breath, Falling on the out-breath. So we can decide where we prefer to keep our attention, And we keep the attention there. We keep our attention with the breathing. We keep our attention with the body. We don't send our attention, Our energy, Outside the body. And we keep our attention only with the present. We don't dig up the past. We don't worry about the future. Just being aware of this present moment, As it arises, As it passes away. Being aware of the breathing in. Being aware of the breathing out. Being aware of the body. Being aware of the mind. Being aware of all that contacts the mind, From outside, From inside. Being aware and simply letting it go, Letting it pass. Being aware of all that contacts the mind, Through the five bodily senses. Being aware of all that forms in the mind itself, The thoughts, The memories, The feelings, The states of mind. We see them, We observe them, And we simply let them pass. We don't react, We don't get entangled. Just staying with the knowing nature of the mind. We don't send the mind out to what the mind knows. Just watching the breathing, Watching the mind. Being aware, Letting go. We don't try to force or control the breathing. We don't try to force or control the mind. Just simply being aware, Letting go. Letting go of all these thoughts which appear in the mind. We can observe them as they appear like bubbles in the mind. They arise, They pass away. If we react to them, Then we create more and more of these bubbles in the mind. If we react to them, We pour our mental energy into this mental process. We pump it up, We make it bigger and bigger. A thought appears in the mind like a bubble in the mind. And if we react to it with like or with dislike, Then we create more of these bubbles in the mind. One bubble becomes a hundred, Becomes a thousand, Becomes thousands and thousands. The heart becomes a jacuzzi. But just watching, Observing, Letting go, The heart stays clear and open. We train the mind in mindfulness and we train the mind to have the wisdom to let go. This meditation is a meditation training the wisdom. The wisdom to simply be able to let go. We all want to let go. We all know if we can let go, The mind will be at peace, The heart will be at peace. But we can't force the mind to let go. We can only train the mind so that it lets go by itself. We train the mind to let go by training the mind to see the impermanent nature of all that contacts the mind from outside, From inside. To see the impermanent nature of this body itself. And when the mind really sees at a deep level in meditation this impermanent nature, The mind lets go by itself. So we train the mind in mindfulness. Mindfulness means to know, To be aware what is contacting the mind right now, What is forming in the mind right now. And we train the mind to have the wisdom to let go. Keeping our attention centered with the breathing, We patiently train our mindfulness. Always with patience, We can't force the mind. We can only patiently train the mind. Whenever we find the mind wandering, Wandering to past, Wandering to future, Dreaming, Drifting, We simply bring our attention back to the breathing, Back to the present. Being aware, Letting go. In time the mindfulness becomes sharper, More refined. The attention stays longer and longer with the breathing, With the present. And as we keep our attention with the breathing, With the present, Watching over the mind, Being aware, Letting go. We let go of all the traffic in the mind. We let go of all the baggage, All the clutter at the heart. The heart becomes more clear, More clean. The heart becomes more still. The heart becomes more and more at peace. The heart becomes more unified. The heart becomes whole. We become wholehearted. We let go of all the things which fragment the heart. We let go of sadness, Of anger towards the past. We let go of anxiety towards the future. The heart becomes more unified, More whole. We become wholehearted. And as the heart becomes unified, The heart becomes whole, We find the natural state of the whole heart is what we call the four divine states of mind, The four wholesome states of mind. Kindness, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity. These are the four divine states of the mind. When we clear the heart, When we clean the heart, This is what remains. So we watch the breathing, We watch the mind, Being aware, Letting go. The heart becomes more clear, More clean. We let go of all states of mind. We let go of anger, Irritation, Frustration, Boredom. Whatever is the state of mind, We let it go. And as we let go of the negative states of mind, They are replaced by these four divine states of mind. Kindness, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity. The heart becomes more and more at peace. We observe these positive states of mind and we let them go. Even the positive, The wholesome states of mind, We let go of. And as we let go of these wholesome states of mind, The heart becomes even more at peace. The peace becomes deeper, Stronger, More refined. Because the mind of happiness, The mind of peace, Is the mind of letting go. We continue to simply watch the breathing, To watch the mind, Being aware, Letting go. The heart becomes more clear, More clean, More still, More at peace. The heart becomes stronger and stronger. As the heart becomes more unified, The heart becomes more energized, Filled with a sublime energy, Filled with the prana, The life force energy, The light force energy of the universe. And as the heart is filled with this life force energy, We feel more alive, More alert, More awake. And as the heart is filled and flooded with this light force energy, The heart becomes brighter and brighter. We continue to simply watch the breathing, To watch the mind, Being aware, Letting go. This inner light, This inner brightness fills the entire body. And so we have our own inner lantern to light our way on our spiritual journey. We are no longer walking in the dark, No longer spiritually blind. And we have our beacon to guide us home, Back to the heart. So this is the first stage in our meditation practice. In my tradition, The Thai forest tradition, This is the first stage to make the heart clear and clean, To make the heart centered and still. This is the first stage. When the heart is clear and clean like this, When the mind is strong, The mind is clear, We put the mind to work to develop wisdom, The wisdom to see the impermanent nature of this body, These bodily sensations, These mental events. So we can look at the body in terms of the four elements of the body. This body is composed of earth, Water, Wind, Fire, Solids, Liquids, Gases, Heat. We borrow these elements from the world and in time we must give them back. And while we have these components, They are always changing, Always being replaced. So when the heart is still and clear, The heart is at peace, We start by visualizing the solid parts of the body. We can start with the hair on the head. We can visualize the hair on the head. Try to see, Try to visualize the hair on the head. And we can consider how the hair has changed. Since we were born as a baby, The hair was silky smooth. How the hair has changed as we were 5 years old, 10 years old, 20 years old, How the hair looks at present, How the hair will be if we live to be 70, 80, 90. It's always changing. It grows, It falls off. In the time of the Buddha, There was a young novice monk, A young boy, And he was having his head shaved. And as he saw the hair fall from his head, He became completely enlightened there and then. He could see so deeply in his mind that this body is not me, Not mine, That he became completely enlightened there and then. This is because when he was in former life, He was a monk, Practicing diligently all his life, But not yet reaching this final point of enlightenment. He passed away, Was reborn, He became this young boy. And so he needed very little push to reach this final point. As he saw the hair fall from his head, He saw so deeply, This is not me, This body is not me, Not mine. He could let it go. So this is intellectually common knowledge, We all know, We all understand. The body is not self, The hair is not self. It seems obvious, But when the mind really sees this at a deep, Deep level in meditation, The mind lets go at a deep, Deep level in meditation. We can visualize the hair all around the body, The arms, The legs, The eyebrows, The facial hair if we have. And we can consider how it's always changing. It grows, It falls off, It comes from the food we eat. And since we were born, It has changed many times. When we were a young baby, When we were 5 years old, 10 years old, 20, Present time. How will it be when we become old? If we live to 80 or 90, It will be different again. We can visualize the nails on the body. They grow, We cut them off, They grow, We cut them off. The body is being replaced. We can visualize a single fingernail, Or we can look at all the nails on the hands, On the feet. These fingernails have changed so many times since we were born. We can visualize the teeth in the mouth. We were born with no teeth. If we live to be 80, 90, 100, We can die with no teeth. We can be aware, We can try to visualize these teeth in the mouth. We can visualize the skin all around the body. Try to see, Try to visualize your own skin. And we consider when we were born, A newborn baby, The skin was very different. When we were 5 years old, 10 years old, 20 years old, Present time, How will it be when we become 70, 80, 90? Always changing. So these are the external parts of the body. In my tradition, The Thai forest tradition, Every single monk ordained since the time of the Buddha was given these five objects to take as their meditation object. For more than 2, 500 years, Every single monk ordained as a Buddhist monk was told to take these objects as his meditation object. And now we bring our attention back to the breathing, Just being aware of the breathing in, Being aware of the breathing out, Resting the mind, Just watching the breathing. So first of all, We bring ourselves to a state of peace, Of stillness, Of clearness, Stability, But we don't get addicted to this inner peace. When the mind is clear and stable, We put the mind to work to generate wisdom. And when we have rested enough, We put the mind back to work. So we all find our own inner balance, The balance between sleeping too much, Sleeping too little, Eating too much, Eating too little, The balance between walking meditation, Sitting meditation, And in our meditation, The balance between this resting in stillness and these active contemplations. And this balance is always changing, Even at different times of the day. And now we can go deeper into the body. We can try to see, Try to visualize the internal organs, Try to see, Try to visualize the brain, Try to see, Try to visualize the lungs, Try to see the lungs as they fill with air and as they deflate. And we can consider, We can contemplate how fragile these organs are, How impermanent they are. Our life depends on these internal organs, But they are so fragile. We can be aware of the intestines from the mouth to the stomach, The small intestines, The large intestines, Just try to be aware, Try to visualize. We can visualize the heart, Try to see your heart, The liver, The kidneys, Try to be aware, Try to visualize all the internal organs. We visualize our skeleton, Try to be aware of the entire skeleton, The bones all around the body. We can visualize the entire skeleton, We can visualize a single bone of the body. And we can consider even these bones have been replaced so many times. After a certain period of years, Seven years or twelve years, I've heard different numbers, But after a period of years, Even all the bones are completely replaced. And now we bring our attention back to the breathing, Just resting the mind with the breathing. So like sailing a sailboat, We're always adjusting ourselves in our meditation, We're always finding the right balance. We don't strain the mind too much, We don't tire too much with doing these contemplations, These active contemplations. And we don't spend too much time getting addicted to this inner stillness. Just being aware of the breathing in, Being aware of the breathing out, Being aware of letting go. We can visualize the water element in the body, The liquid parts of the body. We can be aware of the saliva in the mouth, The fluid in the eyes, The blood in the heart, And from the heart, The blood in all the veins, The arteries all around the body, The lymph in the body. We can visualize all these liquid parts. These liquid parts are all replaced in a matter of days, Even the blood is replaced in a matter of days. What comes from the water we drink? We drink fluids, We drink water, And we must release what comes from the body. Always changing, Components always being replaced. We can be aware of the wind element, The air as it comes into the lungs. Try to see, Try to visualize the lungs as they fill with air, As they deflate. This air comes from the outside, It comes from the outside, Goes back to the outside. It stays in the body for the duration of one breath. We can be aware of the body heat. Try to feel, Try to be aware of your own body heat. This body heat is generated, Dissipated from moment to moment to moment. It arises, It passes away. So these are the four elements of the body. The earth element, The water element, The wind element, The fire element. The solid, Liquid, Gases and heat in the body. We borrow them from the world for a time to form this body, And while we have this body, These components are always changing, Always being replaced. And in time, Sooner or later, We must give it all back. We want to or not, We must give it all back. And more than likely, The body will be cremated. The fire element will become the ambient temperature. The liquid parts will simply evaporate. They go their way in the water cycle. The wind becomes simply atmosphere, And the solid parts become a pile of ash. Earth to earth, Water to water, Wind to wind, Fire to fire. Nothing reigns. Nothing remains to call me or mine. Just the four elements of the world. So we do this meditation to see the impermanent nature of this body, These impermanent components, And when the mind really sees the impermanent nature of this body, The mind lets go by itself. And in letting go, We find the real happiness, The happiness of peace, The happiness of freedom, Freedom from our own mental disturbance. We observe the sensations of the body, The bodily sensations, As they arise, As they pass away. All sensations through the eye, The ear, The nose, The tongue, The body, Simply as impermanent sensations, Impermanent events from an impermanent body. They arise, They pass away. When we do these four element contemplations, This knowledge, This wisdom goes deep into the mind. And then we can really see, We can really understand these sensations simply as impermanent sensations, Not me, Not mine. We rest the mind again with the breathing. Just watching the breathing, Being aware, Letting go, We rest the mind. So we work the mind, We rest the mind. We work the mind, We rest the mind. Always finding our own inner balance. Sometimes the mind is tired. It's enough simply to rest the mind with the breathing. Sometimes the mind is very active and we can spend a long time doing these contemplations. So we all find our own inner balance. We watch the mental events, Being aware of the thoughts as they appear like bubbles in the mind. These memories like mirages in the mind, They appear, They pass away. If we react, We perpetuate them. But if we simply watch, We observe, We let go, They arise, They pass away. The feelings in the mind, They appear, They disappear. The states of mind like the clouds in the sky. Sometimes we look at the sky, All we see are clouds. Same with the heart. Sometimes the heart is so full of whatever is the state of mind, We cannot see our own heart. In time all these clouds pass away, Leaving the sky clear and open. If we simply watch the mind, Being aware, Letting go, We let go of all these states of mind, They all pass away, Leaving the heart clear and open. So this is how we train ourselves in wisdom. To see the impermanent nature of the body, The impermanent nature of the bodily sensations, The impermanent nature of these mental events. And when the mind really sees at a deep, Deep level in meditation, This impermanent nature, The mind lets go by itself. We don't need to force the mind to let go. The mind lets go by itself. And then finds the real happiness, The happiness based on wisdom. The happiness which grows step by step on our spiritual journey. The heart becomes lighter and lighter, Brighter and brighter, More and more refined. And we find the peace of the heart, Which is based on wisdom, Has a different quality to the peace of mind, Simply just by watching the breathing, Letting go. It's like putting a stone on a bunch of weeds. When we take away the stone, It looks like the weeds have died, But the roots are still underneath. But with this practice of developing wisdom, The wisdom to see the impermanent nature of body, Of mind, We cut away these roots and we find a different quality of the inner peace. The peace becomes deeper and deeper, More and more refined. And now we can simply rest the mind again, Just watching the breathing, Being aware, Letting go. Just being aware of the breathing in, Being aware of the breathing out. The heart becomes clear and clean. The heart becomes whole. The heart becomes more and more energized. We feel this cool, Clear, Fresh, Life-force energy, Light-force energy, Welling up from within, Within the heart. We find this bottomless well of living waters, Living light. This energy just gushes up from within and overflows from the heart. And this energy which overflows from the heart we can share with the world around us. We breathe in, Wishing happiness for ourselves. Breathing out, We wish happiness for all beings. Breathing in, We energize the heart. Breathing out, We let the heart overflow. Breathing in, We can visualize the heart filling with light. Breathing out, We can visualize this light of the heart flowing in all directions, Above, Below, All around. So breathing in, May I be happy. Breathing out, May all beings be happy. Breathing in, Energizing the heart. Breathing out, Letting the heart overflow. So the energy which we develop in our meditation, The merit which we develop in our meditation, We share with all beings. Now the heart is very strong, Very bright. And we can share this energy of the heart with all beings. As we breathe in, We make the heart more and more at peace. As we breathe out, We radiate this energy of peace to the world around us. We uplift the world around us. The heart becomes more bright, More cool, More clear, More clean. And the heart becomes wider and wider. As the heart becomes wider and wider, Our area of consciousness becomes wider and wider. As the heart becomes brighter and brighter, We raise our consciousness higher and higher. Breathing in, May I be happy. Breathing out, May all beings be happy. And now we can just examine, We can observe our heart. Does it feel more open, More refined, More at peace, More steady, More stable, More secure? Whatever way the heart feels, We observe it, We let it go. We bring our awareness to the body. Just being aware of the bodily sensations, Being aware of the body posture, We can visualize ourselves as we sit here. We bring the hands to the heart chakra, The palms together, And now the heart is very strong, Very bright. And with this strong, Bright heart, We make the intention to continue with our spiritual practice, Which the Buddha defined simply as avoiding doing evil, To do good, And to purify the heart. We bring the hands to the forehead in gratitude, Respect, Back down to the legs, And when you're ready, In your own time, We open the eyes and we keep the heart open. Mangal Ho.

Reviews

Great teaching on opening the heart ♥️