Four Elements, Four Divine States Of Mind

A meditation to develop peace and wisdom. We clear the heart and look at the nature of mind and mind, developing the wisdom to let go. As we let go we find an inner fountain of peace and joy which we radiate to the world.

Transcript

Namo Buddhaya,

Namo Dhammaya,

Namo Samkaya,

Buddham,

Dhammam,

Samkham,

Sarnam,

Gacchami.

We close the eyes,

We open the heart.

And we bring our awareness to the body,

To here,

To now.

Being aware of the body posture,

Being aware of the bodily sensations.

We can visualize the body.

Before we send our attention,

We send our mental energy.

So by being aware of the body,

The body posture,

The bodily sensations,

By visualizing the body,

We're directing our attention,

Our energy to our own body,

Where the energy increases.

When we scatter our attention in all directions,

We scatter our energy in all directions.

And so we feel drained,

Depleted.

Now we direct our attention,

Our energy to our own body,

Where the energy increases.

We bring the attention to the breathing.

We can focus our attention at the nose,

Where we feel the sensation of the air passing 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 decide where we prefer to focus our attention,

And we keep the attention there.

Keeping our attention with the breathing.

Keeping our attention with the body.

We don't send our attention,

We don't send our energy outside the body.

And keeping our attention with the present.

No need to dig up the past.

No need to 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.

All that contacts the mind from inside.

We make it all part of our practice.

Whatever contacts the mind through the five bodily senses,

Whatever forms in the mind,

We make it all part of our practice,

Just being aware,

Letting go.

There's usually some sort of sound.

Being aware of ear contact,

As it arises,

As it passes away.

And vibration passing through the body.

Being aware of bodily sensation,

As moments,

Moments of sensation arising and passing away.

Being aware of all that forms in the mind.

The thoughts,

The feelings,

The memories,

The states of mind.

Like bubbles,

Like mirages,

Waves on the surface of the mind,

Arising and passing away.

So keeping our attention centered with the breathing.

Just watching the breathing,

Watching the mind.

Being aware,

Letting go.

We don't try to stop the mind from thinking.

We simply stop to energize the thinking process.

We don't take interest in what forms in the mind.

If we take interest in what forms in the mind,

Then we pour our mental energy into this process.

We pour our mental energy into this mental process.

We pump it up.

We make it bigger and bigger.

But just watching,

Observing,

Letting go.

We don't react with like,

With dislike.

The bubbles in the mind become fewer and fewer.

The waves on the surface of the mind fade away,

Fall away.

We take away the fuel from the fire.

And the heart becomes more calm.

The heart becomes more clear.

Just watching the breathing,

Watching the mind.

Being aware,

Letting go.

With every breath we clear the heart.

Just watching,

Observing,

Letting go.

The heart becomes more calm.

The heart becomes more cool,

Keeping our attention only in the present.

We don't squeeze the heart.

We don't burn the heart with anger towards past,

With anxiety towards future.

The heart becomes more and more cool as the heart can open.

The energies can flow.

The heart becomes more and more cool because these inner energies are a cool energy.

And as we stop to squeeze the heart with aversion to past,

Aversion to future,

The heart can open.

The energies can flow.

The heart becomes more calm,

More cool,

More clear,

More clean.

The heart becomes more and more at peace.

As we clear the heart,

The heart becomes more and more at peace.

Peace is the natural state of the clear heart.

So in our meditation practice,

We develop peace.

We develop peace through wisdom.

We develop wisdom through peace.

As we can let go on more and more refined levels,

We find a more and more refined peace.

The peace becomes deeper and deeper,

More and more refined.

And as the heart becomes more and more at peace,

We have the wisdom to let go on more and more refined levels.

And so step by step,

Developing peace through wisdom,

Developing wisdom through peace,

Developing the wisdom to see,

To know our own heart,

Developing the wisdom to know our own experience,

The wisdom to see impermanence.

As we see the impermanent nature of all that contacts the mind from outside,

From inside,

The heart can see this is not me,

This is not mine,

This is not myself.

And when the heart really sees this at a deep,

Deep level in the mind,

The heart lets go by itself.

And then we find the real happiness,

The happiness of peace,

The happiness of freedom.

So we train the mind.

We train the mind in mindfulness,

Sharp self-awareness,

The mindfulness to know what is contacting the mind right now from outside,

From inside.

And we train the mind to see the impermanent nature of this contact.

We train the mind to see the impermanent nature of this body.

This body composed of earth,

Water,

Wind and fire,

Solids,

Liquids,

Gases,

Heat.

We borrow these elements for a time to form this body.

And even while we have this body,

These elements are always changing,

Always being replaced.

Every seven years,

Every twelve years,

Whatever it is,

Every single part of this body is completely replaced,

Even the bones.

All the solid parts completely replaced.

From the time we are young to the time we are old,

Everything replaced many times over.

The liquid parts of the body,

They stay in the body for a period of days.

The blood,

The lymph,

The saliva and so on,

All replaced in a matter of days.

The air,

The wind element,

Comes into the body,

Stays for the duration of one breath.

It comes in,

It goes out,

Replaced in one breath.

The fire element,

The body heat,

Generated,

Dissipated from moment to moment to moment.

So we see,

We understand the nature of the four elements of the body,

Always changing,

Always being replaced.

We borrow these elements from the world for a time to form this body.

And while we have them,

They are always being replaced.

And the time must come,

We must give it all back,

Earth to earth,

Water to water,

Wind to wind,

Fire to fire.

Nothing remains to call me to call mine.

So we see the nature of this body.

It's simply a rented house that we live in,

In this world.

Being aware of the bodily sensations through the eye,

The ear,

The nose,

The tongue,

The body,

Just moments.

Moments of sensation from an impermanent body,

Arising and passing away.

We look at all that forms in the mind,

The thoughts,

The feelings,

The memories,

The states of mind.

They arise,

They pass away,

All impermanent.

So always looking at the impermanent nature of our body,

The mental events.

And when the mind really sees this impermanent nature at a deep,

Deep level in meditation,

Then the mind lets go by itself.

A burden rolls off the heart.

We let go of the hot coals burning the heart.

We loosen the hot and heavy chains which we wrap around the heart,

And the heart becomes more and more free.

The happiness of freedom,

The happiness of peace.

So this is the practice.

We train the mind in mindfulness,

Sharp self-awareness.

We train the mind in wisdom,

The wisdom to see impermanence,

The wisdom to let go.

We can't force the mind,

We can't control the mind,

But we can train the mind.

We can train the mind so that it lets go by itself,

And then we find the real happiness,

The happiness of the pure heart.

No happiness can compare.

And so with every breath we clear the heart,

Watching,

Observing,

Letting go.

With every breath we energize the heart as we keep our attention with the breathing,

With the body.

We keep our energy with the body.

The heart becomes more and more unified,

More and more energized.

And as we clear the heart,

We energize the heart,

We find something very special within.

We find something very precious within.

The heart fills with a divine energy,

A sublime energy.

The heart fills with the prana of the universe,

The life force energy,

The light force energy of the universe,

An upward welling of cool,

Clear,

Fresh life force energy,

Light force energy.

And always we observe,

We watch,

We let go,

All impermanent.

We watch over the heart,

Whatever appears in the mind at the heart,

We watch it,

We observe it,

We let it go,

We observe the negative states of mind as they appear.

And we don't feed them,

We simply let them go.

We don't feed them and they pass away,

They fade away,

They fall away.

They become replaced by the positive states of mind.

Peace,

Joy,

Contentment,

Calmness,

Clarity.

The heart becomes more and more at peace.

We see,

We observe the positive states of mind becoming stronger and stronger.

And again we let them go,

We don't hold on,

We don't touch.

And as we let go of the positive states of mind,

The positive states of mind become stronger and stronger.

And the heart becomes more and more at peace.

Because the mind of happiness,

The mind of peace,

Is the mind of letting go.

So watching,

Observing,

Letting go.

Letting go through seeing the impermanent nature of all that contacts the mind,

All that contacts the heart,

All that forms in the heart.

The heart becomes more clear,

More clean.

And we find the inner abode,

The inner abode of the pure heart.

We find the nature of the pure heart is what's called the four divine states of mind,

The four brahma vihara.

The brahmas are the high heavenly beings.

Vihara means dwelling,

Abode.

The four divine states of mind,

Kindness,

Compassion,

Joy,

Equanimity.

So the high heavenly beings,

They abide in kindness,

They abide in compassion,

They abide in joy,

They abide in equanimity,

The abode of the pure heart.

So we watch over the mind,

We watch over the heart,

Clearing,

Cleaning,

Energizing.

And we find this is the normal,

Natural state of the heart,

The natural state of the pure heart.

As we clear the heart,

We make the heart whole,

What's left are these wholesome states of mind,

The four divine states of mind,

Kindness,

Compassion,

Joy,

Equanimity.

So we start our meditation developing this state of equanimity.

These states of mind also make the heart whole as we cultivate them,

As we develop them.

We start our meditation developing this state of mind of equanimity,

Just watching over the mind,

Watching over the heart,

Being aware,

Letting go.

The heart becomes more and more clear,

More and more energized.

The heart fills with this inner divine energy.

We find a wellspring within,

A wellspring of living waters,

A wellspring of living light.

It starts with a feeling of lightness,

Of refinement,

Of harmony,

Of well-being.

We stop to twist and tangle our inner energies.

The energies flow harmoniously and we feel a great sense of inner harmony,

Sense of lightness,

Sense of refinement.

And as we progress in our practice,

We start to see an inner light,

We start to see an inner illumination.

When the eye is single,

The body is full of light.

The light fills the whole body.

And when we have our inner light firmly established,

We have our own inner lantern to light our way on our spiritual journey.

No longer spiritually blind,

No longer walking in the dark.

We have a beacon to show us the way home.

We have our own inner lighthouse.

Back to the heart.

Just watching,

Observing,

Letting go.

The heart becomes more clear,

More and more refined,

More and more sublime.

More cool and clear and clean.

Just watching,

Observing,

Letting go.

The heart becomes more clear,

The heart becomes more energized.

And the inner wellspring becomes a fountain.

Fountain of peace,

Fountain of joy,

Fountain of happiness.

And when the heart becomes a fountain like this,

We have this feeling of overflowing from within,

Our inner cup overflows.

The heart becomes a chalice,

A chalice overflowing with living waters,

Overflowing with living light.

And the mind is content,

Simply to rest within.

Resting within,

Becoming refreshed,

Becoming recharged.

Usually the mind always wants to get entangled with the world.

Entangled with the outside world,

Entangled with the inside world.

But when the heart becomes this overflowing fountain,

Fountain of peace,

Fountain of joy,

Fountain of happiness,

Fountain of strength,

The mind is content to rest within.

Like a king,

Like a queen sitting on a throne.

And there's a feeling of homecoming,

We feel we come home.

Home is where the heart is,

Heart is where the home is.

And we can rest within for as long as we need.

Refreshing the heart,

Recharging the heart.

And when we've rested long enough,

We can share this energy with the world around us.

This energy of peace which radiates from the heart,

We can share with the world around us.

Breathing in,

We focus our attention at the heart chakra,

We wish happiness for ourselves.

Breathing out,

We wish happiness for all beings.

When we simply let this energy overflow from the heart,

We can visualize the light flowing from the heart 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.

And as we do this practice,

It's like we open an inner water tap,

We open an inner valve.

As we open the water tap,

The water gushes out.

As we do this practice,

The inner energy gushes out.

And the heart becomes brighter and brighter,

Wider and wider,

Stronger and stronger.

As the heart becomes brighter and brighter,

We raise our consciousness higher and higher.

We keep our consciousness still and steady within,

Centered at the heart.

But as the heart becomes brighter and brighter,

We tune the heart into the higher levels.

We tune the heart into the higher heavenly realms.

And as the energy field of the heart becomes wider and wider,

Our area of consciousness becomes wider and wider.

The heart becomes stronger and stronger.

The heart becomes more and more powerful.

The heart becomes more powerful,

At the same time more gentle,

More mellow.

Just breathing in,

May I be happy.

Breathing out,

May all beings be happy.

Breathing in,

We wash,

We clear,

We clean our own heart.

Breathing out,

We radiate this energy of peace to the world around us,

We uplift the world around us.

The four divine states of mind,

Kindness,

Compassion,

Joy,

Equanimity.

We start our meditation developing this state of equanimity.

And then we radiate this energy in all directions,

With an attitude of kindness,

With compassion.

And we can be joyful.

We can be joyful in our practice,

In our meditation,

Knowing this practice brings great benefit to ourselves,

Great benefit to the world around us.

We clear,

We clean our own heart,

We radiate this energy of peace to the world around us.

And we can be joyful knowing that what we radiate to the world,

Is what will come back to us.

What we give to the universe,

The universe will give us back many times over.

This energy of peace which we radiate to the world,

Is what will come back to us many times over.

So we can be joyful as we do our practice.

Breathing in,

May I be happy.

Breathing out,

May all beings be happy.

Clearing the heart,

Expanding the heart,

Refining the heart,

Uplifting the heart.

Many many benefits,

Very simple practice.

And now we can just observe the heart,

How does it feel?

Does it feel more open,

More refined,

More at peace,

More steady,

More stable,

More secure?

Whatever way the heart feels,

We watch,

We observe,

We let go.

And we bring our awareness to the body.

Being aware of the body posture,

Being aware of the bodily sensations.

We can visualize the body,

And we can visualize the body full of light.

As we visualize it so,

We make it so.

We bring the hands to the heart,

The palms together.

And now the heart is very strong,

Very bright,

Our power of intention is very strong.

We make the intention to continue with our practice,

Refining the heart,

Strengthening the heart,

Freeing the heart.

We bring the hands to the forehead in gratitude,

Respect.

Gratitude opens the heart,

Respect opens the heart.

Back down to the legs,

We open the eyes,

And we keep the heart open,

Mangalova.

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