Welcome to this practice on mindfulness of body elements.
This practice is inspired by Buddha's teachings in the Satipatthana Sutta,
His guidance on establishing mindfulness.
Here we're not using the body to establish mindfulness,
But instead using mindfulness to help see more clearly the true nature of the body.
So we start by finding somewhere quiet and taking our seats.
And this can be any posture,
Where we can be open,
Receptive,
Present.
We're not wanting to strain or force.
But have a kind of soft,
Gentle alertness.
So just checking if there's any way you're holding tension.
It could be released a little.
Then we establish mindfulness in front of ourselves.
So first we do this by setting an intention,
Reminding ourselves why we're doing this practice today.
And then we establish mindfulness in front by placing our attention on our breath,
Maybe somewhere in the front of our body,
The nostrils,
The chest,
The belly.
Or maybe somewhere else if that works better for you.
And we simply notice that we're breathing in and that we're breathing out.
Doesn't matter how the breath is,
We're not trying to make it any particular way,
We're just noticing.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Allowing the body and the mind to gradually settle.
If the mind wanders,
Just gently returning to the breath,
Returning to the body sitting here.
And being aware of the whole body of the breath from the moment of start of each inhalation all the way through to the end of each inhalation.
And the same for each exhalation.
Being aware of the body of the breath from the start all the way through to the end.
That feels like a little bit too much effort,
Too much straining for you now.
You could just simply feel the breath coming and going in the physical body.
And just letting the breath calm the body.
So this could just be noticing the body calming with each breath coming and going.
Maybe more actively sending the breath to wherever in the body needs to let go,
To calm a little.
And having this awareness of the posture of the body,
Whether you're sitting or lying,
Just a gentle,
Soft awareness of the whole body.
And today we're practicing contemplation of the body.
It's the different elements.
These natural elements,
Earth,
Water,
Fire and air.
And to help us with this,
The Buddha gave an image of a butcher who's cut up a cow and laid out the different parts.
This image is not to create a version,
But just to help us see more clearly the different parts that comprise our body.
When something's seen in parts,
It becomes harder to hold on to the idea,
This is me,
This is mine.
So we begin with the earth element and this refers to whatever is solid or firm in the body that might be our bones,
Our teeth,
Our weight.
So we start by bringing attention to the head.
And just knowing the earth element is present.
We don't have to actually feel the sensations as we might in a body scan.
Just knowing is enough.
So aware of the skull,
Knowing the earth element is present,
The jaw.
The tea.
Just knowing elements.
The neck.
Shoulders.
Upper arms,
S.
Lower arms,
Hands,
Fingers.
Just knowing a element.
The ribcage,
Spine.
Pelvis,
Upper legs.
Lower leg.
Feet and toes.
Just snowing.
Earth element.
Being aware of the solidity of the body.
The weight.
And being aware of the earth element internally and externally,
The floor beneath you.
The chair or the cushion supporting you.
The walls,
The trees outside,
Pebbles,
Rocks,
Mountains.
Knowing that it's the same element internally and externally.
There's no clear dividing line.
The body is simply borrowing its solidity.
In the external world.
What we call the body is just made from minerals,
The earth itself.
We can't truly own it.
We can't fully control it.
It's just earth element temporarily gathered together.
And now shifting our attention to the water element.
So this is fluidity,
Blood,
Saliva.
So sweat and our moisture in every cell.
It's the flowing nature of the body.
So this time we start with the feet and as before we don't have to sense the element directly,
Just knowing it is there is enough.
So bringing attention to the feet.
Knowing that water element is present.
Lower legs.
Upper legs.
Water.
Hips,
Abdomen,
Chest.
Water.
Aware of the organs,
The kidneys,
The liver,
The stomach.
The bladder and all the fluids moving through the body.
Knowing that water element is present.
And moving to the back.
The fingers,
The hands,
The arms,
Water.
Shoulders,
Neck.
Fades.
Head.
Water.
The whole body containing water.
Just knowing water element.
Is present.
And being aware of the water element externally as well as internally.
The rain,
The rivers,
The lakes,
The sea.
Knowing this is the same water element inside and outside.
Our body is constantly exchanging water with the world as we drink,
Sweat,
Cry,
Pee.
This water is not truly mine.
It's passed through countless forms before this body and will continue through countless after.
It's just water element.
Temporarily here.
And now bring your attention to the fire element.
So the fire is warmth,
Heat,
Temperature,
Digestion,
Metabolism.
Often we feel this on the skin.
So this time we begin at the head.
Just knowing fire element is present.
Aware of warmth in the face,
The neck.
Shoulders,
Um hands and fingers.
Knowing fire element.
Is present.
Your chest,
The abdomen.
The back,
The hips,
Fire.
The upper leg,
Lower legs,
Feet and toes.
Fire.
The whole body alive with temperature.
Maybe sensing some warmth in the body,
The hands,
The chest,
The breath.
Or simply knowing.
Fire element.
His presence.
And we're aware of the fire element internally and externally.
Knowing it's the same element inside and outside.
The warmth of the sun,
The heat from a fire.
The woman.
As Thich Nhat Hanh says,
The sun is like our second home.
Not inside the body.
But it still is essential to us for our lives.
So even this warmth which we call my body does not belong to us.
Just this fire element temporarily here.
And finally bringing our attention to the air element.
So air is movement,
Motion,
Vibration.
We most clearly feel this with the breath.
So this time we start scanning with the feet.
Is ever just knowing is enough.
So we take our attention to the feet,
Knowing air element is present.
Lower leg Upper leg.
Hips.
And The abdomen gently moving with the breath.
The chest expanding and releasing.
The lungs,
The diaphragm.
The subtle movements,
Air through the body.
The back.
The fingers,
The hands.
Ugh.
Element.
The arms,
The shoulders.
Eh.
The neck.
The face.
The head.
And the whole body breathing.
Movie vibrating.
Just knowing,
Element.
Is present.
And being aware of the air element externally as well as internally.
Knowing it's the same element inside and outside.
The wind moving through the trees.
The air moving across the skin.
The atmosphere surrounding the body.
The breath constantly flowing in and out,
No separate ownership.
This breath cannot be held by us forever.
Noticing the air element moving through us.
Not belonging to us.
And now aware of the whole body together.
Water.
Fire Ehhh.
A body made up of elements.
Not separate from the world around you.
The same elements internally.
The same elements externally.
There's no sharp boundary.
Between us and not us.
So perhaps sensing how the body is less personal than we sometimes take it to be.
It's not something fully ownable.
It's not something fully controllable.
Simply these different conditions arising together for a time.
Like a river flowing,
Always changing.
This body borrowed from nature.
Sustained by nature.
Returning eventually to nature.
So taking a moment,
Resting in awareness,
The whole body.
This flow of elements.
This mindfulness that there is a body.
And bring your awareness back to your breath once more,
Noticing the breath coming and going.
I'm just noticing how you're being held by the air.
Letting yourself feel the support of the air.
And at the same time,
If you like,
Maybe taking One or two deeper,
More conscious breaths.
And then starting to bring yourself back,
Making a little movement in your fingers,
Your toes,
Any other stretch feels good for you in this moment.
This mindfulness of body elements practice.
It's now.
Complete.
