Do Not Suppress, But Acknowledge And Let Go

Letting go is radically different from suppression, denial or displacement. Ajahn Dhammasiha encourages us to acknowledge whatever arises in out mind, even if it's negative and challanging emotions or memories. If we just deny and suppress them, they will never be resolved, but just get pushed into the unconscious part of our mind, and will later surface again. Only after we investigate them mindfully and understand them wisely as not-me, not-mine, not-self are we able to truly let go of them.

Transcript

So we settle down in our body and mind.

We settle down in the present moment.

And we settle down on the breath.

We sit upright but not up tight.

It's good to keep the back upright.

It's not so important to be cross-legged.

And then we simply watch the breath.

We are mindful of the in-breath and the out-breath.

So we feel the in-breath,

We feel the out-breath.

We experience the in-breath.

We are fully aware of the out-breath.

We don't really have to manipulate the breath or do anything.

Our job is simply to experience the breath,

To feel every in-breath.

To be mindful of every out-breath.

To know every in-breath.

To be fully aware of every out-breath.

But of course you already have the in-breath.

But of course you already,

Additionally to the breath,

There's all kinds of thoughts,

Memories,

Images,

Fantasies,

Feelings,

Emotions,

Bubbling up in the mind all the time.

The task is to let go of that.

We stay with the breath and we let go of all the other things.

It's so important that we understand the difference between letting go and denial or suppression.

Or displacement.

What some meditators try,

They try to just suppress or deny or displace any of the unwholesome emotions.

Say if anxiety comes up,

They try to just immediately block it,

Deny it.

Or anger or restlessness,

Any of the obstructions.

The point is not denying,

The point is letting go,

It's something different.

Letting go means first acknowledging and being aware.

So if any unwholesome emotion arises,

Rather than denying,

Suppressing,

We are mindful of it,

We are aware of restlessness or aversion or desire,

Whatever it may be.

Once we are aware,

Mindful of the unbeneficial emotion,

We can notice that this emotion is not really real,

It's not really me,

It's fake.

How is it fake?

For example,

I am angry.

The eye is fake,

There's no eye really,

It's just an emotion arising and passing away.

It is fake because it's impermanent,

It doesn't last.

Restlessness may be rising,

Anxiety may be rising,

But at some stage it also fades away and it ends.

So it's fake in the sense that it's not really lasting,

It's not permanent.

All these emotions always try to masquerade as being impermanent,

As being lasting,

As being permanent.

So we see through that masquerade,

We recognize the emotion as not being me,

Not mine,

I don't own that.

There may be anger or there may be desire,

But it's not my desire.

The my is fake,

The I,

Me,

Mine,

Safe is fake.

So we see through that masquerade.

Maybe we're feeling a little bit down,

A little bit depressed.

So we acknowledge,

We're aware of it,

We're mindful.

But usually the feeling will also want to convince us that now we are down forever,

Now we always have to be unhappy.

That's what it feels like when we are depressed.

So we recognize that as fake,

We have been unhappy before and then we were happy again.

We were happy before and turned unhappy and again happy.

So the presentation as lasting,

I be happy forever or unhappy forever,

Now this is fake.

So we acknowledge that as being true,

We are happy.

So we acknowledge that as being true,

We are happy.

So we acknowledge that as being true,

We are happy.

So we stay with the birth.

Feeling every in-breath,

Experiencing every out-breath.

And all these emotions,

Thoughts,

Memories which arise,

We don't suppress or deny.

We acknowledge them,

We are aware of them.

But we recognize the fake aspect.

We are trying to tweak us that this is me,

I am anxious,

Depressed,

Whatever,

The I is fake there.

I will be forever unhappy now,

The forever is fake there,

And maybe unhappiness or depression,

But it just comes and goes.

And the moment we can see that,

The moment we remember that,

It's not really me,

I don't own that emotion.

This emotion is not myself,

It's not I.

We recognize and remind ourselves this emotion is never forever,

Doesn't last,

It changes,

It goes away.

Then we can actually let go,

And we can really put it down.

Not denying or suppressing,

But being aware,

Mindful of the emotion,

Recognizing the emotion as impermanent,

Not me,

Not mine.

And then to really let go,

To really put it down.

And same with the next thing that's coming up,

As all of you can empty the mind for these unwholesome,

Disturbing things one by one.

Acknowledging,

Recognizing as impermanent,

As not me,

Not mine,

And then wisely putting them down,

Letting them go.

And we continue staying with the breath,

We're not putting the breath down.

The breath is our anchor for the awareness.

We know each in-breath,

We feel each out-breath.

And each time we acknowledge and become aware of any of these things.

Each time we acknowledge and become aware of any of these disturbing emotions.

And we then recognize them as not me,

Not mine,

And as impermanent.

And we then put them down,

Let them go,

Wisely.

We also notice how the mind,

Each time we do that,

Becomes lighter,

Brighter,

More happy,

Less bothered,

Less troubled.

Noticing that we really get the knack of it,

We start enjoying that.

Something disturbing or challenging or difficult coming up in the mind,

Not afraid to allow it into our awareness.

But as we can see it as not me,

Not mine,

And impermanent,

We can then again let it go,

Put it down,

Drop it.

And again the mind becomes lighter,

Brighter,

More at ease.

And we just continue doing that as long as things come up,

Other than the breath,

Which are of a disturbing nature.

We continue acknowledging,

Recognizing,

Impermanent,

Not me,

And wisely letting them go.

And then enjoying the freedom,

The lightness,

Every little act of letting go is giving to our mind.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We are now in the state of self-realization.

We can continue with our short walking meditation.

We can continue with our short walking meditation.

We can continue using the same technique.

Only now our anchor,

What we are focusing on is the sensation of walking.

Like in the feet or in the whole body,

We are walking.

That's our anchor.

And then again,

Any unbeneficial,

Obstructive emotions coming up,

Whether anger or anxiety,

Restlessness or sleepiness,

Or fear or conceit,

Whatever is coming up there in terms of unwholesome emotions,

It's not about denying,

It's not about suppressing,

Displacing,

But they have to be acknowledged in conscious awareness.

And then they have to be seen as ultimately fake.

And how are these unwholesome emotions ultimately fake?

Because they are pretending they are me or mine,

And that is not true.

They are pretending that they will last forever.

Every emotion when it's strong gives us this delusion like it's going forever.

That is fake.

So this is what we analyze and recognize.

And recognizing that then we can actually not deny or suppress that emotion,

But we can just let it go.

We can just put it down.

We can just leave it and let go.

Reviews

Really liked the explanation of the difference between suppression and being consciously aware and them letting go

Good!

Wonderful guided meditation. Your voice Bhante brings so much peace, and your words, so much wisdom. Thanks a lot Bhante for sharing. With lots of Metta and Gratitude 🙏🙏🙏

So helpful. Perfect pace Thank you.

Excellent

This was an excellent meditation.

Effective and informative practice thank you 🙏

Breath and birdsong one of the most effective meditations I’ve experienced thank you for your wisdom:)

Wonderfully supportive for understanding and getting free from mental or emotional traps that cause suffering through identification. Thank you!

Wonderful words, birds in the background, really effective wisdom. Add this to my bookmarks. Thank you

This instruction of the difference between letting go and simply supressing very much resonated with me.

It is very easy to leave all the outside distractions behind with this beautifully delivered meditation

I really enjoyed this meditation. Thank you for new insights.

Lovely meditation for letting go. Thank you the nature sounds in the background really soothing quality 🙏

Thank you

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu.
It is interesting that Ajahn uses the word 'fake' alot. A powerful medicine for deeply rooted delusion. In a Chinese historical drama (tv is counter - productive but I have defilements) a character said "see everything that arises in your meditation as an illusion". This seems to be in line with Ajahn's teaching. Once we see it as fake then it is disempowered; dispassion can arise. Being dispassionate one is disenchanted. Being disenchanted one is liberated...simples.

Simple, effective and lovingly held throughout the guidance... thank you 🙏

So very gentle and sweet. Very kind instructions. Thank you. ☮️💖🙏