An Embodied Truth

In this insightful talk we explore Viveca, disengagement or stepping back. In visual terms, its creating space around an object, like the silence around sound. Ajahn Sucitto also notes how the body reflects what is going on in the mind, so using the bodily sense scan be a challenge but it provides a very accurate read on mental formations. It helps us detect karmic effects that arise and move us to action. Embodiment gives a way of discharging. The mind jumps over things that the body doesn’t.

Transcript

So what I described this morning is a process called Viveka,

Disengagement or stepping back.

Whereby there is a kind of,

In visual terms,

If you like,

There is a certain space around an object.

A space that is not resisting it but not participating in it.

If we use a visual language,

It could be the silence around the sounds,

Use the auditory channel.

It could also be the sensitivity around whatever is felt.

This is the embodiment channel.

Sensitivity to what is felt.

Not the feeling itself but being with the feeling.

So there is particularly with certain advantages of this and challenges of course.

Because with a visual sense one can feel pretty much,

Oh yeah that's there,

I'm definitely apart from that.

In fact visual sense you can't feel anything.

So that's relatively cool.

Auditory again you're definitely separate from what you hear.

Modular sense not so much.

You're a bit more in it because of feeling.

Now this makes it a very accurate barometer to mental formations.

It's a very accurate readout on mental formations.

Clearly the body has its own life,

Sensations and things that are afflicting the skin or the tissues or the muscles,

Health and so forth.

Also in terms of its energetic or its nervous energy,

It's very much associated with mental formations.

So to say we get the butterflies in the stomach fluttering when we're nervous.

We can hear hackles rising when we're a bit irritated.

We can feel ourselves seizing up solid when we're threatened or feeling extremely small and crumpled,

Sinking down.

These are quite common experiences where they're felt in a bodily sense.

Shoulders slump.

You feel yourself lifting.

And physically perhaps nothing much happens physically but in terms of bodily energy there's definitely a big shift.

And those shifts are absolutely accurate readout of what the mind is doing.

In fact I would venture to say they are why the mind is doing things.

They come first and mental stuff comes second.

But it doesn't really matter.

But it gives you an accurate readout of what's going on.

And also it gives you a way of discharging what's going on.

Because it's very difficult to get perspective.

If you get perspective mind broadly,

Broad perspective thoughts come and go.

But specifically what is actually getting into you now?

The specific details of karmic effects.

Not just the arises and passes but that was a sense of fear.

That was guilt.

That was passion.

That was something like that.

And suddenly subtle aquas.

Because of course the mind has a huge censoring system.

Blocks,

Edits,

Censors.

And it runs onto the next thought rather than we dwell upon and get the feeling of where I was coming from.

So it's quite possible for you to feel quite churned up and irritated and not actually know it.

Of course when you're looking at it from the outside it's obvious.

But the person is just being clear.

I'm just taking a picture of how it's at.

My eyes are bulging out my head but I'm just being clear.

Oh really?

You know it's always easy.

And the subtler things because of the censoring,

Shaming,

Fearing qualities that go on about you didn't really feel that.

That's silly.

You didn't feel it.

So that happens quite a bit.

And the mind can jump onto the next thing and not notice what was happening in terms of the mood.

Defensive.

So we rush onto the next thing.

You don't know what I mean defensive.

Why?

What's happening?

Or what is that?

Now if you come to the body there's a real honesty there.

Defensive.

Uh huh.

Where's that?

Sense of rising,

Huddling,

Bristling,

Hardening.

Is that needed?

What's happening?

Is it possible to check that out?

Breathe out,

Relax it as you get more in tune with that system.

You learn how you can just unplug the charge.

But generally by widening your awareness includes your whole body because only certain parts of your body get activated.

Like you never really have angry feet or guilty knees.

So you know if you get this sweeping in your chest or your face you know what I mean.

Alright.

Breathing out,

Spreading your awareness down through the entire form.

Until you come to the place where that emotional effect isn't happening.

Alright.

Touching ground.

Coming down.

Alright.

Here I am.

By and large the mental effects take us into limited areas.

So the whole body,

And it's not the sensations,

Although naturally that's going to come in as well.

As you call sensations.

But looking at it primarily as a way to get some referencing.

Not just to the fact of mental context.

Specific qualities.

And this is very important because that's where karma is.

That's where what we do comes from that place.

Whether we know it or not.

And that's the message of karma.

You may not know it but you may still be doing it.

And that means,

Like the Buddha said,

If you hold a red old cannibal and you don't know it you're still going to get burnt.

So if you're acting you want to know quick.

Because you're setting down habits.

Establishing habits.

So you read it,

Here check.

What's going on?

Is it appropriate?

Necessary?

Helpful?

And then also past karma.

That is how I've been set.

How my sensitivities have been set.

By the by own actions or the actions of others.

Either by the environment I'm in or by what I've done.

So what are my inheritance you could say.

So if one is kind of nervy or tendency towards compulsive actions.

Reactions and compulsive actions of various kinds.

Which we're all probably aware of and a bit disappointed by.

Reactions to feel frightened or to feel urgent or to feel threatened or something.

What's going on?

Stop it.

You know so you get to sense those of that quality when you come into an embodiment.

And you're going to check.

And the simple check is you're safe,

Comfortable,

Peaceful,

Restful.

So that's what you want to look at that as the ground state.

And if it's not there you want to know it.

Because if it's not there surely your actions will proceed from that basis.

The fundamental set of your embodiment is going to give you access to the foundation for your perceptions,

Interpretations of yourself and others.

Established upon that fundamental set.

So if that fundamental set is affected by anxiety.

You will notice things that make you anxious.

You will act constantly planning and trying to figure things out.

If it's set upon a depressive state,

Depressive flat state,

You will always see the saddening side of life.

You will feel a tendency to feel a bit lonely and hopeless.

And there's nothing you can do that will ever get you out of that.

As long as that foundation remains.

It's called the substrate.

Upadhi in Pali.

The substrate.

And this is a stern message.

Because it's not just your fault.

It's certainly your responsibility.

Because if that substrate is not handled,

That will act as the foundation for you.

As long as it's there,

You will continue to act from that basis.

And the Buddha says,

Not just this life,

But onwards.

You know,

Until it's gone.

That's a pretty stern teaching isn't it?

But I'm sure it's being presented like,

Get to work on this one.

This is,

Don't worry about the little fiddly thought stuff.

Just look at the basis.

You have a few foolish thoughts.

Yeah.

But the main thing is,

Where are you coming from?

Your ground,

Your foundation.

We'll deal with the details later.

Because much of our thought process is in a way a reaction to our foundation.

Much of our personality is a reaction to that.

So the person is always trying to feel confident.

It's probably not very confident.

They have to keep doing something to make it so.

And so on.

I know a fellow who's always,

He's got on my nerves.

This guy is so kind of,

Always cheerful and.

.

.

Depressive actually.

But he's always set,

He's personally set as a counter action to the foundational setting.

So it's something we,

You know,

Just to know for oneself.

And sometimes you don't know.

Because it's so set that,

Well this is normal.

And your mind will perceive the perceptions that fit that.

Because that's the lens it's looking at life through.

And it will start to assemble realities that will match where you're coming from.

That's karma.

That's the inheritance.

Now it's not necessarily because of something you've particularly done.

You can feel guilty or mess,

Neurotic.

But it can be,

As the Buddha says,

Either through one's own actions or through the actions of others.

So if we've been in an environment that's extremely unsafe or threatening or not particularly gracious or loving,

Then we'll probably have an anxiety set.

Because you absorb it.

You start to fall within the environment.

Now that's obviously not great news.

But the beauty of it is,

If we learn to establish an environment that counteracts that,

An environment of safety,

Trust,

Welcoming,

And sit in that,

And just hold presence in that,

That will begin to wash away some of this substrate.

Of course this is fairly deep stuff because sometimes we get mesmerized just by this crackle of white noise on the top of the mind.

And say it's not terribly important.

It's of some importance.

You don't want to follow it.

But the most important thing is to be able to navigate through that.

And this is what your body will do.

Your body intelligence will do.

Your sense of presence.

Because you'll sit.

And you'll wonder,

Why am I so,

You know,

There's a lot of busyness here.

And it doesn't seem to be that busy.

What's going on?

You feel nervous tension in the belly,

Chest,

The face.

You don't have to have a verbal explanation.

And then in front of me is open,

Spacious.

Beneath me is settled.

Behind me is resolute calm.

Around me,

Whatever,

Warm space.

Whatever is conducive to that.

And naturally the programming will begin to jar against that.

You can't see they're doing nothing.

You should be.

.

.

Okay,

There's the challenge,

Isn't it?

And you just keep coming to how that's kind of throwing you up into your head or your face.

Take a particular pattern and come back to the whole presence sitting here.

This is called,

One is aware mindfully and with clear comprehension to the extent to know there is a body.

So it's so simple,

But it's extremely profound.

Because most of us don't know.

There is just this.

Most of us know there's a pain in my knee.

There's an irritable mood in my mind.

We don't really know that or abide in that.

That's the basis to clear.

And we can calculate this.

This is an important thing.

So to reiterate,

The body awareness acts as something you can use to.

.

.

When my mind is obsessive,

Strong,

Caught up with something,

What's here?

In terms of feel,

Feel where you are.

And that will take you into the sense of body.

In a fundamental sense.

Listen to where you are.

Take you into the auditory.

Feel it how those thoughts feel to you.

It can take you into some embodied domain.

And then,

Just notice.

How is that?

Anything come to mind in terms of having a body?

Maybe you feel a strong warmth in your chest.

Or,

You know,

Trickles and runs down your sides or something.

And then breathing in,

Breathing out.

Sofusing the entire form with just that calming presence,

Space around me.

And you're learning to that way just to come to it.

Or we're discharging mental,

Emotional energy.

And when you do that,

You begin to be able to name what that was about.

And so you get clearer about particular impulses that your mind is prone to.

It's specific profile.

You can also check those impulses.

You know,

It's coming down into your feet,

Checking those impulses.

And clearing the substrate,

The foundation.

And finally,

You know,

Embodiment acts as a very.

.

.

Because it's true.

And you can speak your truth from that.

And your truth,

Real truth,

Has got an embodied quality to it.

That is,

When you're really true and certain,

You feel.

.

.

That's that.

You say you're feeling your gut.

I don't think it's your gut particularly though,

There's a lot of nerves there.

But it's something about the quality of speaking for your embodied truth or acting for your embodied truth.

And you say,

No,

Don't want that.

Okay?

Doesn't want it.

And no,

It's not standing that.

Right?

She's not standing it.

Okay?

Got it.

You know,

There's a tremendous strength and authenticity when actually you get the feeling of your way of.

.

.

Your truth,

Whether it's your warmth,

Your firmness.

It's felt from embodied sense and you speak from that.

Doesn't matter what words you use actually.

It can be very simple words,

But the quality of the embodied truth is powerful.

And you don't have to have a fancy set of arguments.

There's something.

.

.

It's called the Buddha.

.

.

The lion's roar.

You know,

Speaking from that quality.

It's not just one dimensional.

There's something to bear in mind,

The power.

I don't say power in a kind of brutal way,

But it stands.

And in our time when so much lying,

So much gibberish goes on,

It's like,

You know,

The amount of truth in it is 5%,

3%,

Minimal.

You know,

We get used to this level of gibberish as being speech.

You hear it,

You read it,

It's going around you,

It sort of becomes the way we say things.

So really,

You know,

Gain the beauty of a silent retreat.

Check the voices.

And to be able to say one's truth,

Not necessarily even out loud,

But this is what I am.

And something knows.

So it's also the mark of realization,

Is an embodied quality to it.

So this is why it's worth spending time cultivating,

Because it's challenging,

Because we come into an embodiment experience,

Which is all inherited karma.

With its imbalances and blocks and consistencies,

But in my sense of it,

The reality of it,

Well,

Yeah,

But that's what you have to clear.

If you really want to free up,

That's where you go clear.

So,

And there's a way.

And it's much more than just the remedy,

It's not just clearing,

It's also giving yourself back your truth,

Your authenticity,

Living it.

This is priceless.

Reviews

Thank you!

This is priceless

Truth, trusting the subtle felt sense within the body to guide your speech and actions. Beautifully presented talk.

Always love how articulate he is. Just perfect

I enjoyed this gentle and laidback delivery and encouragement to continue exploring aversion. I find that questions such as «Is it needed? » become very powerful in meditation. That is - mind you - after being able to zoom on and identifying the particular IT.

Thank you and Namaste ⚓️🌱💞

Thank you very much 🌈 Easy to listen to and understand- inspirational 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I enjoyed this talk on embodiment. It was different than anything I have really listened to, yet truly enjoyed it. I will come back to it. Bookmarked 🙏🏻

Insightful and brimming with love and teachings 🙏