Kindfulness Body Scan | Ven Canda

Ven Canda guides us through a gentle bodyscan - making kindfulness the most important ingredient for this meditation. Mindfulness flavoured with loving-kindness is a powerful way to relate to our experience in a wholesome way. This guided metta meditation was given as part of the Global Metta Retreat for Ajahn Brahm's 70th Birthday in August 2021.
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Transcript

So please make yourself comfortable and ask your body what your body needs.

Be led by the body rather than treating the body like a slave.

So if you're now sitting on the floor,

But you think,

Well actually my body's quite achy and tired,

I'm not sure this is going to sustain me for the next hour,

Then please take the opportunity to change and move on to a chair.

Where I'm staying at the moment there's a sofa which is wide enough to sit on cross-legged.

So sometimes I do that and have some support for my back.

Or you might want to have a chair that you can sit on with your legs just on the floor,

Especially if you have knee problems or maybe hip problems or you're not used to sitting cross-legged.

So merely sense into what your body needs right now and this is the first opportunity to establish an attitude of loving-kindness to our body.

Taking all the time you need to slow down,

To settle down,

To settle into your body and to show your body that is in the friendly presence of the mind.

When the body knows that it's in friendly company,

It naturally starts to relax.

So just opening to any sensations you experience,

Noticing any tendencies to withdraw,

Pull away,

Reject through aversion,

Any tendencies to cling or crave to pleasant experiences,

To craving and greed.

Just accepting all experience as part of nature,

Nothing to do with you.

You Thank you.

And to help us establish mindfulness and kindness together.

What Ajahn Brahm geniusly coins as kindfulness.

I'd like you to imagine that you're in the presence of someone you deeply revere and respect.

For those who have confidence,

Devotion towards our teacher Ajahn Brahm.

You might imagine that you're sitting with him.

And he's looking at you with kindly eyes.

Just putting you at ease.

Letting you know you're welcome.

You're accepted.

Just as you are.

Not even noticing your faults.

He does he sees them as features.

Attributes that make you unique.

That make you lovable.

And you also feel that you're respected.

Your teacher sees your potential.

You know that it's nothing to do with your capacity,

Your ability,

Simply a process of cause and effect.

We have the word of another.

We have the Buddhist teaching.

We have the teachings.

Now all we need to do.

Is put them in practice.

Allow the mind to calm and settle.

So with this feeling of acceptance.

Being regarded with kindly eyes.

And with confidence.

In this meditation.

Just doing.

A little body scan.

Starting with the tips of our toes.

Contacting any sensation in that part of your body.

Resting your awareness there.

Infusing that awareness with kindness,

Friendliness,

Warmth.

Curiosity.

Allowing your toes to relax.

Allowing your toes to relax.

Allowing your toes to relax.

Allowing your toes to relax.

Spreading this kindfulness.

Throughout your feet.

Noticing any sensations you come across there.

Without looking for anything special.

Just receiving whatever arises in the area of your feet.

And regarding those sensations with kindness.

So your mindfulness will be medium through which kindness can flow.

So that wherever mindfulness goes,

The kindness follows.

The kindness flows.

And in your own time moving up into the shins,

The calves.

Right up to the knees.

Allowing the kindfulness to sink deep into the flesh.

Into the bones.

Relaxing any aches,

Tightness or tension.

The lower legs and the knees.

Perhaps staying a little longer in any areas that feel tense,

Painful.

Just with kindness and patience.

As though your awareness was soothing those areas,

Giving them a mental massage.

Spreading upward into the thighs.

Leaving no part untouched.

Just receiving any data and taking the opportunity to care.

Clear travels!

Moving into the hips,

The buttocks,

The seat of the trunk.

Regarding any sensations with kindly eyes.

Noticing if this kindness has any effect on the nature of those sensations.

Perhaps just a very subtle softening.

Easing of tensions,

Of aches or pains.

Or just by accepting those feelings.

Your mind opens up.

Just the play of nature.

Not me,

Not mine,

Not a self.

And this kindfulness starts to explore the lower part of the trunk,

The abdomen,

With all its organs.

The lower back.

You don't need to visualise anything,

Just get into the feeling part of the mind.

That receives information,

Sensations.

And cares for those sensations.

Spreading up into the chest,

Around the ribs.

Right across the top of the back.

To areas you maybe don't notice or ignore.

Perhaps spending longer in any areas that may have disease or some sickness.

And trusting this kindfulness has a power to heal.

Including the sides of the body,

The armpits.

Moving into the shoulders.

Where we hold so much tension and strain.

If you find your shoulders are hunched or tensed up,

You can still relax them physically.

Maybe just rolling them very gently,

Slowly back.

Just imagining all those tendons and muscles gently expanding,

Relaxing,

Loosening up.

As they receive the warmth of kindfulness.

Levels,

Kind of weighted out.

Hardening around any sensation,

Pulling back,

Just see if you can add a little love and kindness,

An attitude of welcoming them in and spreading kindfulness down your arms,

Into the elbows,

The lower arms and the hands,

Sensing into each and every finger and fingertip,

Picking up any sensations in the arms and the hands,

Maybe pleasant sensations of tingling,

Warmth,

Softness,

And moving back up slowly in your own time,

Without losing contact,

Into your shoulders and into your neck,

Caring for your neck,

For your throat,

Allowing it to fully relax,

Noticing your jaw,

Another place we tend to hold tension and stress,

Perhaps just gently parting the teeth to help your jaw relax.

Receiving any sensations in the lips,

The mouth,

The cheeks,

Just letting the flesh of your cheeks hang down,

The nose,

The nostrils,

The eyes,

Imagining the eyes just hanging in their sockets,

As they're suspended in space,

Noticing the brow,

The temples,

Releasing and relaxing any tension there,

As though your kindfulness were gently massaging outwards from the center of your forehead,

Toward the temples,

Expanding that area,

And smoothing out your forehead,

And gently resting your awareness,

Infused with kindness,

On the top of the head,

Spreading it across the entire scalp area,

Including the ears,

The back of the scalp,

And just noticing any sensations over there.

You you and then imagining your brain inside your skull,

Your scalp,

And imagining all those little wires,

Signals,

Neurons that are firing all day long,

Just dimming down and turning off.

Now we've completed the body scan,

Just throwing into focus the entire body,

As though your kindfulness were including the entire physical world of your inner experience inside this body.

And notice if there's any tension or holding that you can just let go of,

As though your body were floating in a warm turquoise pool.

No need to hold.

You you you And this beautiful attitude of kindfulness starts to expand to include your mental world,

So that any thoughts or emotions that arise can be welcomed gently and let go of,

Without them disturbing the peace of the mind.

And you may start to notice the silent spaces between the words,

The thoughts in your mind.

This silence is another beautiful friend that you can receive with loving kindness.

You you you For some of you,

You may notice that as the mind quietens,

The breath enters your mind.

If this happens,

See if you can regard the breath as another beautiful,

Benevolent and wise friend,

Welcoming the breath,

Being kind to the breath,

Without clinging or trying to make it stay.

Just focusing on this attitude of loving kindness towards whatever arises in the mind and inclining towards the peace,

The simplicity of silence,

Or of one simple,

Humble little breath.

You you you So I'll be silent for a few minutes and just allow the breath or whatever you're aware of to take the mind deeper into peace.

Always making the attitude the most important thing in your practice.

You So we're coming towards the end of this meditation.

How do you feel now and why?

You How did this attitude of loving kindness help to deepen your practice,

To overcome craving and ill will?

And what happened when you moved away from loving kindness into expectation or demand?

Without judging yourself at all,

You're just noticing the natural causal process of how right intention helps dissolve suffering,

Overcome your will,

And as a result lead to deeper peace.

You So I'd like to invite you to close this meditation by sharing the merits of our practice,

However subtle the benefits may be.

Sometimes we really don't know how powerful these practices are right away.

The benefits keep on coming in our lives at times you may not expect.

So whatever goodness I've generated through this practice,

However much peace and contentment,

However much wisdom has arisen,

May all beings share this peace,

Contentment and wisdom.

May all beings be free from suffering and pain.

And may our teacher Ajahn Brahm be well,

Be safe,

Be healthy for a long time to come,

So that he can continue to share a powerful beautiful magnificent dharma with many more people in this world.

So and as a gift to our teacher may we too,

May I be free from suffering.

I have practice with sincerity and wisdom.

May I keep on aligning my intentions,

My thoughts and actions with the no-blateful path as best I can and forgive myself fully and completely for any mistakes I may make.

Knowing that just as the Buddha,

The enlightened bhikkhunis and bhikkhus of the past and present have confidence in me.

May I also develop confidence in my own ability to walk this eightfold noble path and to bring benefit to countless other beings.

Thank you.

So I'd like to close again with a little blessing chanting to spread loving kindness to all of us including ourselves,

To our teacher Ajahn Brahm,

Our other kalyana middas on this path,

Spiritual friends and to all beings everywhere.

SABBE ARIYA SABBE ANARIYA SABBE DEWA SABBE MUNMUSA SABBE WINE PADIKA AWERA HONTO ABHYAPAJA HONTO ANIGA HONTO SUKYATNA PAVIHALATU DUKKAMUNJANTU YADALADASAMPATITU MAWEKACHANTU KAMASAKA SAADU SAADU SAADU So Venerable P.

T.

Sukur,

The kuni bear is also saying saaadu to everybody and wishing you well with a big hug.

Reviews

Quite wonderful :) thank you very much.

Thank you Ven Kanda. A beautiful meditation to bring loving kindness into your practice. Blessings!

Sometimes Words are not enoug but this was very powerful for me

Terrific! Beautifully presented and sooo relaxing. Thank you! 🙏👍

Beautiful. So gently led, sweet voice. Lots of nice quiet pauses and felt the Metta flowing. And a lovely chant at the end. Sandhu and hugs. Many thanks. ☮💖🙏🕉