The Buddha told his son to meditate like the earth or hula.
He said that we humans do horrible things to the planet,
But she remains steady and stable,
Even in the midst of such destruction.
So when we find our seat,
Sometimes it's nice to rock back and forth a little bit and just find the comfortable enough seat to meditate.
So today's practice is about the mindfulness or being mindful of the Noble Eightfold Path.
Mindfulness itself is the seventh factor of the path.
So I'll offer short contemplations on the different factors of the path.
And try and just let them land as they will.
Simply notice what arises without investigating,
Without getting involved.
We just sit.
We breathe.
And we pay attention to what comes and goes,
To what arises and ceases.
And again,
If you do find yourself caught up in thoughts,
Once you notice,
You become mindful that the mind is busy in thinking,
Bring an attitude of kindness.
Kindness for yourself,
For your mind.
Compassion for yourself.
Beginning to care about your own difficulties,
Your own struggles,
Challenges.
And then just return to whatever the instructions are.
If you meditate already,
You know that sometimes the mind might be calm.
But other times it's like a monkey swinging from thought to thought in the jungle.
It's just busy,
Busy,
Busy.
It's as unpredictable as the weather.
When the mind is busy like this,
The idea is not to try to force it to stop.
Try to control it.
But just to notice it and maybe to say to yourself,
Now it's like this,
And later it will be different.
So now we're going to turn our attention to our breath.
Again,
Just being mindful that there is a breath.
We're not counting our breathing.
We're not trying to control our breathing.
But just knowing that this body breathes in,
This body breathes out.
And try to let your awareness settle there for a few moments.
Being mindful of the breath is right view,
Right mindfulness,
Right collectedness,
Right effort.
All the factors are interconnected.
Try to breathe in the whole body.
And as we exhale,
Consider this phrase.
May I offer my care and presence,
Even if it may be met with indifference,
Ill will or aversion.
May I offer my care and presence,
Even if it may be met with indifference,
Ill will or aversion.
One aspect of right view is simply learning to understand the present moment,
The present situation.
Right view is not taking indifference personally.
Not becoming angry or feeling unworthy because someone else's attitudes or reaction.
Right action grows out of view and intention.
We learn to respond rather than react.
Right intention can lead to wanting to offer our deep concern for ourselves and for others.
Once right view is comprehended,
Wise or right intention naturally grows from this understanding.
The more we are able to see clearly,
The more tenderness arises,
Both for ourselves and for others.
The ability to be of benefit to ourselves,
To be of service to ourselves and to others.
This is where right action and right speech show up.
Part of this practice is developing a strong back of equanimity and a soft front of compassion.
Compassion allows us to care.
Equanimity helps us to not be overwhelmed.
Right livelihood is not only what we do for work,
But much more importantly about how we live.
How do you live?
The Eightfold Path allows us to investigate these questions,
Especially here on the cushion.
Now come back to the breath in the body and turn your awareness towards your breathing.
Notice how the body feels.
Sitting here,
Laying,
Standing,
Walking.
Take a moment and just notice what sensations are present.
The body sitting on the cushion,
The feet touching the floor,
The hands in the lap,
The breeze.
Right effort is what you are doing right now,
Right here.
Giving yourself the gift of practice for your benefit and eventually for the benefit of all beings.
Right effort includes being kind,
Compassionate,
And loving without attachment to outcomes.
Consider this phrase.
May I offer love,
Knowing I cannot control the course of life,
Suffering,
Or death.
May I find the inner resources to truly be able to give.
May I be peaceful and let go of expectations.
There is no limit to the amount of beings we can positively affect with love.
Compassion transforms a sense of isolation into love.
Ultimately,
This path leads us to develop a heart of equanimity.
Learning to love all beings equally and most importantly understanding that this includes ourselves.
