MIndfulness Of Doubt Hindrance Contemplation Meditation

A live guided meditation at Sit Raleigh Meditation Society, Raleigh, NC. The practice begins with a gentle body scan. Then an exploration of the fifth hindrance that the Buddha taught - the hindrance of doubt can be most destructive when we are unfamiliar with it. It is not that doubt in and of itself is bad or harmful, it is when we are unaware that we are being affected by doubt, that we can make poor decisions. Getting to know what doubt feels like in the body, the heart and the mind gives us knowledge and wisdom with which to meet doubt when it arises. Then we can respond with skill! Thank you for your practice.

Transcript

So begin by. Settling in. Awareness of our posture. The back straight. The rest of the body in a position that's comfortable for you. And sitting with an intention. To be still, But not forcing ourselves into stillness. A letting or allowing. We'll begin with the awareness of the breath. Just noticing the inhale and the exhale. In whatever manners. Comfortable. Is it a physical sensation that you're noticing? Is it mindfulness? I'm aware I am breathing. Thinking about it. Could be the sound. Of your own breath. And throughout the practice, If the mind wanders or attention gets pulled away by internal or external Interruptions. You just meet them with kindness. Non-attachment, Just set them down and return to wherever we are in the practice. Before we begin the contemplation. Of doubt. The exploration. Investigation. We'll do a body scan. To help sell ourselves in the practice. You can let go of the attention on the breath. And we'll turn towards the body, Beginning at the scalp. As we scan the body, The idea is to just notice whatever is present, Whatever arises. As you turn towards that part of the body. It might be a physical sensation. Could be a memory. Or even an emotion. And we're just noticing whatever shows up. We're not judging it. We're not investigating. We're just trying to be present with right now. I'm turning towards my scalp. Again moving down the head. Noticing our forehead. The bridge of our nose. The upper lip. Our chain. Continuing down the body. It's our neck. Shoulders, Collarbone. Moving on to our biceps. Elbows. Forearms. Wrists and hands. And we'll turn to the torso. Moving from. . . The base of the neck. Down our front. Noticing. As you breathe, The rise and fall of the abdomen, The chest also expands and contracts. Moving down the back. Hopefully there's no unpleasant sensations. And a lot of times certain parts of the body we can't really grab onto a sensation and notice one. And that's okay too. Continuing to our seat. Where it's easier to notice a sensation. Because it's in relation to something else. We can probably all feel ourselves sitting on the cushion. If we were standing, We might not have the same sense of these parts of our body. We're gonna do some of the thighs. The knees. Lower legs and ankles. Our heels. The rest of our feet and toes. So now we can put down. Awareness of the body. Or begin to consider. Like two types of doubt. There's the. . . One type of doubt that. Really makes you feel unsure, Insecure. It's not a good feeling. Definitely. For most of us, We would consider it unpleasant. The other kind of doubt is really. . . About being curious. I'm not sure about this, But I'd like to find out more. It's a very different thing. I don't think I can do this. Or it's confusing, I'm just going to leave. A lot of aversion and avoidance and security. With the unskillful. Type of doubt. So what I'm gonna invite you to do. Is to bring something to mind, Not something that's painful or a really difficult thing in your life or in your past. It's something that. Fits the unskillful doubt. I'm sure we all have some example of it. Was in our lives. Just bring it to mind. Pay attention to it, Be curious for a few moments. And as you do this. . . And I like to imagine. Exploring it as if I was holding something in my hand and I was turning it around. To get different views of it. What does it look like from this side? What does the bottom look like? How about the top? Being curious. We're investigating. With the intention to understand. When doubt is present. How does it feel? Is there some sense in the body? Do I notice something? Maybe you do, Maybe you don't. Is there an emotion that comes along with it? And what about a story? Very often. The story comes along with that. It's not just that I don't think I'm going to do good on the test, But all the things that might happen if I don't do well and all the reasons why if I had done things differently before. I would think I'd do better. All stories we tell ourselves. Connected to just one moment or one thing. If you're willing, Bring something to mind. We'll spend a little time investigating. As the mind wanders. Just notice. Be kind and non-judgmental. Put whatever has shown up to the side. You can always get back to it later. It's noticing. Is something showing up in the body? And heart. Emotional center. And what thoughts or stories. Might be connected to this. Period of doubt. Object of death. Alright, So now we're going to move on to. . . The skillful. Or wise doubt. So we can put down the first object. And now we'll bring. An object to mind. Of experience. Where there was a situation where maybe we wanted to learn more. We didn't think we were good enough at something. But we were curious. To find out more, To learn more, To become more skilled at. Playing an instrument or. . . Driving a car, Whatever it may be. We'll try the same practice. Take a look at the object. Be curious. Investigate. And then C. If one of the three are multiple. Areas. You notice something. The body, The heart, The mind. Just noticing if anything has showed up. With this object. Of skillful doubt. I've shown you something you didn't know. And now we can Set the object down. Let go of the. . . Investigative aspect of the practice. Just set a little bit. Just in quiet.