Sutra Of Mindfulness

The Sutra of Mindfulness is a collection of phrases that we use to meditate. There are about fifteen of them, and as we focus on our breath, we also focus on what the phrase is telling us to focus on. The first phrase instructs us to focus on the length of our breath, for example.

Transcript

Hello,

My name is Evan and today I'm going to teach you the Sutra of Mindfulness.

So this is a teaching from the Buddha to help us to be aware of our breath,

To be aware of our body,

To be aware of our thoughts,

To be aware of all the sensations that we are feeling and to be accepting of them and to let them go.

So it's called the Sutra of Mindfulness.

So let's start off by just taking a few deep breaths in through the nose,

Out through the nose.

As we breathe in,

Let's breathe in as much as we can,

As much as we can,

Until we can't breathe in anymore.

When we breathe out,

Let's breathe out as much as we can until we can't breathe out anymore,

Pushing out that last bit of air as we breathe out.

So let's take some time right now and just take a few deep breaths,

A few deep breaths,

As many as you think you need.

Remembering to breathe not only into your chest but into your stomach.

It's okay to let your stomach tense as you breathe out,

To push your stomach and chest in to get that last bit of air out.

That's okay.

Part of the relaxation we get from breathing in until we can't breathe in anymore,

Breathing out until we can't breathe out anymore,

Is that our body sort of tenses when we try to breathe in that much and tenses when we try to breathe out that much.

As we finish that out-breath,

We finish that in-breath,

That tension fades away.

It's a practice of tensing and relaxing,

So it brings us more into this state of relaxation,

Kind of like progressive muscle relaxation if you've ever done that.

So let's just take a few more deep breaths.

Okay,

So the Sutra of Mindfulness.

So there's sort of these different sayings that we will say to ourselves in our minds or we will just remember in our minds and we'll practice what they tell us to do.

So the first Sutra is breathing in a long breath,

I know I'm breathing in a long breath.

Breathing out a long breath,

I know I'm breathing out a long breath.

Or breathing in a short breath,

I know I'm breathing in a short breath.

Breathing out a short breath,

I know I'm breathing out a short breath.

Or it can be a medium breath.

So this Sutra is just focused on breathing.

As we breathe in,

We are aware if our breath is long or short or medium,

We're just aware of that.

As we breathe out,

We're just aware of that,

The length of our breath.

So if you feel like you have a short breath,

You might say to yourself in your mind as you breathe in,

Breathing in a short breath,

I know I'm breathing in a short breath.

Or if you're breathing out a long breath,

You might say to yourself,

Breathing out a long breath,

I know I'm breathing out a long breath.

Or a medium breath,

Or however long your breath is.

The goal here is just to say to yourself in your mind and to help you be aware of the length of your breath.

Okay,

So we can just practice that for a few minutes.

Okay,

So we can just practice that for a few minutes.

Okay,

So we can just practice that for a few minutes.

Okay,

So we can just practice that for a few minutes.

Okay,

So we can just practice that for a few minutes.

Okay,

Let's move on to the next part of the Sutra.

Just saying this to ourselves in our minds,

Breathing in,

I am aware of my whole body.

Breathing out,

I am aware of my whole body.

Just using this saying as an intention for our meditation.

So as we breathe in,

We are aware of our whole body.

As I breathe out,

I am aware of my whole body.

Okay,

So we can just practice that for a few minutes.

Okay,

So we can just practice that for a few minutes.

Okay,

So we can just practice that for a few minutes.

Okay,

So we can just practice that for a few minutes.

Okay,

The next part of the Sutra is breathing in,

I calm my whole body.

Breathing out,

I calm my whole body.

Okay,

So we can just practice that for a few minutes.

Okay,

So we can just practice that for a few minutes.

So the cool thing about the Sutra of mindfulness is that it reminds us to breathe.

We have these intentions such as calming our body and being aware of our body.

But it reminds us,

Breathing in,

We calm our body.

So it sort of keeps us anchored on our breath.

Even though we may have these other things we want to focus on,

These other goals,

These other awarenesses,

We must first focus on our breath.

So the next part of the Sutra is breathing in,

I feel joyful.

Breathing out,

I feel joyful.

The next part of the Sutra is breathing in,

I feel happy.

Breathing out,

I feel happy.

Breathing in,

I am aware of my mental formations.

Breathing out,

I am aware of my mental formations.

My mental formation is your thoughts,

The sensations you're aware of.

Anything that is processed mentally is a mental formation.

I am aware of my mental formations.

I am aware of my mental formations.

I am aware of my mental formations.

I am aware of my mental formations.

Breathing in,

I calm my mental formations.

Breathing in,

I calm my mental formations.

Breathing out,

I calm my mental formations.

I am aware of my mental formations.

I am aware of my mental formations.

You you breathing in I am aware of my mind breathing out I am aware of my mind you you Breathing in,

I make my mind happy.

Breathing out,

I make my mind happy.

Breathing in,

I make my mind happy.

Breathing out,

I make my mind happy.

Breathing out,

I make my mind happy.

Breathing in,

I concentrate my mind.

Breathing out,

I concentrate my mind.

And you don't have to say the sutra in your mind every time you inhale and every time you exhale.

Because you may be breathing too fast and it may be hard to say in your mind.

So if that's the case,

Maybe just say it on your inhale in your mind.

Or maybe just keep it in your mind as you breathe.

Just remember it.

I concentrate my mind.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Breathing in,

I liberate my mind.

Breathing out,

I liberate my mind.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Breathing in,

I observe the impermanent nature of all dhammas.

Breathing out,

I observe the impermanent nature of all dhammas.

Now if you don't know,

A dhamma is a noun.

A dhamma is anything in the world.

I observe the impermanent nature of all dhammas.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Breathing in,

I observe the disappearance of desire.

Breathing out,

I observe the disappearance of desire.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Breathing in,

I observe the absence of desire.

Breathing in,

I observe the no birth,

No death phenomena of all nature.

Breathing out,

I observe the no birth,

No death nature of all phenomena.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And lastly,

Breathing in,

I observe letting go.

Breathing out,

I observe letting go.

Breathing in,

I observe letting go.

Breathing out,

I observe letting go.

Breathing in,

I observe letting go.

Breathing in,

I observe letting go.

Okay,

Now let's bring our attention back to my voice.

Maybe open your eyes,

Back to the room you're in,

Back to whatever plans you have for the day,

Back to your body,

Back to your mind,

Back to all the sensations you're feeling.

And so the Sutra of Mindfulness,

You might focus your whole day just on being aware that you have a short breath when you have a short breath,

That you have a medium breath when you have a medium breath.

You might spend all day being aware of the disappearance of desire.

You might spend all day breathing in and breathing out and making your mind happy.

It is up to you.

I think the biggest thing to take away from this is that you can focus on one sutra for weeks,

For months,

And it will help you to be aware,

And it will help you to focus,

And it will help you to be mindful.

Thank you for joining me in this meditation.

Reviews

I really liked that. My mind is hard but the meditation was clean. Thank you Evan. ♥️

Perfect for a quiet Sunday

This is a great meditation and I will keep using this. Thank you so much.

Simple and profound guidance to peace.

That was really good. Thank you for your calm voice and wonderful sutras.