So taking your time to settle in,
The eyes can close,
Letting the attention move through the body,
Arriving for your practice.
You sense,
Feel into the body,
Sitting,
Aware of basic characteristics like pressure,
Temperature,
Sense of tingling.
Notice what is relaxed in the body and what could be relaxed as you begin to investigate and sweep the attention through the body.
Wherever you find holding or tension,
Just relax,
Soften,
Open,
Coming to settle on the breath.
Where is the breath most obvious for you right now?
In a particular location,
Belly or chest or upper lip or maybe it's the whole body gently moving with the breath.
For the first part of the practice,
We make this connection between our attention and the natural rhythm of the body breathing,
The natural energy of the body breathing,
Inviting our attention to rest in the breath,
To settle down onto the breath or into the breath.
The breath is a kind of landing place for the mind.
Ordinarily the mind flitting from thought to thought,
Extending and imagining and elaborating into the future or the past,
Ideas,
Concepts.
Here we intentionally bring it home to rest just in the movement of the breath in the body,
Patiently observing as the mind takes its time to settle down.
In as we breathe in,
Out as we breathe out.
You can use that as a simple mental note,
Which might just have the effect of helping the discursive mind settle.
Equanimity,
Which is an unwavering,
Balanced mind rooted in insight.
Something that appears in many different teachings of the Buddha as one of the factors of awakening,
As one of the four divine abodes or Brahma Baharas,
As one of the perfections.
Unwavering balance of mind.
The mind becomes steady,
Balanced,
Relaxed,
Open,
Meaning receptive and clear.
In the context of breathing meditation,
The mind becomes steady and balanced on the breath,
Undisturbed.
We may be aware of experiences or appearances other than the breath,
But the mind remains unwavering,
Unmoved by those appearances.
Instead,
The mind is rooted in the movements and energy of the breath,
Loose and open to the impermanent qualities of the breath,
Quality of the breath,
Seeing the breath come and go.
Rooted in the insight of impermanence,
Unwavering balance of mind,
Knowing impermanence,
In this case of the breath.
What other insights could equanimity be rooted in?
Dukkha,
Dissatisfaction,
Discomfort,
Dis-ease.
So as we sit and know the breath,
We might be aware of some discomfort,
Movement of mind or physical sensation.
Equanimity,
The unmoving aspect,
Balance,
Knowing the breath,
Knowing the nature of suffering,
Discomfort,
Dissatisfaction,
Without being pushed or pulled,
Just knowing.
Finally,
We can consider equanimity that's rooted in the wisdom of no-self,
Not-self.
With respect to the breathing meditation,
We see the breath as something impersonal,
A phenomena that's arising as a result of causes and conditions.
Human bodies breathe,
The breath appears,
Whether we will it to or not,
The breath coming and going,
A natural expression,
Selfless,
Without center.
Equanimity is the experience of balance in that insight.
The mind comes to rest in such a way that it is not moving,
But steady and sees clearly.
You can remain steady with the breath or it might naturally shift for you,
The steadiness itself becomes apparent,
The open,
Clear stability of awareness,
Unmoving and effortless.
Visualizing yourself now moving into your day,
Moving into your experience after meditation,
With one part of your mind still rooted in this balance,
This equanimity,
This openness.
