Day 150/365: 30-Minute Meditation | Ajahn Brahm

Enjoy a 30-minute meditation with Ajahn Brahm.

Ajahn Brahm is a popular Buddhist teacher to a growing international audience of people keen to learn meditation and develop a deeper spiritual understanding. He is also the founding father of an emergent Australian forest tradition of Buddhism.

Transcript

So now,

This is the time for some meditation.

And as I said two weeks ago,

The last time I gave a talk,

Remember this is not mindfulness but kindfulness meditation.

Just put that kindness into this meditation practice.

I just come back from Indonesia,

Teaching over there.

A lot of people kept on telling me,

They meditate,

They can't do meditation.

It just hurts too much,

Or it's just too difficult.

They get frustrated,

I think,

Oh my goodness,

What type of meditation do you do?

No,

Just concentrate on the tip of my nose,

Stupid,

Stupid,

Stupid.

Please don't do that.

Otherwise you too will get frustrated and you'll get tense.

Meditation is about letting go.

The old simile,

The glass,

I'm going to make this water perfectly still.

That's what meditation is,

Getting to be still,

Not concentrated,

Still.

If you hold this water,

It will never become still.

Even if you concentrate,

It never becomes,

It actually moves more.

The only way to get the glass of water to be perfectly still is,

Put it down,

Let it go,

Stop controlling your mind.

Instead make peace with your mind.

Be kind to whatever you're experiencing right now.

And be very gentle with your body and mind.

Be aware,

Be kind.

Kindfulness meditation.

This is the new meditation.

You heard it here first.

The innovative centre of Buddhist meditation throughout the world.

Dhamma Loka Centre.

So anyway,

So we're doing kindfulness meditation now.

So sit down,

Close your eyes and be kind and aware.

If you're not aware,

You don't know where your kindness is going.

If you're not kind,

You may be aware but you'll never relax.

So close your eyes.

First of all,

Put your awareness on your body.

On this vehicle,

This machine in which we live.

Because we very rarely are aware of our body,

Because we're too busy doing other stuff.

Because we're not aware of it,

It means we can have some aches and pains which can cause disease or sickness later on.

So be aware of your body.

Get to know it.

Give it quality time and enough sustained attention so you get to know this body in which you live.

What does it feel like?

There are different sensations in different parts of your body.

Some are not a problem.

Others are painful or they're aching or they're feelings of stress,

Physical stress.

Know them.

Focus on the one which is the most important,

The most of a problem.

Focus on it.

And then be kind to it.

Relax it.

If it's something being stretched,

Imagine the two ends being loosened.

If part of the body feels like it's being compressed,

Imagine it expanding.

The mindfulness gets you in touch with the feeling,

The kindness relaxes the feeling and the mindfulness gives you feedback,

Yes,

It's working.

You're becoming more physically at ease.

And you continue this process,

At least for 5 minutes,

Aware of the feelings in the body,

In whatever it is,

Which is always kindness,

To relax those feelings.

You want to move the legs or fit at the bottom,

Please do so.

Don't be a control freak.

Be this beautiful,

Kind friend to your body.

If you treat your body with respect and love,

Then your body will feel free and at ease.

It's always the first stage of meditation,

Learning how to relax your own body with mindfulness and kindness.

Mindfulness.

Mindfulness.

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Becoming relaxed and at peace.

It's a delightful feeling.

Once you notice the delight of a relaxed body,

It's easier to keep your attention there.

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When the body is really relaxed,

Then you can let it go.

You can do the same process to relax your mental world.

If you haven't relaxed the body,

You'll find it difficult to relax the mind.

So relax the body first,

And then the mental world comes next.

To relax the mental world,

You can feel the same sort of tightness and stress in the mind.

Sometimes it's like holding a burden from the past.

It's big heavy weight.

Put it down,

Let it go.

You deserve this moment of rest.

It's being kind to yourself.

Realizing the best thing you can do for your happiness and well-being.

It's to not keep carrying around the burden of your past.

Be mindful what happens when you let things go.

You feel peaceful,

You feel free.

You give your mind a chance to be still when you let go.

Put things down,

Here you're putting down the burdens from your past.

Then don't stretch the mind into the future.

Be loose,

Loose so you can stay in this moment without being pulled away into the tension-ridden world of anxiety and plans.

Stay home,

Here,

Right now.

Become a human being,

Not a human doing.

Just be.

Making peace with this moment.

Being kind,

As kind as you can to her.

Be so gentle with whatever it is you're experiencing now.

Even the sound of the mobile phone.

Be mindful and be kind.

Don't make mistakes.

Just a mobile phone,

Doing what mobile phones are supposed to do.

And this too will pass and it's gone now.

So no worries at all.

If you let go of the past and the future and are kind to this moment,

This mindfulness,

You find you relax.

So in the middle of this meditation,

How do you feel?

What's it like to let go and be still?

It's an even greater delight than a relaxed body.

A mind which is beginning to be relaxed is a delightful experience.

Keeping that delight in mind.

Relax the mind even further.

Just continuing to not do anything.

Just being.

Human being,

Not a human doing.

Making peace and being kind.

Being mindful of how the mental world gets more peaceful,

More beautiful,

The more still you become.

Stillness is not something you do.

Stillness is what happens when you stop doing things.

Imagine your mind like a beautiful lake in the mountains.

Where there was once waves,

There are now ripples.

Even those small ripples of your mind are getting less and less.

Your mind is almost a perfect,

Smooth,

Still sheet of grass.

The still mountain pool of your mind.

And how beautiful that is.

Just rest in the peace.

Letting go of all control of all doing.

Just being.

Being still.

Letting go of all control.

Just being.

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Just making peace in this moment.

And be so peaceful you can calm your thinking mind.

There's no need to say anything or take notes.

Just learn how to be aware without giving things names.

Without taking notes.

Without trying to work everything out.

You find the truth in silence.

Not through logical reasoning.

So shh.

So shh.

Be silent in your mind.

And be so peaceful you can calm your thinking mind.

And be so peaceful you can calm your thinking mind.

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Getting close to the end of the meditation now.

Once again how do you feel?

What's it like in your mind?

How peaceful are you?

And why?

And what does that peace feel like?

Soon you'll be able to notice the delight of a peaceful mind and a relaxed body.

Shows you what meditation does.

Relaxes everything.

And to have a bit of peace in your life is a wonderful relaxing escape which you deserve.

Moments of peace and delight in a hectic world.

I'm now going to ring the gong three times to end the meditation.

Please wait for the third gong to fade away and then come out from your meditation.

Excellent.

So please get comfortable again if you weren't already.

Reviews

Be a human being not a human doing. So good...thank you Ajahn. Very peaceful practice. ☮️💖🙏🖖🪷🕉