So when we come to the sitting posture to do our meditation,
There's this momentum,
And there's this sort of diminishing returns,
And the mind can do this,
Can do it for some time.
I think about a,
If you were draining a giant pool,
How long that would take.
And sometimes maybe we just come from a beautiful walk in the woods or something,
And we do a sitting,
Or maybe we're in the woods,
And we sit at the base of a tree.
Maybe the swirl of the mind is a little pool,
A little vernal pool or something.
What did we build?
What constructs,
What aspects of ego trying to stay going,
Saying,
We can't stop thinking about that now.
You could be in danger if you don't think about that.
But something perhaps knows better.
Is this for my long-term well-being?
Well,
It seems likely,
Seems likely.
Making my body at ease,
Being aware of its wholeness in this space,
Being aware of the rising and falling breath,
Maybe adjusting it a little in line with what feels right for this moment,
What feels nourishing.
See the adjustments we make where we maybe temporarily assert something like a self.
We take some authority,
Some responsibility for our thoughts and actions.
But we do it from a place of service,
Connection,
Love of our neighbor,
In service of this being insofar as it can be of service to others.
Like with the breath,
There's some control,
Some authority,
And some lack of control.
The breath will take over if we hold it,
If we stop breathing.
When we're asleep,
We breathe.
But we can't adjust it.
Some images,
You know,
We can't control the waves,
But we can learn to surf.
The image of a kite in the wind,
We can apply a little bit of pressure here,
Pull in some string,
Let out some string.
What's for my long-term well-being?
It's in this moment,
This breath.
The Buddha proposed that while it's not skillful to indulge in sensual pleasure to satisfy short-term well-being,
That we might discover this pleasure of form when we incline the mind toward ease and well-being that's independent of what's outside.
Refreshing aspects of the breath,
More subtly when the awareness becomes infused in the whole body,
Whole being,
That there is a pleasure there that we can incline toward.
We don't have to fear,
Won't bring harm,
Won't cause cavities.
Explore through the breath,
What's this kind of breathing feel like?
At first we might notice different aspects as the breath rises,
And then when that breath transitions into an out-breath,
How does that feel?
And the transition back to the in-breath.
But eventually when the attention becomes more diffuse,
We incline toward a more consistent,
Steady kind of well-being.
Doesn't change the rising or falling breath.
Ultimately it won't change no matter what.
And for the time being,
Making this well-being,
This goodwill,
This steadiness,
Nice and consistent when we have this opportunity for quiet and stepping aside out of the stream of day-to-day life,
Samsara.
And it's like with a band,
You know,
Musician,
There's the practice room and then you go on the road.
So it begins with stability of our attention,
With the simple sensations of breathing,
Feeling them refresh us.
That awareness itself is paired with goodwill,
The wish for well-being.
We spread that in our being.
We have no ill will in here.
We're safe in here,
Not looking outside for nourishment.
Don't want to take away from anyone.
This spreads,
Becomes more and more consistent.
Then maybe it comes with us for the few moments,
Few minutes or hours,
And we might need to go back to the well and refill.
Maybe by just taking a pause,
Taking a breath,
Bringing up thoughts of goodwill,
May all beings be happy at heart.
Whatever beings there may be,
We spread that,
Make it consistent,
Go back out,
Back on the road.
Then it's always right here with us,
This body,
This breath.
When the breath goes,
We will not be here.
So I can confidently say if you become adept at this relationship with the breath,
You'll always have at least this one tool.
Feel a sense of fullness,
Steadiness,
Breathing the whole body,
The mind and the breath and the body together.
Same intention,
Same flavor,
Release.
So in the last moment,
Just looking maybe ever so slightly into the future and just sending a blessing that way.
May I be happy,
May the beings I encounter benefit from my being,
And may I maintain this steadiness,
Consistency,
Fullness,
And well-being as far into my days as possible.
