So,
Hello,
Good morning,
Good afternoon,
And good evening.
Thanks for coming today.
Today is session number 20 of our 30-day meditation course,
And that means we're one-third of the way through the program.
So,
Huge congratulations to all of you for being there together and learning all these wonderful things to us.
Today's session is the last of our five-part module on equanimity,
Which is balance and evenness that we can bring to life.
Last week,
We explored reactivity and habit patterns.
In today's session,
We're going to find some relief from those habit patterns of pushing and pulling.
We don't like that.
We want this.
We don't want that,
Which can be super exhausting and lead to agonizing and discomfort,
Or in Buddhism,
It says suffering.
And meditation has a way of smoothing everything out,
Helping us to welcome all these different experiences into our life as opposed to fighting them.
But before we begin,
I'd like to share some short thoughts on chanting because we talked a bit about it last week.
And I also sent out a bit of a long thought essay on chanting.
If you haven't read it yet,
You might want to read it.
It's kind of long,
So if you don't feel like it,
That's okay too.
And if you did read it,
I hope you got some benefit from it.
Just to capture some of the thoughts from what I sent out though,
Mantra chanting is a continuous cycle.
It's a loop and there's no beginning and end to it.
So,
Nam isn't the beginning of the mantra and kyo isn't the end of it.
Think of it as this whole loop.
And then imagine that your breath in and out is also like a loop.
Breath and mantra then become a wheel.
In fact,
The wheel is the symbol for Buddhism,
As in the wheel of the Dharma.
Which brings us to Buddhism's first noble truth,
That there is suffering in life.
And the word suffering comes from the Sanskrit word dukkha,
Which means out of round,
As in a wheel that doesn't roll evenly,
Like kaboom,
Kaboom,
Kaboom.
And sometimes that's what suffering feels like in our life.
We're not rolling smoothly.
The opposite of dukkha is sukha,
Which means perfectly round.
The mantra and the breath simply roll on,
On and on,
Like a wheel rolling through the diversity of our life experiences.
Always in motion,
Never settled,
Never still,
Always transitioning from one state to another.
So when we're chanting,
Simply roll with it.
Rest in the flow of the mantra as it weaves in and around you,
Within and without.
You can start and stop chanting anywhere in the cycle that you want.
Breathing whenever you need or want to.
Breathing however you need or want to,
Into the nose or into the mouth.
It doesn't matter.
And taking breaks whenever you feel like you need one.
Coming back in and chanting together whenever you feel like you need to.
And as they say in New Orleans,
Laissez les bons temps rouler cher,
Which means let the good times roll.
So let's explore the meditation.
Coming now to sit.
Entering into our meditation.
Setting your intention to be here,
Present and alert.
Finding your favorite meditation posture.
Sitting as tall as you can,
With the least amount of effort.
Back straight,
Upright,
Aligned.
Body relaxed.
Surrendering to gravity.
Loose and resilient in the balance between effort and ease.
Your posture brings a sense of dignity,
Strength,
Stability,
Presence.
Beginning with three deep,
Calming breaths.
In through the nose,
Out through the mouth,
Making a soft sigh.
Softening your forehead,
Eyes,
Cheeks,
Jaw,
Mouth,
Tongue,
Neck,
Shoulders,
Chest,
Lower back,
Belly,
Legs.
With each out breath,
Settling deeper and deeper into your meditation.
Releasing any cares and worries,
Tension and tightness,
Layer by layer,
Breath by breath.
Activating your equanimity,
A sense of openness and easy goingness.
Being comfortable that things aren't perfect.
Comfortable being uncomfortable.
Becoming aware of the sensations of breath.
Breath in,
Deep,
Slow.
Release.
Simply enjoying the feeling of breathing.
Good.
And as you sit breathing,
Notice how you're feeling right now,
In this moment.
Sensations in your body.
Emotions and feelings you may be experiencing.
Thoughts that pop up.
What's the weather inside like?
Take a few moments to do a body scan.
From the crown of your head,
Moving slowly down through the different regions of your body,
To the tip of your toes.
Just noticing what you find.
When you come upon a sensation,
An emotion,
Or a thought,
Notice them without judgment or criticism,
Or trying to change them.
And use the label,
Welcome.
Welcome them.
Befriend them.
Good or bad.
Just welcome.
You're like,
Welcome to the party of my direct experience.
Allowing them to be present for a little bit.
And then gently ease your awareness back to breath,
And begin again.
Wherever your attention is drawn to,
With sensations,
Feelings,
And thoughts.
Meet it all with a good-natured welcome.
Without judgment or criticism,
Or trying to change them.
Just notice,
And ease your awareness back to breath.
And begin again.
You're not blocking anything.
Neither are you grabbing on to anything.
And if you notice yourself becoming stuck onto any feeling or sensation,
Your wheel no longer rolling smoothly,
See if you can let it go.
The key to this practice of equanimity is welcoming whatever feeling,
Thought,
Or sensation comes up.
And really zooming into it.
With a gentle curiosity and inquisitiveness.
Feeling the tone of that.
How does it feel?
Where in your body do you feel it?
Is it a tightness?
A pulling?
A pressure?
A pulsing?
A tingling?
A heaviness?
A lightness?
And as you notice this,
Does it move when you notice it?
Does it change?
Keep exploring inside your body at your own pace.
Noticing and returning to breath whenever you need to.
We're using our feelings to guide us as we explore inside and outside.
What does it feel like to meet each moment,
Each experience with this sense of welcome?
And now,
Do nothing whatsoever.
Just relax into this feeling of stillness,
Smoothness,
And enjoying your breath.
Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Myoho Renge Ko Namu Breathing in I see myself as a mountain Breathing out I feel solid As a mountain I sit serene and immovable I feel my roots deep into the earth I am safe stable home mountain solid We all struggle from time to time with the idea of welcoming or accepting everything that's going on in and around us Acceptance does not mean approval nor does it mean indifference Realism Recognizing what is going on in the moment and simply acknowledging that it exists From this place of equanimity we've given ourselves the space to choose if and how to respond as opposed to react We take a moment to find our breath breath in pause out We find our center our mountain-ness and we welcome reality Slowly Gradually beginning to emerge from your meditation relaxing and releasing your meditation posture Wiggling your toes and your fingers Rolling your ankles and your wrists Rubbing your legs and rocking side to side back and forth bringing a little motion back into your body and then taking a deep breath in and stretching your arms up high in a nice big stretch and then slowly lowering your arms letting out a sigh slowly bringing your hands around to your lower back and giving your lower back a massage your back worked so hard to support you giving your back some TLC some love thank you back bringing your hands around to your belly and gently holding your belly offering your phrases of affirmation of metta beginning with I am well and hands over your heart I am happy loved and loving and then crossing your arms putting your hands on your opposite shoulders giving yourself a hug and as you lightly stroke down your arm from shoulder to elbow a few times offering I am safe at home in my body with my breath and caressing your face your forehead your eyes your cheeks jaw nose,
Mouth through your hair,
Over your head around to the back of your neck pausing to give your neck and shoulders a massage hands back to your heart and back to your belly repeating I am peaceful and at ease and take a few moments to appreciate this gift of self-care you gave yourself today of all the things that you could have done with your time you chose yourself and also to come together as a group and share it together in community rubbing the palms of your hands together to warm them lightly cupping them over your eyes and with the next in-breath opening your eyes into your hands and as you breathe out lowering your hands into the position of gassho,
Gratitude respect palm to palm and let's offer the merit of this practice for all beings
