Anapanasati & The First Jhana ~ (Ajahn Lee)

This is a guided meditation focusing on the breath and the first jhana based on the methods and teachings of Ajahn Lee. Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo (1907–1961), was a meditation teacher in the Thai Forest Tradition of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya order of Theravada Buddhism and was a student of Ajahn Mun. He is regarded as one of the greatest teachers and meditation masters of the Thai
Forest Tradition of the 20th century, and devised the most comprehensive meditation instructions and map of the jhānas

Transcript

You Keeping the breath in mind by Ajahn Lee D'Amadaro You start out with three long in and out breaths.

Now take seven long in and out breaths,

Thinking good with the in breath and do with the out breath.

Boodh do Boodh do Boodh do Keep the meditation syllable as long as the breath.

Boodh do Boodh do Boodh do Boodh do Boodh do Boodh do Boodh do Keep the breath in mind by Ajahn Lee D'Amadaro You start out with three long in and out breaths.

Boodh do Boodh do Boodh do Observe the breath as it goes in and out.

Noticing whether it's comfortable or uncomfortable.

Broad or narrow.

Obstructed or free flowing.

Fast or slow.

Short or long.

Warm or cool.

If the breath doesn't feel comfortable,

Adjust it until it does.

For instance,

If breathing in long and out long is uncomfortable,

Try breathing in short and out short.

As soon as you find that your breathing feels comfortable,

Let this comfortable breath sensation spread to the different parts of the body.

To begin with,

Inhale the breath sensation at the base of the skull and let it flow all the way down the spine.

Then,

If you are male,

Let it spread down your right leg to the sole of your foot,

To the ends of your toes and out into the air.

Inhale the breath sensation at the base of the skull again and let it spread down your spine,

Down your left leg to the ends of your toes and out into the air.

If you are female,

Begin with the left side first because the male and female nervous systems are different.

Then let the breath from the base of the skull spread down over both shoulders.

Past your elbows and wrists,

To the tips of your fingers and out into the air.

Now,

Let the breath from the base of the skull spread down over both shoulders.

Let the breath at the base of the throat spread down the central nerve at the front of the body,

Past the lungs and liver,

All the way down to the bladder and colon.

Inhale the breath right at the middle of the chest.

And let it go all the way down to your intestines.

Let all these breath sensations spread so that they connect and flow together.

And you will feel a greatly improved sense of well-being.

Thank you.

You you you Become acquainted with the bases or focal points for the mind.

The resting spots of the breath.

And center your awareness on whichever one seems most comfortable.

A few of these bases are the tip of the nose,

The middle of the head,

The palate,

The base of the throat,

The breastbone or the tip of the sternum,

And lastly the navel or a point just above it.

If you suffer from frequent headaches or nervous problems,

Don't focus on any spot above the base of the throat.

And don't try to force the breath or put yourself into a trance.

Breathe freely and naturally.

Let the mind be at ease with the breath,

But not to the point where it slips away.

Let the mind be at ease with the breath.

Breathe freely and naturally.

Breathe freely and naturally.

Breathe freely and naturally.

Spread your awareness,

Your sense of conscious feeling throughout the entire body.

Let the mind be at ease with the breath,

Your sense of conscious feeling throughout the entire body.

Let the mind be at ease with the breath,

Your sense of conscious feeling throughout the entire body.

Let the mind be at ease with the breath,

Your sense of conscious feeling throughout the entire body.

Let the mind be at ease with the breath,

Your sense of conscious feeling throughout the entire body.

Unite the breath sensations throughout the body,

Letting them flow together comfortably,

Keeping your awareness as broad as possible.

Let the mind be at ease with the breath,

Your sense of consciousness throughout the entire body.

Once you're fully aware of the aspects of the breath you already know in your body,

You'll come to know all sorts of other aspects as well.

The breath by its nature has many facets,

Breath sensations flowing in the nerves,

Those flowing around and about the nerves,

Those spreading from the nerves to every pore.

Let the mind be at ease with the breath,

Let the mind be at ease with the breath,

Let the mind be at ease with the breath,

Let the mind be at ease with the breath,

And keeping your awareness inside your body,

Don't try to imprison it there.

In other words,

Don't try to force the mind into a trance.

Don't try to force the breath,

Or hold it to the point where you feel uncomfortable or confined.

You have to let the mind have its freedom.

Simply keep watch over it to make sure that it stays separate from its thoughts.

If you try to force the breath and pin the mind down,

Your body is going to feel restricted,

And you won't feel at ease in your practice.

You'll start hurting here and aching there,

And your legs may fall asleep.

So just let the mind be its natural self,

Keeping watch to make sure that it doesn't sleep out after external thoughts.

Cutting off concepts doesn't mean that we stop thinking.

It simply means that we bring our thinking inside,

To put it to good use by observing and evaluating the theme of our meditation.

The field here is our body.

If we put a lot of thought and evaluation into our breathing,

The four properties of the body will be balanced and at peace.

The body will be healthy and strong,

The mind relaxed and wide open,

Free from hindrances.

The body will be healthy and strong,

The mind relaxed and wide open,

The mind relaxed and wide open,

The mind relaxed and wide open,

The mind relaxed and wide open,

The mind relaxed and wide open,

Jhana means to be absorbed or focused in a single object or preoccupation,

As when we deal with the breath.

The first level of Jhana has five factors.

One,

Directed thought.

Think of the breath until you can keep it in mind without getting distracted.

Two,

Singleness of preoccupation.

Keep the mind with the breath.

Don't let it stray after other concepts or preoccupations.

Watch over your thoughts so that they deal only with the breath,

To the point where the breath becomes comfortable.

The mind becomes one,

At rest with the breath.

The mind is one,

At rest with the breath.

Three,

Evaluation.

The mind is focused exclusively on issues connected with the breath.

Gain a sense of how to let this comfortable breath sensation spread and connect with the other breath sensations in the body.

Let these breath sensations spread until they're interconnected all over the body.

Once the body has been soothed by the breath,

Feelings of pain will grow calm.

The body will be filled with good breath energy.

The mind will be filled with good breath energy.

The mind will be filled with good breath energy.

The mind will be filled with good breath energy.

These three qualities must be brought together to bear on the same stream of breathing for the first level of Jhana to arise.

Directed thought,

Singleness of preoccupation,

Evaluation.

These act as the causes.

When the causes are fully ripe,

Results will appear.

The fourth factor of joy or rapture will appear.

A compelling sense of fullness and refreshment for body and mind.

Going straight to the heart,

Independent of all else.

And the fifth factor to arise will be pleasure.

Physical ease arising from the body's being still and unperturbed.

Mental contentment arising from the mind's being at ease on its own.

Undistracted.

Unperturbed.

Serene.

And exultant.

And exultant.

And exultant.

The factors of the first level of Jhana thus come down simply to two sorts,

Causes and results.

Joy and pleasure are the results.

Jhana.

Jhana.

Jhana.

Jhana.

Jhana.

Jhana.

Jhana.

Jhana.

Jhana.

Reviews

I love her voice and guidance~ almost could feel myself levitate!

Absolutely clear guidance into peace an wellbeing throughout the body

I am so grateful for all your guided meditations! Thanks a lott.

Wow, you guided me into such a deep state of concentration. When the bell went at 50 minutes I couldn’t believe that amount of time had passed. Thankyou for this offering

Thank you for the progress.

Excellent guidance for anapanasati in this tradition. I am inspired to learn more. Thank you.

🙏

A great introduction. The early breathing exercises were effective.

Amazing

Thank you 🙏🏾

This guidance was very helpful, I look forward to practicing more of your meditations. Thanks so much and all the blessings. 🙏🏼🧿

Wonderful. Thank you.

Great guidance and teaching — will return

Thank you!

Superb instructions with high quality recording and a very soothing voice. Many nuances on breath sensations I haven’t heard elsewhere. I will certainly return to it. Blessings 😌

Deeper and deeper, expansing, expanding as all is gratitude, all is breath.

So calming. Excellent pace,guidence and gentle voice 🙏🏻😊🕊️

Excellent. Thank you 🙏

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So beautiful. And needed. ThankYou!