Soft Butter Meditation For Healing And Combatting Exhaustion

This is a guided meditation on the soft butter method introspective meditation as detailed by Zen Master Hakuin. It was taught to Hakuin as he was suffering from "Zen sickness" (exhaustion) caused by over-exertion and extreme austerities.

If practised regularly it is very effective for healing the body and mind from the damaging effects of over-thinking, conceptualising and planning or the detrimental effects of spending too much time on the internet and social media.

Transcript

This is a guided meditation on the Soft Butter visualization method that was taught to Zen Master Hakuen by the Dawa's sage,

Hakuyu.

It was a secret method taught to combat exhaustion and debilitation.

According to the sage,

When practiced diligently,

It is sure to yield remarkable results and bring health and vital energy back into all of the body and mind.

It was said to promote longevity as well.

First we will start with some conscious breathing to fully relax the body and mind and to let go of any tightness or tension.

Then we will practice the Soft Butter method,

Which will be repeated to enhance the healing and relaxing effects as recommended by the sage.

So come into a comfortable sitting or lying down posture for this guided meditation.

The most important thing to try to do is to keep your back straight as this will make it easier for proper and relaxed breathing.

When your back is straight,

You are able to draw in your breath deeply,

All the way down to your lower abdominal region.

When we adjust our breathing,

It impacts the overall state of our body and mind,

So it's vital that we breathe properly and in a relaxed way.

So now take a deep breath in,

And as you do,

Your lower stomach should expand outward.

Once you've breathed in fully,

Now go ahead and exhale,

And your stomach will return to its natural position.

Now place your hand lightly on your lower stomach,

Just below your navel,

To feel how it moves in this way when you breathe in deeply.

Breathing in,

The abdomen expanding.

Breathing out,

The abdomen relaxing,

Back to normal.

Breathing in,

The abdomen expanding.

Breathing out,

The abdomen relaxing,

Back to normal.

And now do this one more time by yourself,

Using the same breathing pattern.

Now you can just breathe naturally and gently,

Allowing the breath to follow a similar relaxed and deep pattern as before.

And we're not using any effort or force,

Just allow the breath to be deep but relaxed and slow,

Slowing down,

Just feeling the body relaxed and soft,

Allowing all thoughts to dissolve.

And we will begin now the soft butter method meditation.

First I will take you through the written record of Hakuin's teaching in its general outline,

And then I will guide you in detail through the body with the melting soft butter.

Imagine that a lump of soft butter,

Pure in color and fragrance,

And the size and shape of a duck egg,

Is placed on the top of your head.

As it begins to slowly melt,

It imparts an exquisite sensation,

Moistening and saturating your head,

Within and without.

Feel the soft warm butter melting down from the top of your head to the back of your head.

Now feel it melt over your forehead,

Your eyes,

Your cheeks,

Your nose,

Your chin,

All the way to your throat.

It continues to ooze down,

Moistening your shoulders,

Your upper arms,

Your elbows,

Lower arms and hands.

Feel the warm butter oozing down over your chest now,

Permeating your lungs,

Diaphragm,

Your liver,

Stomach and bowels,

Moving down the spine through the hips,

The pelvis and the buttocks.

At this point,

All the congestions that have accumulated within the five organs and six viscera,

All the aches and pains in the abdomen and other affected parts,

Will follow the heart as it sinks downward into the lower body.

As it does,

You may hear a distinct sound,

Like that of water trickling from a higher to a lower place.

It will move lower down through the lower body,

Suffusing the legs with beneficial warmth until it reaches the soles of the feet,

Where it stops.

As your vital energy flows downward,

It gradually fills the lower regions of your body,

Suffusing it with penetrating warmth,

Making you feel as if you were sitting up to your navel in a warm bath,

Filled with the decoction of rare and fragrant medicinal herbs that have been gathered and infused by a skilled physician.

The various challenges or discomforts that were experienced in body and mind,

Or in your emotions,

All drop down at will,

Like water flowing naturally to a low place.

This sensation is felt throughout the whole body,

And it circulates moving downward,

Warming the legs,

Until it reaches the soles of the feet,

Inasmuch as all things are created by the mind.

When you engage in this contemplation,

The nose will actually smell the marvelous scent of pure soft butter.

Your body will feel the exquisite sensation of its melting touch.

Your body and mind will be in perfect peace and harmony.

You will feel better and enjoy greater health than you did even as a youth.

At this time,

All the undesirable accumulations in your vital organs and viscera will melt away.

Stomach and bowels will function perfectly.

Before you know it,

Your skin will glow with health.

So now I'll guide you through a more detailed visualization of the soft butter throughout all parts of the body.

Once again,

Imagine that a lump of soft,

Pure butter with a sweet fragrance is placed on the top of your head.

It's roughly the size of a duck egg.

See it slowly begin to melt.

As it does,

You feel a warm,

Delightful sensation running down over your head,

Moistening and saturating all over your head,

Within and without.

Feel the sensations of the soft,

Warm butter melting down from the crown of your head to the back of your head.

You can feel the warm,

Healing butter calming,

Relaxing all over your head.

Now feel it melt over your forehead,

Your eyes,

Your cheeks,

Your nose,

Your lips,

Your tongue,

Your chin,

Flowing all the way now into your throat.

It continues to ooze down,

Moistening your shoulders.

Feel it within and without your shoulders,

Gently massaging and touching all the muscles,

Nerves and tendons of both shoulders.

Feel it ooze down through both upper arms,

Your elbows,

Your lower arms,

Your wrists and into both hands,

All of the fingers,

To each of the fingertips,

The soft,

Melting butter,

Reaching every nerve ending in this part of the body.

Now feel the warm butter melting down over your chest,

Starting from the top of your chest,

Feeling the warmth and the gentle,

Soothing sensations within and without your upper chest.

Now feel the warmth of the soft butter permeating your heart,

The diaphragm,

Your lungs,

Your spleen,

Liver,

Gallbladder,

Kidneys,

Stomach,

Your intestines,

The bone marrow,

The reproductive organs and the bowels,

Warming,

Soothing and healing all the vital organs throughout the body.

Now gently shift your attention to the back of your neck,

And starting from the back of your neck,

See the warm,

Soft butter moving into the upper back,

Feeling the warm sensations within and without,

Feeling it ooze and melt all over the nerve endings here,

And the surrounding muscles,

The upper spinal column,

Moving down to the middle back,

Noticing the warm,

Healing sensations in this part of the body,

Within and without,

The butter moving and oozing down to the lower back,

Within and without,

All the muscles,

The tendons,

The nerve endings,

Permeated by this warm,

Healing butter,

Moving down through the hips,

The pelvis and the buttocks,

The butter continuing to flow down into both thighs,

The back and front of the thighs,

Outwards and inwards,

Into all the muscles,

The tendons,

And the nerves,

In this part of the body,

Down into the knees and the backs of the knees,

Flowing down into the calves and the shins,

Warming,

Healing and soothing the muscles here,

The butter permeating into the ankles,

The tops of the feet,

The soles of the feet,

Reaching all the toes,

To the very tips of each toe,

Leaving you completely soothed,

Covered,

And healed by the sensations of this warm,

Soft,

Caressing butter.

According to Hakuyuu,

If you continue to practice the contemplation with diligence,

There is no illness that cannot be cured,

No virtue that cannot be acquired,

No level of sagehood that cannot be reached,

No spiritual practice that cannot be mastered.

Whether such results appear swiftly or slowly,

Depends upon how scrupulously you apply yourself.

The best way to gain the benefits from this meditation is to practice it with diligence.

The best way to gain the benefits from this meditation is to practice it regularly,

Every day.

Reviews

I love all of your meditations. I have one ? Why butter and when do I shower 🚿? Just kidding. Namaste 🙏🏻

Amazing. Great for calming and relaxing a stressed and tense mind and body. Very soothing. Thank you

Exquisite and deeply relaxing. Thank you 🙏🏽

That was amazing! I loved the background sounds and your voice is so relaxing. 🙏🏼

Wow. Thank you so much! This was amazing and FELT amazing! 🤎

This was an amazing sensory meditation, I was struggling to fall back asleep & this made it happen. Thank you 🙏

Wow… I can’t remember the last time my body felt so deeply relaxed … feel as though I’ve had a full body massage … thank you so much

Relaxing and refreshing guided body scan. Begins with a short focus on deep breathing. The visualisation is offered twice, the second time in more detail. Warm, calm voice. Slow, regular pace. The background soundtrack is a short, repeated loop of insects shrilling and chirping, that fades in and out. Some folks (like me) may find this distracting. Ends with a period without instruction. There is no end bell so suitable for continuing your meditation. With gratitude to Samaneri Jayasara for this offering🙏

I am trying to recover from ME/CFS and this was very nourishing for me. I will practice this regularly. Thankyou 🙏

So soothing and relaxing.. Just what I needed. I’ll come back to this one again and again. Thank you for sharing 🙏🏻
Wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy new Year 🎄🎇☮️

Just wonderful! Thank you, so relaxing. Beautiful voice.

Very interesting and relaxing thank you for sharing with us! I really enjoyed your calm energy and guidance 🙏🏻 I found the emphasis at the end on practicing diligently and the focus on results a little distracting and counter-intuitive

Very powerful. By one of the greatest Zen masters narrated by the soothing voice of Samaneri Jayasara.

What a wonderful way to practice presence! Thank you.

Hi! You’re great, and I love all your meditations. In your more detailed rendition, you omitted the end bath with the expertly chosen herbs and the dripping down of stress and illness into this bath. That’s a good part! Untouchable Peace to you.

Really helps with the tensions in the body

Quite effective. Thank you for sharing

Supportive 🙏

Complete Peacefulness. Thank you.

Such a nurturing hug like practice. Thank you.