The practice I'd like to share in this recording is from a discourse in the Middle-Ink Discourses,
Sutra No.
143,
Advice to Anata-Pindaka.
And this encapsulates the teachings that Venerable Sariputta offered to the disciple and householder Anata-Pindaka on his deathbed.
After some cordial talk,
The Venerable Sariputta instructed the householder.
He said,
Householder,
You should train thus.
I will not cling to this and my consciousness will not be dependent upon this.
Throughout the discourse,
Throughout the teaching,
What I consider to be like a guided meditation,
A guided reflection,
He goes through a number of things in that spot of this.
And as you listened to this in a meditative frame of mind,
I hope that you will recognize the possibility of not clinging to whatever this is and not identifying with it,
Not allowing consciousness to become dependent upon this,
Not bringing up and constructing a sense of self or a becoming based upon that.
And so as I read the instructions that Sariputta gave to Anata-Pindaka,
Please take them in in a meditative frame of mind.
You might begin first by establishing the attention in the body,
Feeling the posture,
Settling the attention in the here and now,
Becoming mindful of your experience just as it is right now.
You might reflect upon your intention,
The intention to let go,
The intention to not cling,
The intention to realize the profoundest of truths,
The aspiration to be utterly free,
Free and at ease with each perception,
Each moment.
Sariputta begins.
Then householder,
You should train thus.
I will not cling to the I and my consciousness will not be dependent on the I.
Thus,
You should train.
I will not cling to the ear and my consciousness will not be dependent on the ear.
Thus,
You should train.
I will not cling to the nose and my consciousness will not be dependent on the nose.
Thus,
You should train.
I will not cling to the tongue and my consciousness will not be dependent on the tongue.
Thus you should train.
I will not cling to the body and my consciousness will not be dependent on the body.
Thus you should train.
I will not cling to the mind and my consciousness will not be dependent on the mind.
Thus you should train.
So we train our minds,
We guide our minds.
We guide our relationship to the senses to be an encounter of non-clinging.
The instruction continues.
I will not cling to visible forms and my consciousness will not be dependent on visible forms.
Thus you should train.
I will not cling to sounds and my consciousness will not be dependent on sounds.
Thus you should train.
I will not cling to odors and my consciousness will not be dependent on odors.
Thus you should train.
I will not cling to flavors and my consciousness will not be dependent on flavors.
Thus you should train.
I will not cling to tangibles and my consciousness will not be dependent on tangibles.
Thus you should train.
I will not cling to mind objects and my consciousness will not be dependent on mind objects.
Thus you should train.
And so with each item,
Have a sense of letting go or perhaps recognize the not clinging that meets that experience.
Trust in letting go.
Trust in release.
Practice.
Train in letting go.
And Venerable Sariputta's instructions continue.
He says,
Householder,
You should train thus.
I will not cling to I consciousness and my consciousness will not be dependent on I consciousness.
I will not cling to ear consciousness and my consciousness will not be dependent on ear consciousness.
I will not cling to nose consciousness and my consciousness will not be dependent on nose consciousness.
I will not cling to body consciousness and my consciousness will not be dependent on body consciousness.
I will not cling to mind consciousness and my consciousness will not be dependent on mind consciousness.
Thus you should train.
You should train.
You should train.
I will not cling to eye contact.
I will not cling to ear contact.
I will not cling to nose contact.
I will not cling to tongue contact.
I will not cling to body contact.
I will not cling to mind contact and my consciousness will not be dependent on mind contact.
Thus you should train.
Householder you should train thus.
I will not cling to feeling born of eye contact and my consciousness will not be dependent on feeling born of eye contact.
I will not cling to feeling born of ear contact.
I will not cling to feeling born of nose contact.
I will not cling to feeling born of tongue contact.
I will not cling to feeling born of body contact.
I will not cling to feeling born of mind contact and my consciousness will not be dependent on feeling born of mind contact.
Thus you should train.
Householder you should train thus.
I will not cling to the earth element and my consciousness will not be dependent on the earth element.
I will not cling to the water element and my consciousness will not be dependent on the water element.
I will not cling to the fire element and my consciousness will not be dependent on fire element.
I will not cling to the air element and my consciousness will not be dependent on air element.
I will not cling to the space element and my consciousness will not be dependent on space element.
I will not cling to the consciousness element and my consciousness will not be dependent on the consciousness element.
Thus you should train.
Householder you should train thus I will not cling to material form.
I will not cling to feeling.
I will not cling to perception.
I will not cling to formations.
I will not cling to consciousness and my consciousness will not be dependent on consciousness.
Thus you should train.
Householder you should train thus.
I will not cling to the base of infinite space and my consciousness will not be dependent on that.
Thus you should train.
I will not cling to the base of infinite consciousness.
I will not cling to the base of nothingness.
I will not cling to the base of neither perception nor non-perception and my consciousness will not be dependent on this.
Thus you should train.
Householder you should train thus I will not cling to this world and my consciousness will not be dependent on this world.
I will not cling to the world beyond and my consciousness will not be dependent on the world beyond.
Thus you should train.
You should train thus.
I will not cling to what is seen,
Heard,
Sensed,
Cognized,
Encountered,
Sought after,
And examined by the mind.
And my consciousness will not be dependent on that.
Thus you should train.
And with this training we practice letting go.
Clinging to nothing.
Abiding with ease with the mind utterly free from identification,
Possessiveness,
And attachment.
I will not cling to the base of nothingness.
I will not cling to the world beyond.
