Visualizing Our Potential

Venerable Sangye Khadro leads a visualization meditation to help us to bring out our positive qualities and develop confidence in them. By doing so, we develop a healthy sense of self-confidence that enables us to be of greater benefit to others.

Transcript

There are different kinds of meditation practice. One kind of meditation that's used quite a lot in Tibetan Buddhism is visualization. I was thinking to lead a relatively simple practice of visualization, So you can get a taste of that. What we'll do is we'll start with a few minutes of meditation on the breath as we did yesterday. In the Tibetan tradition, At least in the Gelugpa tradition that I've been following mostly, They don't use meditation on the breath extensively. It's recommended that we focus on our breath just for a few minutes before doing other meditations. It's used more as a sort of preparatory practice to get our mind to calm down and be more quiet and not so full of thoughts before we do other practices. It's not wrong to do or anything like that, But it's just not part of the tradition that I've learned. I personally have found meditation on the breath really helpful because I have a very busy mind. It's very hard to stop my mind from thinking. I need something like that just to be more calm and more focused, More quiet inside. I think many people, Many Western people, Perhaps Americans more than others, I don't know, We do tend to have very busy minds, Very active. It is helpful to have this practice of just watching the breath coming in and going out. Even if you just do it for a few minutes, It can be very helpful to calm down. Anyway, We'll do that for a few minutes and then we'll go right into the visualization. I'll describe the visualization and just do the best you can to follow along. Some people find it easy to visualize, Perhaps people who are artists, For example, Or architects and use that faculty of the mind in their work. It's well-trained and they may find it easier to visualize. Vibes means like making a mental picture, Having a mental picture of something. Actually, We all have this ability and it's something that just happens naturally and spontaneously. For example, When we're asleep at night and we're dreaming, All of our five senses, Seeing and hearing, Have shut down. It's just our mind, Our mental, We call it the mental consciousness, Mental sense that's operating. That's able to create incredible whole stories, Movies. Then even in the daytime, If we pay attention to our mind, We might notice pictures coming up in our mind, Pictures of people, Pictures of places, Pictures of food when we're hungry, When we're really hungry and our stomach is empty and growling, Pictures of whatever kind of food we like to eat start popping up in our mind. The mind does have this ability to visualize and it does it anyway by itself. In this practice, This meditative practice, We tap into that ability and develop it, We cultivate it. In the Tibetan tradition, They sometimes do really complex visualizations. Some of you may have encountered that or read about that. We won't do anything like that. We'll just do something really, Really simple. I'll ask you to visualize a ball of light, A globe of light that represents all the positive energy, Positive qualities that you can think of. Try to think of a ball. We all know what a ball looks like, But it's made of light, Totally light. Don't think of a light bulb because that's made of glass with wires and whatever inside. Think of a rainbow. When we see a rainbow in the sky, Sometimes it can look so vivid, Almost solid, Almost like we can touch it, But it's just an appearance of light because of the sun shining on particles of water in the air. It's just an appearance of light, But not really solid. Try to make your visualization like that, Made of light, Round. You can make it whatever color you want. You could even make it a rainbow if you want, Something that's pleasant, Beautiful, Something you enjoy looking at. Think of it as just pure light, Not something solid that you could actually touch and feel. Then we'll think that that represents all the good qualities that exist and that we want to have more of in ourself. We do have all the good qualities that there are, But sometimes they're not so well developed. In Tibetan Buddhism, There are these practices where we visualize Buddha images, Shakyamuni Buddha or other Buddhas. Tara is a female Buddha. Chenrezig is the Buddha of compassion. We visualize these figures who represent these positive qualities. We start off visualizing them outside of ourselves. Then at the end of the practice, We imagine them dissolving into us. Then we become filled with that positive energy, Those positive qualities. We try to feel, I am like that too. Our tendency sometimes is to feel, We might see out there, We might see or hear about people that we admire for their good qualities. We may think, Oh, Wow, If only I could be that way, But I'm not. I'm horrible. I'm lousy. I'm a loser. Some people feel that way, Maybe not everybody. I think everybody, To a certain extent, We tend to put ourselves down and feel other people are better than me, And I'm really low and I'm lousy. Sometimes that can go to an extreme. We really feel, I'm just the worst person in the world, And nobody could possibly like me and I could never do anything worthwhile. We have these voices, This kind of story in our minds sometimes. Sometimes we believe in it. We buy into it. We think, Yes, It's true. It's true. I'm horrible. That's not true. According to Buddhism, Buddhism says we have tremendous potential, Positive potential. We have all the good qualities that exist, Wisdom, Compassion, Love, Generosity, Courage, And so on. We have those qualities inside of us, But sometimes they're just kind of hidden, Hard to access. We have these practices to bring out these positive qualities and develop confidence in our positive qualities and cultivate them more and more and more. This is one of those practices to imagine these positive qualities coming into ourselves and then feeling, Yes, I do have those qualities. I am like that. It's kind of a way of pouring water onto the seeds of our good qualities so that they can start to grow more and more. That's just an introduction to the meditation. Let's try it and see how it goes. I was starting to say about how some people find it easy to visualize, But other people find it difficult. I've always found it very difficult to visualize. What I find is if you just keep doing it, It does get easier. The most important thing isn't so much having a perfect, Clear, Detailed visualization, But just doing the best that you can. The important thing is to feel that it's there, Just to tell yourself it's there, Even if it doesn't appear clearly, It is there. Just try to feel its presence outside first and then inside yourself. It's a bit like when we're kids and we play these games with our siblings and our friends. We pretend that we're, I don't know, When I was a kid, We would play Tarzan and Jane and we'd swing through the trees. We had a tree house, So we'd play in the trees like Tarzan or cowboys and Indians or doctors and nurses. I don't know what kids nowadays play. Anyway, It's just part of childhood that you play these games. We don't worry so much if it's true or not. We just get into it and pretend and have a good time, Have a lot of fun. It's a bit like that with visualization. Don't worry so much about if it's true or not, If you could see it or not. Just get into it, Pretend, And see what kind of effect that has on you. Make yourself comfortable. Try to sit straight. Let your shoulders relax. You can have your hands resting in your lap in whatever way is comfortable. You can have your eyes closed if you're more comfortable that way, But we do want to stay awake, Not fall asleep during meditation. If you do feel a bit sleepy, Then it's better to keep the eyes open a little bit so there's some light coming in. Just have your eyes looking down onto the table or your lap or whatever's right in front of you. And try to be as relaxed as possible. Very quickly have a look at your body with your mind and see if you notice if there's tension anywhere in your body. And if you do notice tension anywhere, Maybe in your shoulders or back or your tummy, Wherever, Just momentarily put your awareness at that place and just tell it to relax. Relax. Take it easy. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to be afraid of. Now be aware of your breathing. And try to do this without controlling your breathing. Sometimes when people try to watch their breathing, You get into a kind of control mode, Controlling your breathing. But try to avoid that. Try to just have a light control-free awareness of the body breathing on its own. The body knows how to breathe, Does it all the time. So just allow the breath to flow in and out. And then with your mind, Your awareness, Just let your awareness rest on the breath flowing in and out, The sensations. So the way we know the breathing is by sensations. We feel sensations in our body, The belly, The chest, Maybe around the nostrils. Just be aware of those sensations in your body as your breath is flowing in and flowing out. So just let your awareness rest on the breathing without thinking about anything else. And if thoughts do come into your mind, Which is probable, You can notice that they're there. Try not to get upset about them or excited about them. Try not to react in any way. And just say, Not now. Let them go and come back to observing the breathing. Thoughts are like clouds in the sky. They're not permanent. Just like clouds are not always in the sky. They come, They're there a little while, And then they go. My thoughts are like that. They come into our mind, But they don't stay permanently. They pass on their own. Just let the thoughts come and go like clouds coming and going in the sky without being distracted by them or disturbed by them. Just mainly focus on the breathing coming in and going out. Let them go and come back to observing the breathing. Let them go and come back to observing the breathing. Let them go and come back to observing the breathing. Let them go and come back to observing the breathing. Okay, So now I'll start guiding the visualization practice. Continue trying to stay focused as much as you can on this practice without letting your mind get distracted to other things that are not part of the practice. Start by bringing to mind some positive qualities, Good qualities that you notice in other people. You like those qualities, You admire them, And you may also feel that you would like to have those qualities. You would like to be more like that yourself. These other people could be people you actually know, People in your family or friends, Or they could be public figures that you hear about on the news or internet or social media, People like the Dalai Lama or Greta Thunberg, Celebrities, Politicians, Whatever. You just feel, Oh, I really like that person because of such and such. Just spend some time thinking about those qualities that you notice and admire in other people and would like to have more of in yourself. Okay, So now I'll start guiding the visualization practice. It's time for more� ta Again, A Sonya Shonan chance here in Mona oh are speed you can hear the benefiting demonstrate somethingigg Marquis the So now imagine those positive qualities and all other positive qualities that you may not have thought of. Imagine them appearing in the form of a ball of light, A sphere of light. And this can be either in the space above your head or in the space in front of you, Not down below, But maybe at the level of your forehead and a few feet away, Wherever is more comfortable for you to imagine it. This ball of light can be whatever size you wish, Big, Small, Medium size. It can be whatever color you wish, Something beautiful and pleasant, Inspiring. And remember, It's not like a light bulb, Made of something hard like glass, But it's just pure, Transparent, Intangible light, A bit like a rainbow. Try to imagine it as beautiful as you can, Bright and clear. And don't worry if you find it difficult to visualize. Some people do find it difficult to visualize. So just do the best you can, Even if it appears and disappears or it's not steady, It bounces around. Try to keep it steady. Try to keep it clear. But if that's difficult, Don't worry. Just do your best. And the important thing is to feel that it's there. Pretend that it's there. And try not to have thoughts like, Oh, This is silly. This is a game. It's not true. Put those thoughts aside and just pretend. Imagine that this ball of light representing all positive qualities is there in the space in front of you or above your head. Now, Feel the wish to bring it into yourself. How nice it would be if I could have that light and all that positive energy inside of me, Part of me, That I can have with me all the time, Carry around with me all day. And then invite this ball of light to come into you. And you can imagine that happening in whatever way is comfortable. You can just imagine it coming right into you and dissolving into you. You can imagine it kind of melting into liquid light, Flowing into you, Into the top of your head or in through your skin, All the pores of your body, Whatever way works. But bring it inside of you. And imagine this light filling you, All the parts of your body. Imagine it like a waterfall, A river, A stream flowing all the way down through your body, Down through your torso and your legs, All the way down to your toes, Down through your arms, All the way to your fingertips. And filling you up all the way to the top of your head. Imagine it going into every part of your body, All the organs and bones, Even the tiny parts of your body, Cells, Molecules, Atoms, Subatomic particles, And all the spaces in between these particles. Imagine every part of your body all the way up to your skin, Including your skin, Your hair and your nails. They all get filled with this light. And if you can, Imagine all those solid parts of your body transforming into light themselves. They kind of dissolve and lose their solidity and they become light. Imagine your mind being filled with all the positive qualities the light represented. And any negative or opposite qualities that you are aware of in yourself, Imagine them dissolving and disappearing, Your anger, Your selfishness, Your anxiety, Your depression, Whatever obstacles or bad qualities you may feel in yourself. Imagine those dissolving and disappearing and being replaced by all those positive qualities. And just let your mind rest in that experience for a short time, Your body transformed into a body of light. And your mind transformed into a totally positive, Pure state of mind full of only good qualities. Thank you. After we do a meditation, And if we feel some good state of mind, Some peaceful state of mind, Some positive state of mind, It's good to try not to just leave it behind when you finish your meditation and go and do other things, But try to keep it with you. Keep that positive experience going and bring it into your interactions with other people, The work that you do and so on. Let's just make a mental dedication of the positive energy we've generated in this session. This was a really good thing to do. We created some good energy, Positive energy. Now let's mentally share this positive energy with others and the world. May it bring genuine peace and happiness, Freedom from suffering, And eventually enlightenment for all living beings.

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Stunning and so informative 🙏🏾