MA 31 The Light Of The Inner Sun

Meditation from the Thai Theravada tradition following a modernized interpretation of Boran Kammatthana. This track explains how the sun is revealed when the clouds go away. Similarly, by removing the clouds of impurity in the mind, the light of the mind can be revealed

Transcript

So as usual I hope you found a comfortable sitting position for yourself. You can sit on a sofa or on a chair or you can sit on a meditation mat on the floor. The point is you should try to relax and distance yourself from any kind of distractions. If you are sitting on the floor try to sit cross legged with your right leg over the left one, The right hand over the left hand, Palms turned upwards and adjust your hand so that the tip of the right index finger touches the thumb of the left hand. And then sit upright in a relaxed manner. If you are sitting on a chair or a sofa just relax yourself and it's best to avoid leaning against the backrest because you may fall asleep too easily. So adjust your sitting position until you feel completely at ease. And now breathe in gently and deeply before breathing out a couple of times. When you breathe in feel your chest expanding and your back straightening. When you breathe out let go of any negativity or problems along with the out breath. Also allow your shoulders to drop naturally. Again you breathe in taking the cool refreshing air into your lungs, Feeling refreshed. And after a few times you'll feel ready for the meditation ahead. So now comes the most important part of relaxation. Close your eyes gently and allow your eyelashes to touch gently together. Close your eyes no more tightly than that. Your eyelid should feel as light as a feather. And as you relax all the muscles around your eyes you'll find that because the muscles around your eyes are the most sensitive part of your body. If you relax those muscles then all the other muscles throughout the body will become relaxed as well. Now allow the relaxation from around the eyes to spread throughout your face. Put a little smile on your face before relaxing the muscles of your forehead, Your cheeks, Your chin. Allow them all to become fully relaxed. Allow the relaxation to spread down your neck to the shoulders. Relax your shoulders, Both arms, To your hands and all the way to your fingertips. Then relax the whole of your body down to your legs, Feet and toes. Examine each part of the body. If you feel any discomfort in any part of your body or resulting from your posture then make an adjustment now so the blood can circulate freely throughout your body and to minimize any aches or pains during the meditation. The point that you feel you could sit like this for as long as you like. Know that your body is totally relaxed and imagine that your body is light in weight and hollow like a tube. With no internal organs, Just hollow and light, As if your body is floating in the air, As if your body is now expanding. It is light and expanding to the horizon, As if your whole body is merging with the atmosphere around you. So by little your body is disappearing until you no longer feel the physical body anymore. So now it's time to relax the mind. Normally our mind is filled with so many thoughts, So many worries. So let's put every thought to one side so that you're left with an empty mind, Like a person with no future and no past. You have only the present moment and the here and now. Imagine that you're sitting all alone in a vast empty space. All around you is nothing and no one. And if your mind drifts away into some thoughts, Then let the thoughts settle and remain in this silence for a few moments. Now breathe in slowly and make a mental note of the turning point of the breath inside your stomach. Once you've taken note, Then just forget about your breath. The turning point of the breath in your stomach is the center of the body, Which is where we're going to rest our attention. We're going to place the awareness at this point, Because it's right here in the center of the stomach. In practice, It doesn't matter where exactly we place our mind at this stage. Once our mind is calm and refined enough, The mind will zero in on the center of the body by itself. When the mind begins to settle at that point, You will feel that something is almost alive at the center of the body. And for the time being, Just rest the mind gently in the general area of the center of your stomach, At the point you feel most comfortable with. The way you place the mind at the center of the body is as gentle as if you were floating a needle on the surface of some water. Taking not a single ripple on the surface of that water, While also not letting the needle sink. That's how you're going to place the mind at the center of the body very gently. And to help keep your mind in place, You can picture the image of the sun shining in your mind. The same sort of sun you might see if you were walking at the seaside and saw the sun on the horizon, Shining bright, Clear and round. Visualize without making any effort, Because it is the natural ability of the mind to picture things internally. Whenever we think of anything, A picture of that thing will arise in our mind. That's the way we visualize. So the shining sun is at the center of our body and we'll continue to rest our awareness there with the inner sun at the center of our body the whole of the time. And in order to dispel any thoughts that return to our mind, We do our best to ignore them. If this doesn't cut it for us, We can make use of the traditional mantra, Samma Arrahan. Samma Arrahan. Samma Arrahan. The sound of the mantra comes from the center of the shining sun. The sound of the mantra is soft, Tender and soothing to the mind. In our mind there are only two things, The sun shining bright and clear, And the mantra Samma Arrahan, Coming up from the center of the shining sun. Repeat the sound of the mantra in a gentle and unhurried way, Effortlessly. We repeat the mantra for as long as we need to, And at a certain point in time the mantra will fade away of its own accord. If you start to feel the mind is calm and doesn't wander anymore, You don't have to restart with the mantra again. Just rest the awareness at the center of the shining sun. If you notice that the sun is drifting away into random thoughts, You just gently bring it back to the center of the shining sun. You may need to restart the mantra, And this is how you cultivate the mind to become calmer and calmer. The longer you can rest the mind gently at the center of the body, The more refined our mind will become, Little by little becoming calmer and calmer, More and more refined, Softer and more peaceful. So let's enjoy the moment of peacefulness in the mind for a few moments longer, In silence. Namaste. Namaste. Namaste. Namaste. The light from the sun is soothing as if there were a touch-sensitive switch at the center of the body. When we touch this switch gently, It turns on the light, The inner light. The light of the inner sun is always there, Just like the sun that is forever behind the clouds even when we are unable to see it. The origin of the light in our mind is just the same. It is blocked by any impurities in our mind, So that we may never know that there is a light source at the center of our body. But through meditation we can gradually remove the impurities from the mind, Allowing the light of the inner sun to shine through, Brighter and clearer than before. So rest the mind at the center of the body, Gently and continuously. We just continue to rest the mind like this, Gently, Softly, Tenderly. The shining sun is getting brighter and brighter. It's becoming more soothing to the mind. We can feel the relaxation. We can feel the inner peace flowing out from the center of the body, Resting the mind at the center of the shining sun, Gently and continuously. Never use any pressure, Never use any force. Maintain the mind at the center of the shining sun within, And let the stream of peacefulness, The stream of happiness, Flow forth from the center of the body. In essence our task is very simple, Just resting the mind at the center of the body and observing what's happening. Whatever happens, We are just a neutral observer, Just as if from a bus window we were keeping track of the country scenery. And the scenery may keep changing, But we just keep watching anyway, Watching passively. The longer we can gently rest the mind at the center of the body, The more refined it will become, And the mind will start to journey inward all by itself. The refined mind will journey inward into the center of the center, And it will get more and more refined until you can start to feel deep happiness from within, Flowing forth, Cleansing the body and the mind. We can feel that both our body and mind are becoming more pure, As if by a special kind of energy from within. We can feel that the mind is expanding with that purity from within, While the mind makes a journey inward of its own accord, While being a neutral observer. Continue to rest the mind at the center of the body, And the happiness from within feels joyful, Refreshed and energized. We feel awakened and alive, With the awareness resting at the center of the body. We share this kind of happiness with all the people around us, Spreading the loving-kindness and happiness from within, To everyone around us. Resting the mind at the center of the body by spreading loving-kindness outward into the atmosphere, Purifying the atmosphere further and further in all directions, Wishing all beings be happy, Spreading that loving-kindness further, Wishing all beings, Whether human or non-human alike, Be happy, Live in peace and harmony, Whether outwards to cover the whole world, Wishing all of you of the world be happy, To be free from suffering, Free from illness, Spreading the loving-kindness further out into space, To all the stars and all the galaxies, Filling the whole universe with loving-kindness and happiness from the center of our body. And you might like to think of loved ones who have already passed away, Maybe ancestors or grandparents, Wherever they have been reborn. We make the wish that they be happy, Wish for them to have the opportunity to discover the same inner peace and happiness that we are now experiencing. We share loving-kindness and happiness for the benefit of our family members, Wishing them all to be happy. We continue to make good wishes for ourselves and others, While spreading loving-kindness for a few more moments in silence.

Reviews

I love these gentle centering practices. Thank you for teaching us.