MB 21 Meditative Reflection On Impermanence

Meditation from the Thai Theravada tradition following a modernized interpretation of Boran Kammatthana. This track elaborates on how if our mind lets go of attachments to the things outside ourselves our mind will return more easily to the center of the body.

Transcript

So,

Allow your eyes to close gently for meditation.

Be careful that you've closed your eyes as lightly as possible,

With your upper and lower eyelashes touching only very gently together.

If you can get closing your eyes right,

Then the rest of the meditation will be easy.

If you close your eyes gently,

The muscles of your face will become soft,

And all the rest of the muscles in your body will become relaxed in the same way.

All the way down through your shoulders,

Arms,

Hands and fingers.

All the muscles in your trunk,

Both legs,

Down to your feet and your toes.

All this follows from closing your eyes in the correct way.

So don't overlook the importance of this,

Even though you hear the same advice every time there's a guided meditation.

So there's nothing holding you back from attaining the triple gem inside yourself.

Because our time left in this world is limited,

Death can come to us at any time and without warning.

So it's better to make sure your meditation technique is effective,

So that you can make a breakthrough in your meditation without unnecessary delay.

The meditation can then be a refuge to us,

And we will be reassured,

Confident and relaxed.

And any of the tasks concerning our pursuit of perfection will come to fruition much more easily.

Pursuing perfection will be more of a pleasure to us,

So we should start out in our meditation correctly each time.

And we bring our attention gently to the centre of the body.

We give ourselves the feeling that at the centre of our body there is a bright,

Clear sphere,

As bright and clear as a diamond or a mirror,

Or like a drop of water,

Like a crystal ball inside us.

And we keep our attention on this bright inner object,

As continuously as we can,

For as long as we can,

Lightly and gently.

You can use the sound of the mantra to help keep your mind free of thought.

Samma arahant,

Samma arahant,

Samma arahant.

If you find this useful,

To keep your attention continuous at the centre,

If you can keep your mind on both things,

The inner object and the mantra,

It will keep your mind free of distraction,

Because distractions will only get in the way of accessing the inner experience.

They cause us to feel weighed down both in body and in mind.

Our mind will feel blocked and unwieldy,

Narrow,

Claustrophobic and unable to enlarge.

Therefore the only way to gain levity of both body and mind is to relocate our attention within the space of the body.

If you notice the teachings of the Buddha,

Where he advocated letting go of our attachments,

Attachments to everything,

Whether it be animate or inanimate objects,

To let go of our attachments and grasping,

Because these fetters are of no benefit to us.

They cause us to feel weighed down both in body and in mind.

They blot out the inner source of brightness.

They cause us to lead our lives unskilfully.

So if we remind ourselves of the Buddhist teaching,

Whether we start with ourselves or work our way gradually outwards,

Or we start on the outside and make our way gradually inwards as we reflect,

We can look at our own bodies,

Hair,

Skin,

Teeth,

Fingernails,

Toenails and the way they deteriorate.

In spite of our best efforts with cosmetics,

It means that they are of a nature too,

Fall apart.

It applies to our bodies,

Our clothes,

Glasses,

Jewellery,

Are all of the same nature.

They have a limited lifespan.

We reflect from the inside out,

Our furniture,

Homes,

Have a limited lifespan,

Our cars and investments,

Land and assets are temporary,

Our neighbourhood,

The roads that connect them,

The municipality,

County,

Country,

And even the globe and the universe itself eventually fall apart.

So we need to let go of our attachment to any of these.

Pinning our happiness on any of these things is of no use to us.

It imprisons our mind by hitching it to things that are without ultimate meaning.

We can live out our whole lives without coming to an end of material attachments to worry about.

If we think of those things which are external to ourselves,

They cause us to feel weighed down both in body and in mind.

They blot out the inner source of brightness.

They impede us from attaining the inner bodies and the triple gem.

This is why throughout the 45 years of his teaching,

The Buddha constantly returned to the teaching of non-attachment.

No matter what teaching he started out with,

His conclusion would always be to underline the nature of conditioned things,

That is impermanence,

Suffering,

And not-self.

If we reflect on these truths momentarily each time before we meditate,

It only takes a minute that all conditioned things are impermanent,

Even our own body,

And are of the nature to fall apart.

It will allow us to be able to let go.

If our mind lets go of attachments to things outside ourselves,

No matter whether they come to us via our eyes,

Ears,

Nose,

Taste bud or touch,

Any of the five senses,

Our mind will return within the space of our body,

And more easily come to a standstill at the centre of the body.

If the mind comes to a standstill within,

Inner illumination will arise.

The opportunity for us to make the inner journey of the mind will dawn for us.

Our mind will feel as if it has broken free from all forms of unwholesomeness and harm previously present in our lives,

As if we have put distance between ourselves and all the mistakes we formerly made in our lives,

Without having to spend time in the confessional.

It is like all the sins of our lives have been shed,

As the mind becomes still,

Crystal clear and bright,

And inner vision will arise for us sequentially,

Inspiring us to cultivate virtue in our lives.

The mind becomes increasingly subtle and refined.

The deeper the mind reaches,

The purer it becomes.

It becomes so pure that we can see the purity of our own mind as a crystal sphere inside us,

At our centre.

It is purity that goes beyond merely a feeling of purity,

But allows us to bear witness through vision arising out of insight.

A clear sphere that is the culmination of perception,

Memory,

Thought and cognition.

The shedding of unwholesomeness from the mind is more than just our imagination,

But a real phenomenon – the increase of purity within us.

Becoming purer while at the same time shedding defilements from the mind.

In the same way as the peel or the shell breaks cleanly away from some tropical fruit,

The defilements fall away cleanly from the mind.

But sometimes when the mind is becoming very still,

But we have nothing new to keep the mind's interest,

Our concentration becomes hidden in the shallows,

Because we are trying too hard.

We are focused too much on the results or on new experiences.

Really our enthusiasm for progress is appropriate only to get us to sit for meditation in the first place.

But while we are actually sitting for meditation,

We need to stop,

Which means just letting our mind be.

We need to stop our grasping,

Because we know from the Four Noble Truths that it is the root of suffering,

Even if it is grasping after something wholesome like enlightenment.

Unfortunately it is mixed up with delusion,

The incomplete knowledge,

Meaning that we have no new inner experience to show for our meditation,

Because we have grasping mixed with our meditation efforts,

Sometimes by stealth,

So that we don't even realize we are doing it.

Everyone wants a breakthrough in their meditation,

But we go about it in the wrong way.

Therefore we have to stop by letting the mind be.

Even if there is nothing new for us to see,

We must observe without interfering.

It doesn't mean we are getting no benefit from the meditation,

Because every time we meditate we collect up happiness in the mind little by little.

The mind will gradually be purified and clarified,

And our ability to meditate will gradually accumulate,

Like termites bringing grains of sand until they've built a huge termite mound,

Or like watering a tree at its roots.

The tree grows a little every day,

But we are never able to tell how many inches it has grown in a day,

But after some time it starts to bear fruit.

Meditation is similar,

All we need to do is close our eyes gently,

Relax our body,

Bring our mind softly to a standstill inside,

Without worrying about what results the meditation will yield.

Don't think to yourself it ought to be brighter instead of dark inside.

All we should be doing is observing without interfering,

Until the mind reaches a point of equilibrium,

Where it can be attracted toward enlightenment.

Later,

When we become more adept in recognizing and guiding our states of mind,

We can bring the mind to equilibrium intentionally.

But at this stage in our meditation,

We have not yet reached that point,

So we need to adjust our approach.

It doesn't mean we'll never reach the point of mastery,

But for now we need to remain mindful of all the advice we have heard on approaching our meditation.

Otherwise when we get to the good bits in our meditation,

All the advice goes out of the window and we can't stop ourselves applying the wrong sort of effort.

If in doubt,

We just reset our efforts,

Make a new start,

Pretend we are new to meditation like a child.

In the meantime,

Don't deny or resist whatever inner experiences come up in the mind.

We should be content with whatever arises in our meditation,

Be friendly to whatever comes up,

Even if it is darkness or if there's nothing new.

For as long as we enjoy our experience of meditation,

Our inner experiences will sort themselves out.

It will be a majestic transformation inside that no money could buy,

That is beyond compare.

An experience that comes together with subtle joy and happiness,

Which inspires us to extend compassion toward all living beings without exception.

So we train our mind to rest at a standstill,

In brightness and clarity at the centre of ourselves.

Whatever there is to observe on the inside,

Be it darkness,

Light,

Images or otherwise,

We observe without interfering,

Continuously,

Without entertaining any thoughts in our mind.

As a meditator,

It's not our job to analyse what we see or run a mental commentary.

So we train ourselves in this way,

Both when meditating and even as we get up to do other things in our lives,

Whether standing,

Walking,

Sitting or lying down,

Whether eating,

Speaking or exercising,

Until having our mind at the centre becomes second nature.

We already have all the knowledge we need to succeed in meditation.

No matter who you are,

Inner experience awaits you within.

So it's not a question of whether the breakthrough will come to us,

It's just a matter of time and consistency in our practice.

We adapt our practice to continue alongside whatever life may throw at us,

Like a point of stillness at the eye of the storm or an oasis in the desert,

Attracting abundance into our lives on all possible levels.

So we continue to train our attention lightly,

Gently and continuously at the centre of the body,

For a few more moments now in silence,

Until we come to the appropriate time.