MB 40 Meditation On The Six Elements

Meditation from the Thai Theravada tradition following a modernized interpretation of Boran Kammatthana. This track leads the listener through meditation on six elements within the body - earth, water, fire, air, space, and consciousness. No end sound.

Transcript

So we start by sitting up straight.

Whether we're sitting on a meditation mat or on a chair,

We try to have our back elongated.

Then close our eyes,

Allowing the whole of our body to relax.

Beginning with the muscles of our face,

Within our shoulders,

Our arms,

Down to the tips of our fingers.

Relax our torso,

Both legs,

All the way down to the tips of our toes.

Allowing the whole of our body to rest more and more.

We're able to relax ourselves,

It's like permitting our whole body to be still.

Permitting every single part of our body not to be doing anything anymore.

Just remaining in stillness.

Also we relax our state of mind,

Putting aside any worries or concerns.

Pantering up a sense of happiness and joy inside us.

The meditation on the inner elements that we will be doing today is what's known as a samatha or calming meditation.

But as is the very last meditation in the list of the 40 ways of meditating in the Path of Purity,

Manual of meditation,

It has rather more details to it than some of the other meditation that we might be used to.

But it's like a reflection on the assumption that you are your body or your body is you.

We're going to probe a little at those assumptions and start to see how much of what we take to be us is not in fact who we really are.

The object of meditation on the inner elements is to contemplate the elements of earth,

Water,

Fire and wind in the body.

To free the mind from attachment to self,

Me,

Myself,

Mine.

In the Buddhist scriptures of the Majjhima Nikaya,

Whether it be the greater discourse on the elephant's footprint,

The greater discourse of advice to rahula or the analysis of the elements,

It's advocated that we mentally deconstruct the body into the four elements as a way to reduce our attachment to the physical aspect of our existence and to understand clearly the fundamental nature of the body without thinking about the differences between individuals.

It's generally a meditation suited to people with a tendency to overthink things.

So to start to let go of the attachment to this body,

We consider it in terms of the four great elements or Jattharo,

Maha,

Bhutani,

Namely earth,

Water,

Fire and air.

We reflect on these four elements as they appear in the body until they're seen as just a bunch of elements no different in nature from the elements in inanimate objects outside of ourselves.

Traditionally there were 42 signs of the elements in the body,

20 for the earth element,

Especially Gesa,

Loma,

Nakha,

Dantar,

Tacho,

Of the formulaic meditation given to each new monk on the day of their ordination.

We continue with 12 for the water element,

4 for the fire element and 6 for the air element.

But today we will do it in a more informal manner,

Just enough to let go of attachment to this body of ours so that we can meditate more deeply.

So we begin by becoming aware of what's known as the earth element internally,

The earth element in the body and what this is,

Is everything solid and resistant in the body.

We can start to notice the more immediate sensations of solidity and contact,

Noticing things like perhaps the feet in contact with the floor or your seat,

Your hands resting on your lap or any other experiences of solid contact.

You can feel your tongue in contact with your teeth,

Generally noticing the solidity of the body.

You can notice the muscles all over the body,

Legs,

Arms,

Trunk and neck,

All over the face and head.

You can notice your teeth,

Finger and toenails,

And also the organs that you can't sense directly,

That are also the earth element like the brain,

The lungs,

The heart,

The liver and the kidneys.

So we just give ourselves a sense that yes,

Okay,

There's this body here,

It's solid,

This is what I think of as being me.

And then moving on within the earth element we become aware of the earth element outside of ourselves.

In fact the earth element inside the body is no different in nature from the earth element in inanimate objects outside of ourselves.

And all of it is borrowed.

You didn't make any of the matter in your body,

And furthermore it's of a nature of suffering,

Impermanence and it is not our true self.

So as you're aware now of this solid mass,

The mass of this body that you take to be me,

Mine,

Just observe the body and drop those phrases in that this is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this.

Next we move on to the water element.

The water element is whatever liquid or semi-liquid is inside our body.

This is the water element internally.

So you can notice some of this directly,

The saliva in our mouth,

The film of tears covering the surface of our eyes.

You might feel moistness where parts of your body are in contact with one another.

You can feel the blood pulsing through your body.

There are other forms of liquid in the body that we can't directly sense but we know they're there.

Things like bile,

Lymph fluid,

Synovial fluid,

Digestive juices.

You can just be aware that this entire body is saturated in water,

Maybe 60-65% liquid.

Even fat,

By the way,

Is considered traditionally being a part of the water element.

In fact the water element inside the body is no different in nature from the water element in inanimate objects outside of ourselves.

It's the nature of suffering,

Impermanence and it's not our true self.

So we become aware of the nature of the water element inside our body just by dropping in the phrases,

This is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this.

The next element is the fire element.

The fire element is how the ancients referred to the functioning of the metabolism,

Life,

The activity of living beings.

It maintains digestion and movement and everything associated with being alive.

So you can be aware of the warmth in your body,

Notice that the body is warm.

You may feel some coolness in the air around you and that's just the feeling of heat escaping from your body.

The out-breath is warm compared to the cooler in-breath.

And you can notice the heart beating,

That's energy.

Notice the body moving as you breathe in and you breathe out.

You might be aware of the digestive processes and you can feel the pulse in different parts of the body,

Perhaps in your hands,

In your legs or in your feet.

And there's just that aliveness,

The fact that you're sensing energy flowing through sensory nerves bringing signals to your brain.

The brain sending out little signals to motor neurons,

To muscles all over your body.

We just have this feeling of aliveness and this is the fire element internally.

And again if you start to look at it closely there is no internal versus external fire element.

The fire element inside the body is no different in nature from the fire element in inanimate objects outside of ourselves.

It's of the nature of suffering,

Impermanence,

It's not our true self.

Just being aware of this pulsing,

Tingling,

Breathing energetic body by dropping in the phrases,

This is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this.

Moving on the next of the inner elements is the air element,

Which is what it sounds like.

It's the gaseous components of the body,

Breath that dissolves in the blood stream.

You become aware of this body is saturated with dissolved gases,

Gases filling the lungs and the airways.

In fact the air element inside the body is no different in nature from the air element in inanimate objects outside of ourselves.

It is all of the nature of suffering,

Impermanence and it's not our true self.

You become aware of the nature of the air element in our body just by dropping in the phrases,

This is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this.

And having let go of the attachment for the body,

You have to accept before proceeding that the traditional way of cultivating meditation on the four elements,

Or Jātottattu Vatthana,

Is limited in its potential and can only get you as far as the neighbourhood concentration or Upajjara Samadhi.

It doesn't have the power to access attainment concentration or Apana Samadhi.

In order to gain access to higher meditational attainments,

Including attainment of the Dhammakaya,

We need to follow the advice of the great Abbot or Vapaknām by reflecting on the four elements at the centre of the body until the mind comes to a standstill and can attain the sphere of Patmāmakkha.

This development of the elemental meditation requires six elements in place of four,

And having reduced attachments to our ego,

It can help our mind more easily to make its way towards inner peace.

The great Abbot or Vapaknām,

Pramod Kon Teppani,

Interpreted these four great elements as refined elements perceived as elemental spheres within the body,

Not four because they are inanimate but six elements for living conscious matter.

We consider the six elements inside ourselves through meditation as inner spheres,

And the way they are located in relation to the centre of the body.

The great Abbot or Vapaknām,

Taught that near to the centre of the body there are six centres,

To the front,

To the back,

To the left,

To the right,

Around the centre and the centre itself.

The centre to the front is that of the cohesive or fluid element,

The water element,

To the right is the solid element or the earth element,

The centre behind the centre of the body is the combustible element or fire element,

The centre to the left of the body is of the nature of mobility and is the air or wind element.

The centre surrounding but concentric to the centre of the body is the vacuous element or the element of space.

And lastly at the centre of the space element is the human mind which has been described as the element of consciousness.

This human element of consciousness comprises the four functions of perception,

Memory,

Thought and cognition.

So to upgrade meditation on the elements to attainment level of Apana Samadhi,

When considering the four elements present in the body,

We need for our reflection on the elements to lead the mind to become calm and concentrated to a point where it is still at the centre of the body.

Without bringing the mind to the centre,

To the point of attainment of Patma Makha until attaining the inner bodies,

The quality of meditation cannot move from neighbourhood concentration up to the level of access concentration,

Let alone inside meditation.

So for this reason we just keep calm at the centre and with this in mind we consider the remaining two elements at the centre of the body.

So we turn our attention to the fifth of the elements,

The element of space inside the body.

We might think of this as the space that we occupy,

So just becoming aware as best we can of the space we occupy,

Maybe kind of fuzzy,

Sort of strange when we look at the body we see defined edges.

You feel the body from the inside,

It's hard to tell where your body ends and the outside world begins.

So you're occupying this space,

This me-shaped space and as with all the other elements we can be aware of all the space that's outside this me-shaped space.

It's a little overwhelming perhaps because there's a lot of it.

So you go to your centre and the feeling there,

As you're sitting,

Being aware of this inner space that you call me,

Mine,

And the sensations arising within that inner space,

You reflect that the space element inside the body is no different in nature from the space element in inanimate objects outside of yourself.

So the nature of suffering,

Impermanence and it's not our true self.

So we become aware of the space element in our body by just dropping in the phrases at our centre,

This is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this.

And then finally we become aware of the consciousness element.

The consciousness is not a thing,

It's a process of knowing,

Of experiencing.

In fact the consciousness element inside the body is no different in nature from the conscious element in other animate objects outside of ourselves.

So the nature of suffering,

Impermanence and it's not our true self.

So we become aware of the nature of the consciousness element in our body by just dropping in the phrases,

This is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this.

But although consciousness is just a mundane life giving element,

It does present a pathway to higher aspects of ourselves that are of a nature of happiness,

Eternity and our true self,

Something we can truly consider our own.

So having aligned our mind with the inner subtle space of consciousness at the centre of the body,

The mind will know exactly where to go.

Sometimes we don't even have to use the breath,

At this point we slowly and gently conjure up a point of reference in the mind by touching very gently with our mind at the centre.

Until a picture of the midday sun or the full moon,

A star,

A diamond or perhaps a crystal ball or a candle flame appears.

We continue to observe that imaginary object as a ball of bright light.

The inner object will mark the centre spot.

We observe the inner object accepting the way it comes into view even if it's not entirely clear.

There's no point in putting up a struggle to get the inner image the way we want.

The point is to observe and accept the inner object,

Anchoring the mind as it is.

And for now the mind continues to stay gently in touch with the bright inner object at the centre of ourselves.

As the mind becomes more settled,

The brightness of the inner object will expand to become wider.

Meanwhile the mind remains still at the same spot.

So we continue to allow the brightness of our inner object to spread outwards in all directions,

Shredding above and below,

To the front and the back,

To the right and the left,

Purifying and clarifying all the subtle elements in our body and mind.

In the meantime our point of observation is not from a place outside the centre,

But actually from inside the centre as if we were radiating our awareness outwards with an inner brightness.

Generally we only feel things touching us from the outside.

Within our meditation today we have the novel experience of feeling sensation as if from the inside out.

The mind continues to align itself exactly with the centre space inside the abdomen.

It will slowly align itself with that point inside us like a tiny sail making its way across the ocean to the far shore,

Slowly,

Softly,

Quietly,

Making its way to the centre space.

In the same way our mind is touching at the centre in a very soft,

Subtle manner.

If you think about the amount of effort involved with touching,

You realise it's far lighter than putting or placing something.

It doesn't involve taking the weight of that object.

The way the mind approaches the centre is more like touching than putting or placing.

It needs to be delicate like a tiny white feather floating gently to the earth.

In the same way the mind floats down to touch at the centre space and we observe it there as it continues to touch the centre.

All we need to do for now is to wait.

The inner element of consciousness at the centre in addition to the peace energy will take care of the mind.

The only way to reach toward a healthy mind,

A mind that has cleansed and purified all the inner elements,

Is to allow the mind to come to a standstill at the tiny point of consciousness and wait for the energy to cleanse the inner elements.

In the meantime we stay still,

We wait,

We don't have to do anything,

All we do is wait.

Since the body is motionless little by little we begin to relax.

We remain in the moment while the peace energy takes care of our precious mind.

No one is in a hurry,

We just let the mind slow down in its own time.

And while we're waiting we try to keep it simple.

Whatever experience arises we observe and accept.

Observing means we're fully aware of any experience,

Accepting means that we don't elaborate on the experience.

We accept whatever arises with an uncomplicated mind.

This is the secret of waiting,

To observe and to accept.

So for now let us observe and accept our inner experience for a little longer with a sense of having all the time in the world as we gently coax the mind toward a standstill.

By means of waiting the mind becomes even more settled than before.

The mind starts to feel less cluttered and less congested.

The peace energy gradually works to purify and clarify the elements in the mind.

In fact we cannot intentionally declutter our mind,

We have to allow it to take place by itself.

All we can do is to set up the conditions and let them run to completion.

As the peace energy flows into our mind and gradually accumulates there will be a feeling of expansion and the body will start to feel lighter.

If anything new happens in the mind we just let it be.

If our attention is drawn away to things outside our centre we will only be able to observe them in a single dimension.

If we keep our awareness in the centre and allow the awareness to broaden and expand from there we can observe our surroundings in all dimensions at once.

The benefits of cultivating meditation on the inner elements as we've done today include that we will appreciate the three universal characteristics of impermanence,

Suffering and not-self.

We will be able to let go of attachment to the fixed aspects of our physical identity such as gender or species.

We will be able to overcome our fear of danger especially from predators higher up the food chain,

Paving the way for our attainment of enlightenment.

We will be able to let go of attachment to tasks in our life and to sensual obsessions.

We won't be carried away by extreme emotions and moods.

We will be endowed with extensive intelligence and we will be able to attain inner peace.

But in the meantime we will arise only in the human and celestial realms.

But in the meantime we need to learn to be at ease with our elements.

We need to learn only to observe and to accept.

We need to reduce the tendency of our mind to question everything.

Every time we find we're entertaining a question in the mind it only causes a loss of quality in the mind.

So it's better just to let the questions go,

Keep the mind simple,

In touch with the peace energy at the center to develop a new feeling,

A new level of consciousness allowing peace energy to radiate forth from the center for a few more moments in silence.

Thank you for listening.

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Reviews

Thank you!

used this blissful meditation to sleep, didn’t hear the end. Perfect guidance, pace, voice. 😌

Wow deep practice! Lovely instructions and so calming and centering. Thank you. ☮💖🙏