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Guided Meditation: Simple Mindfulness

Okay, welcome to IMC's Monday night sitting and Dharma talk. All right, I assume that things are going okay. We're going to begin this session with about half an hour of a guided meditation, and then I'll share some reflections based on a topic that I bring in today. So let's begin the sitting.

Maybe take a moment to find a posture that's supportive of meditative practice. I'm aware that today is the first night right after the full moon. Yesterday was a full moon night, and so in some sense, this is kind of an auspicious night. May we all have an excellent night or an auspicious night sitting together, practicing together. So maybe just take a few moments to settle in to wherever you're meditating. The first few moments are just to allow the body and mind to arrive—arrive into the here and now.

It's often useful to begin by taking some long, deep breaths. As you breathe out, just allow the body to relax. Feeling the connection of your legs and feet with the ground, the floor, and the chairs or the cushions, having a sense of groundedness—grounded on earth. As the lower half of the body begins to settle and rest on earth, allow the upper half of the body to rest and settle as well.

Can you feel the weight of the arms, hands? Let the arms hang naturally. Maybe the torso is upright, and the neck is aligned with the spine, like an extension of the spine. Allow the muscles on the face to soften. Feel sensations on the top of the head, on the back of the head. Just do a quick scan from the top of the head all the way down to the bottom of your feet, inviting ease, inviting relaxation, and softening.

And then momentarily, if you're ready, we can turn our awareness to the movements of our breathing. That maybe is the rising and falling of the belly, or the expansion and contraction of the chest. Resting your attention on the movements of your breathing without trying too hard. Simply resting, like putting a gentle hand, petting the little baby, stroking the baby. Soft, gentle awareness on the breath.

The concerns of the past and future maybe can be faded into the background. Allow the foreground to be filled with the experience that's happening here and now in this body. Maybe tingling on the feet, warmth in your palms, coolness of the breath. It's a secret life force unfolding right here, right now.

Now you can rest your attention, your awareness, right here in the whole body. It's as if the awareness is filled, imbued in the body itself. There is nothing to do to be aware. Simply receiving the experience of the body and the experience of the mind in the restful field of awareness.

Maybe the sound is known: the sound of my voice, ambient sound, silence in between. Vibrations in the belly. A thought. Tightness on the forehead. Everything—everything that's happening—can simply be received and known. A pleasant experience, unpleasant experience, a moment of doubt, a moment of wanting or grasping—everything can happen on their own terms. It's kind, gentle awareness, simply receiving. No need to fix. Boundless allowing.

Some experiences may be extremely challenging. Getting to know this through the embodied experience. Persistent, swirling emotions—how does it feel in the body? Are you aware? If the mind wandered away, it's never too late to start again. Right now, this moment. Mindfulness front and center right now.

If the mind wandered away, just know that this temple of this body always has a door wide open for you. You are always welcome to enter and return to the temple of this body.

In these last few moments of our sitting, I'm going to read these poem verses from the Middle Length Discourses^[1]. The title of this poem is "An Auspicious Day." Maybe you can listen to those words while you sit. Allow these words to drop into your awareness. However it might touch you, connect with you, allow it to be received in the wide-open field of awareness. And if something bubbles up, receive that too.

"An Auspicious Night"—this is translated by Gil Fronsdal^[2]. The Buddha said:

Don't chase the past or long for the future. The past is left behind; the future is not yet reached. Right where it is, have insight into whatever phenomenon is present. Not faltering^[3] and not agitated, By knowing it, one develops the mind. Ardently do what should be done today; who knows, death may come tomorrow. There is no bargaining with mortality and his great army. Whoever dwells thus—ardent, active day and night— Is, says the peaceful sage, one who has an auspicious day.

And the other translation of "An Auspicious Day" is "A Single Excellent Night."