Guided Meditation: Dancing with Breath; Dharmette: The Gladness Pentad (2 of 5) Joy of Practice

This is an AI-generated transcript from auto-generated subtitles for the video Guided Meditation: Dancing with Breath; Gladness Pentad (2 of 5) The Joy of Practice. It likely contains inaccuracies, especially with speaker attribution if there are multiple speakers.

The following talk was given by Gil Fronsdal at Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA on December 06, 2022. Please visit the website www.audiodharma.org for more information.

Guided Meditation: Dancing with Breath

Hello everyone, and welcome.

I've spent time among the redwood trees lately—large, majestic trees. It's kind of inspiring to see how straight they are, how tall they are, how solid and strong. Looking up at a giant redwood is quite an impressive sight.

And the redwood tree has a very small seed. I don't know if it's the smallest seed among trees, but it's very, very small, and the small seed grows into a big tree. Imagine that you have a seed. You want to plant a redwood tree, and you go find a place in the forest that you think might be a good place for it, near your house perhaps. You survey the territory and understand the challenges, the dangers, the conditions that are there. And in the middle of that, you find a spot that you think, given all the conditions that are here, "Here's a spot that I will plant the seed. And in this environment, I will care for it. I will water it and feed it until it becomes well established, and then it can grow on its own."

So, in the same way, we are planting a seed for joy. And it can be a very tiny little seed. And that seed can grow strong and big and tall.

We plant it by first taking into account the field, the territory, the forest where we'll plant it. So all of ourselves—that kind of survey and understanding, clarity, wisdom about all of ourselves—is included in this practice of mindfulness. The good, the bad, the ugly, the wonderful, and the difficult.

And it all has a place. And in the middle of this large field of our life, we have this little seed of joy that we plant. And then we support it. We nourish it with the water of awareness, with the sunlight of awareness that shines on it so it can grow.

And the particular joy that we're interested in here today is not just being joyful about anything, but the joy that comes from engaging in something, the activity. So, for example, some people would find a lot of joy in dancing, or joy in singing, or joy in going for a walk, or the joy of meditating. Just the opportunity, the possibility of that engagement—there's some joy that can come from it.

If we give ourselves to the experience, we turn our attention away from our concerns, preoccupations, away from the weeds and the bushes and the vines that are growing around, to here and now, maybe the breathing. And engage in it like you would something that brings you joy just in the activity of doing it. The feelings of movement and freedom in the body, that feeling maybe of like a dance. All of ourselves are included.

And there, that joy, this little seed that we want to plant. So maybe we can find that seed during this meditation.

Assume a comfortable, alert meditation posture. Where, in assuming the posture, there's some care given to the posture, as the beginning of this dance, the beginning of this entering into our experience fully. All of ourselves included, including the body.

Sitting in a way that you feel like you're really here in your body. Perhaps both feet planted on the ground if you're sitting in a chair. You're feeling a solid connection to what supports the weight of your body.

Gently closing your eyes.

And here. Here in this body, at this mind, at this time. This is the field of practice, the forest where we plant a tree.

To relax this body.

To begin a wholeheartedness by entering into this embodied experience of here and now.

Taking some deep breaths as part of the dance with yourself of being present.

Maybe the inhale is like the lead dancer, and the exhale is going to follow. Breathing in deeply and relaxing fully.

And letting the body, the breathing, return to normal.

And then finding your way to a place in your body where you can feel connected, participating with the body breathing.

Maybe almost as if breathing is your partner in a dance.

And being aware of the fullness of the inhale, the fullness of the exhale. Aware with the body.

And what would it take for you to be present, mindful of breathing? So the engagement with it, the immersion with it, the devotion to it has some joy in it. Some delight, some enjoyment, pleasure.

And if there is a little hint of joy, delight in the engagement with the breathing, gently water that. By being aware of it, including that joy in the experience of breathing in and breathing out.

If your mind wanders off in thought, don't despair. Instead, be glad that you're able to gently bring your attention back to the breathing.

It's an amazing good fortune to be able to begin again with breathing. It's an amazing good fortune to practice mindfulness of breathing. The same practice the Buddha practiced.

Feel the joy of that engagement. The good fortune of participating in the dance of breathing, in and breathing out.

Sometimes in dancing with a partner, there's a joy that comes with surrendering to the dance. Maybe surrendering to the partner who leads. Maybe there's a joy in surrendering to the breathing. Following along, participating, being carried along, breathing in and breathing out.

And then coming to the end of this sitting.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Breathing in and feeling whatever joy, however small, you might find within. Maybe with a small half-smile on your lips, breathe in and feel the joy.

And breathe out, imagine sending it forth out across the lands that you share—your joy, your well-being, your inspiration.

The winds of your joy carrying your good will for the world.

May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be peaceful. And may all beings be free.

Dharmette: The Gladness Pentad (2 of 5) Joy of Practice

So hello everyone. This is the second talk on the gladness pentad.

As I said yesterday, the remarkable thing about the gladness pentad is that it's a natural phenomenon that, just like a seed when all the conditions are in place, will grow. So when the seed is planted in us and nourished and supported, this amazing natural process unfolds. It requires the momentum of practice.

So it's really supported a lot by having cultivated or developed some modicum of concentration, some ability to really dive deep or be really present in one's experience mindfully. But that momentum and the practice then picks up this good energy, this good feeling, and if practice grows, we allow this to grow and transform.

And so it begins, this pentad, with something that inspires us. And the classic thing in Buddhism is our faith, confidence, and trust in the practice. Sometimes it's our own integrity, our own virtue. Something about our virtue that we feel happy about and inspired by. It can be someone else's virtue that really hits us in some deep way and moves us. It can be inspired by another person who maybe has a lot of maturity, a lot of wisdom, a lot of Dharma joy themselves. And so that inspires us.

Whatever the inspiration is, as we practice, that inspiration can first lead us to gladness. Gladness is a reflection of how good it is to do this, to be involved in this dance, to be involved in this practice. Feeling the good fortune of it. Not many people have the chance, and even though it's hard, in Buddhism it is considered phenomenally good fortune to be able to do any degree of practice. So we feel the contentment or that kind of happiness with that.

As we allow for that contentment, that happiness, that delight, as the practice develops, the momentum of practice begins to carry that along and transforms it into a joy in the engagement. The joy of practice, the joy of waking up, the joy of being aware, of being mindful. This is phenomenally good fortune. It's a great thing. But it's not so much reflecting on the good fortune now; it's more like we can surrender ourselves to the practice, give ourselves over to it fully. And the fullness with which we give ourselves over to it is where some kind of joy begins to rise up.

Sometimes it can be quite strong when all of who we are is absorbed or connected to the practice that we're doing. The immersion in the activity of practice—we're not daydreaming, we're not thinking about something else, we're not preoccupied with an itch we have. We're just really, fully present.

And even though that language, "fully present," is kind of grand language, as we approach that, as we give ourselves into that purpose, there can be this joy that wells up in the engagement. That is like the joy of giving ourselves over to a dance, maybe surrendering to our partner, surrendering to our breathing. It could be the joy of singing, the joy of playing with children, or being a child and just being delighted and squealing and playing. It's so much fun just to be active and moving. The joy of exercise some people feel. Whatever it is, it's something that we give ourselves over to and are fully there. So it's kind of pleasure and joy and wholeheartedness, and kind of surrendering to that activity, partly because we're not caught up in our usual ruminations and preoccupations.

And so the importance of this in Dharma practice is that it supports the Dharma practice to have joy in the practice itself. Sometimes what we're mindful of, what we include in our practice, is quite difficult. There can be a lot of difficult emotions, difficult physical sensations, pain, all kinds of difficult circumstances that we're practicing with. But even with all those difficulties, if we have recognized that the joy of giving ourselves to the practice, trusting the practice—as if the practice is more important, practicing with the difficulties is more important than the difficulties.

It isn't like we're practicing to overcome the difficulties; we're practicing to be present with the difficulty, like they're our difficult dance partner. But we can give ourselves fully to that dance too. It's a very different perspective than how most people live their lives, where we live kind of preoccupied with problems and wanting things and not wanting things. The path of this meditation practice is different than that. It's the engagement in the practice, and the mindfulness, and being really showing up, that is where the dance is, where the play is, where the immersion is to experience. So it's a shift of where we're looking for our well-being.

And the advantage now of making that shift is then we can learn to get out of the way of the natural growth of this joy. And a big part of a Dharma practitioner's job, when we start getting in the flow of the present moment, is to get out of the way and allow this present moment to do its thing—allow the joy to grow, for example. But it helps if we recognize that it's there. Once we recognize it's there, then we have a little bit more incentive to not get distracted.

A distraction is kind of like nighttime coming, so the sun can't shine down on the plant that's growing. When the distractions go, then it's like the clouds are parted, the sun is out, and then the plant can grow in the sunshine, the sunshine of awareness. So an important part of practice is to make sure that there's a space and a clearing for awareness to shine on our experience. To shine on the joy and the delight of engaging mindfully with whatever is here.

This joy, Dharma joy, should not be the primary thing we're focusing on. It's kind of an adjunct. It's kind of like the music of the dance, or it's part of what comes along. And the art of this is not to get attached to it or try to pump it up, but to allow the natural process of it to grow and develop by staying present, making room for it, allowing for it, and staying with the practice we're doing, like mindfulness of breathing. Keep with the breathing.

So why do we do this? Why do we give ourselves over to the practice so that we enjoy it? One reason is it's a lot easier to be with the difficulties. The difficulties aren't the whole show and everything; the difficulties are just part and parcel of what's happening. And the other part, maybe a bigger part, is our mindfulness, our awareness. That just feels great to be active with and be present with, and so it grows.

So this gladness pentad is something we allow to grow with a growing concentration, until the fifth part of the pentad we'll talk about on Friday is concentration itself, samādhi^[1]. And that sets us up to see things as they are. So gladness, joy, tranquility, happiness, samādhi is the sequence.

And then the unfolding is to become aware of suffering if we're suffering. That can inspire us to practice, that can motivate us, but we're not really ready to address and work with suffering directly when we first come to the practice. And so part of it is being motivated by suffering, but not being too concerned about it in the beginning. Let it be motivating. Let it support the faith, the inspiration to practice. Engage in the practice for a while as if you're tilling the soil, you're preparing the ground for something different to grow and develop. And at some point, when this gladness pentad moves through, there's enough well-being, enough stability, enough concentration, then we're in a whole different place to see our suffering in a new way, a new perspective.

In that sense, the joy is pragmatic. It's practical. It's very useful. So it's not joy for its own sake, though it almost is. Because if we get involved with trying to make it happen and make it grow for other purposes, it kind of interferes with the dance, with the play, with giving ourselves over fully to the activity at hand with our mindfulness and our awareness.

I just realized this morning that we're doing this gladness pentad, which ends with concentration, and that the practice continues. The next step is seeing things as they are, which is seeing suffering, having insight. I think it's kind of coincidental—on Saturday I'm going to do a day-long retreat on the Four Noble Truths, on suffering, and I think that you'll be in a much better place to understand and follow this day-long on the Four Noble Truths if we're building on this gladness pentad. If that's the background support for then seeing suffering in a new way.

So: gladness, joy, tranquility, happiness, samādhi. These are the five topics for this week.

And for today, if you want to do some practice in daily life, look for opportunities to do something, maybe physical, to do it wholeheartedly. As if it's a dance or a game or a play. Like you're playing a game, or a child in the playground is just so delighted to be in the sand making sandcastles. Just give yourself over to see if you can find the enjoyment of the activity when there's no resistance, no distractions and ruminations about the challenges of life—just there for the activity.

It can be in cleaning, washing dishes, cleaning the house, doing laundry. It can be driving, it could be going for a walk, it can be anything that's physical. See if you can discover the joy of giving yourself fully to just the activity. And doing that, doing it in your way, the way that works for you and your body and your circumstances. But whatever way it works, see if you can find the joy of giving yourself to it.

So thank you very much, and I hope you enjoy your day.