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Guided Meditation: Simplicity

Good day, everyone, and welcome to our Sunday morning sitting. As we begin this sitting, I would like to evoke what I believe is an important principle—not only of Buddhist meditation that we teach here, but also of the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha. It has certainly been an important part of my practice life, and that is the principle of simplicity.

Even though sometimes the Dharma, the teachings, might seem complicated, the hope we have is that their purpose is to point to simplicity. Perhaps sometimes they are complicated because people are complicated, and so we have to explain and point back to a simple way of being—a simplicity of being, a simplicity of freedom. Sometimes we meet complexity with complexity, but we should keep in the back of our mind: where is it pointing to that is simple? The simplicity of non-clinging. The simplicity of just being with the experience with clear vision, with clear seeing.

It's kind of like turning our gaze upon whatever is happening and having that gaze be easeful, relaxed, and at peace with what we see. Our wisdom might see the complexity of the situation, or our wisdom might tell us what should or shouldn't be done, but we shouldn't confuse or entangle the wisdom with the gaze itself. Wisdom comes with clear seeing. We want to have this foundation of simplicity as a simple presence within which wisdom can operate.

So, assume a posture that is appropriate for you, allowing your body some ease, some simplicity of being. Hopefully, there is not much physical struggle to be present. Choose a posture that allows the body to be still for this duration. If there is no such posture, then it's fine to do this meditation as a form of walking meditation back and forth.

Give some care to settling into this posture. Maybe move the body a little bit, rotating, swaying back and forth, maybe even lifting the shoulders up as high as you're comfortable, and then letting them relax and settle. Then gently close your eyes.

Feel the foundation under you—the solidity, the hardness, the firmness that supports the weight of your body. This is such a simple, everyday phenomenon that we live with, that we navigate through, and which in meditation we rely on to help us settle in. The pull of gravity, the weight of our body, is something we yield ourselves to. In the place where the body makes contact with that support, feel the ground, feeling grounded there, rooted.

Further up, maybe soften the belly. Relax your belly. Sometimes when you soften and relax the belly, letting it hang forward and down, there's a little bit more of a foundation, a base, a groundedness in the lower torso. Then soften in the chest, softening around the heart as you exhale. Relax the shoulders, softening them and releasing them to the pull of gravity.

Also, as you exhale, soften the muscles of your face and your jaw. Maybe have the mouth just open a teeny bit more than it is; maybe the lips are still touching, but the teeth fall away from each other a little bit. Relax the cheeks and the muscles around the eyes, letting the eyeballs rest in their sockets.

Soften and relax around the forehead and the temples. Even if it doesn't relax easily, maybe on the exhale there can be some softening around that area. Even if it's just a softening of the way we hold it, be aware of it. Then behind the forehead, between the ears, the area of the brain—feel whatever sensations there might be there of energy, agitation, pressure, contraction, or hardness. If there's any of those things, then on the exhale, soften the brain, relaxing that energy. As you do so, quiet the thinking mind.

Notice whatever is simple about being here with a modicum of silence. There is nothing to figure out, attain, or do, but to rest with some ease in the simplicity of this moment.

Within the simplicity of the moment, center yourself in the body breathing. In whatever way is easy or right for you, allow your awareness to be aligned and attuned to the body breathing. No matter how complicated the mind gets with thoughts and ideas, keep returning to the simplicity of breathing.

Breathe here, and see how simple you can become. Become so simple, perhaps, that desires fall away, aversions fall away, and expectations fall away. Ideas of what is, what should be, and what shouldn't be fall away. In this simplicity, everything is allowed to be just the way it is, and we gaze upon it kindly. We breathe with it, breathe through it, without getting entangled. Just here, sitting, breathing, knowing. Being simple with how things are.

If you've wandered off in thought, chances are that's a more complicated world of concerns than the simplicity of just being here, being alive, being here breathing—as if that's enough for just these minutes.

As we come to the end of the sitting, maybe use your imagination a little bit. Imagine what it would be like to maintain a simplicity of being—a kind of radical simplicity, with a kind and clear gaze of what's happening. Not needing to understand, not needing to fix, not needing to explain, not needing to defend, but to really just be clearly with what's happening. With someone else, what is it like to sit quietly on a park bench? Maybe talking simply and chatting, but offering just a simplicity of being, contentment, and ease with being alive. As if, for a few moments at least, just to be alive is enough. Alive and breathing.

Perhaps with that simplicity of being, our goodwill can be simple as well. A simple warmth, goodness, and friendliness that doesn't have to be actively expressed and doesn't have to be explained. It is a goodwill and a generosity of spirit, a friendliness, a love, and a care that is part and parcel of that simplicity.

Maybe stay simple to end this sitting, tapping into whatever wish you have for others to live well. May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be peaceful. May all beings everywhere be free. And may it be that we contribute to that. May it be that our practice contributes to that possibility.