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Guided Meditation: Feeling Tone (Vedana) Arising & Progression

Good morning, Sangha^[1]. Or good afternoon, good evening. Wherever you are in the world joining to practice together in this moment, it's heartwarming to see all the hellos from different places in the world and the feeling of togetherness dispersed all around the world.

Let's continue with our exploration and our practice today on vedana^[2], feeling tone. For today, the invitations that I will give during the guided meditation are going to be very little because I'd like to leave more time for silent exploration. Exploring vedana, feeling tone, can be a rather subtle exploration and practice. Sometimes it could feel mixed: "Oh, yes, there's both pleasant, unpleasant, not sure." But actually, according to Buddhist psychology, there's only one feeling tone with every mind moment. It's just that mind moments go so fast. So, some degree of concentration, samadhi^[3], a quieting of the mind, is required.

The invitation today would be to let the mind settle and calm, first with the body and the breath. Then, see if you can notice the first moments. This might be challenging, but it's good to have a little bit of a challenge in our practice. See if you can notice the first moments where vedana—pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral—arises associated with an object. You hear a sound, you sense a feeling in the body, there is a thought, maybe there's a smell, or an image. Your eyes will be closed, but through different sense doors, the moment that the object arises in consciousness, notice when the feeling tone (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral) arises. See how it gets increased or attenuated, and what happens later.

Be mindful of the process, and ideally the first moment when it arises, before it has become, "I want it," "I don't want it," "I like it," "I don't like it," etc. Sometimes you may need to backtrack, but that is the exploration. Later I'll talk more about why this exploration is so important with respect to dependent arising, the teaching of dependent origination. Why this observation, being aware of this, is so important for our freedom and ease in the midst of conditions.

Guided Meditation

With that, I would like to invite you to get into your meditation posture. If you need to sit up straight a little more, to shift, to move—some of you may need to lie down—see what is right for you. What is appropriate for your body.

Landing. Landing, arriving in this body in this moment.

Inviting the center of gravity of awareness to drop down with the outbreath into the sit bones, the lower abdomen. Inviting your bottom to relax, give its weight to the chair, to the cushion.

Inviting the abdomen to relax. The chest, neck, and shoulders to drop their weight into the arms and hands. The forehead feeling smoother as if massaged. The eyes resting in their sockets.

For the jaw, maybe opening the mouth comfortably wide with an outbreath, and letting it close naturally.

Becoming aware of the upper back muscles, relaxing them. And lower back muscles.

Moving down again through the abdomen, the sit bones, the groin area^[4], relaxing. Relaxing all the parts that you sit on, that you rest on. And inviting your legs to also land, the legs and feet to fully land, giving up their weight to the earth.

Taking the next three outbreaths to intentionally let go of any tension in the body and arrive more fully.

One.

Two, letting go more.

And three. Letting go. Landing more deeply.

And receiving, letting this relaxed body receive, as a guest, the breath. Just this breath, right now, right here. Not the past or the future. Landing with the breath in the presentness and the nowness. Effortlessly.

And allowing yourself, as the body is relaxed, receiving the breath. Inviting awareness to be open to knowing. Not from the head, the control tower, but an embodied knowing.

Feeling the feeling tone as it arises with objects of touch, hearing, thoughts. Noticing the first arisings. First, it might be very subtle before it gets amped up of the pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. And what might come after: wanting, thirst, clinging, aversion, etc. Be open to noticing.

Let the body relax. Relaxed and soft. Mind spacious and calm. Can the first arising of the feeling tone—pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral—be known?

Reflections

And for the last moments of this practice, appreciating yourself and your own wise effort for having shown up, having practiced together in Sangha. For having aligned your intentions with your actions, and letting go of the outcome, whatever happened or did not happen during this practice period. Non-attachment to outcome.

And appreciating your own goodness and desire for cultivation, for kindness, for wisdom towards yourself and towards all beings everywhere.

May our practice serve us in growing in wisdom, in compassion, and kindness, for the benefit of ourselves and others.