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Introduction

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. I'm happy to be here with you, and I'm looking forward to the community town hall meeting that we'll have after this, at around 8:00 this morning. For those of you who don't know about it, everyone is welcome. It's a chance for people in this YouTube community that has built up over these weeks to have a little gathering together. I'll talk a little bit, and we'll put you into breakout groups where you get to meet each other in groups of five or so. Then we'll come back and there will be time for some questions. I look forward to it, a chance to meet you.

The information for logging on is at the top of the chat box. There's the link to Zoom. Also, on IMC's website, there is information in the "What's New" section on the home page, and in IMC's calendar for this time. It is password protected, and the password is metta (m-e-t-t-a)^[1]. I'll announce this again later.

Guided Meditation: Opening to Joy

For this morning, I want to start with a little story. In the monastery I stayed with in Thailand, the monastery of Buddhadasa^[2], there was a painting on the wall. It was a replica of a cave painting that had been found somewhere not so far away. There was a monk who lived and meditated in a cave for maybe a couple of decades—a long time. He was considered to be a very deep meditator, a deeply realized man, who had lived a very full life in other ways but in his older age had become a monk and devoted himself to practice.

He died at some point. When they went into his cave, they found on the wall a painting, and that painting was then replicated on the monastery wall. It was in English, kind of cartoon-like, and it was a picture of a very happy monk jumping up in the air, kicking his heels in delight and exuberant joy. The caption of what the monk is saying was: "Oh, what boundless joy, to know there is no true happiness."

That's a little bit of a mind twister to hear. We want to have true happiness. I think the idea here is that chasing after happiness, holding onto it, and expecting to have some kind of permanent happiness—thinking that now we "have it made"—is a recipe for more suffering. To stop the search, the need, and the demand for some kind of worldly happiness—having all the conditions in place so we're always happy—is exhausting. There is some very deep letting go in letting go of the pursuit of happiness.

Now, that's not necessarily letting go of happiness, but letting go of the pursuit of happiness. That can lead to a kind of boundless joy. What is that joy that comes from the absence of pursuit, the absence of clinging, the absence of wanting? The joy, the delight, maybe even the happiness of freedom. Freedom from any attachments, freedom from any emotional need. Sitting in meditation, being here, really here, seeing what's here. In that seeing, having the freedom that the seeing itself can be free.

Taking a meditation posture, perhaps it's also a posture that has some possibility of releasing joy for you. A delight—not the joy or delight in something specific, but the joy or delight of being open, receptive, and allowing life to live through us. The joy of not needing anything, doing anything, or wanting anything. Just to be alive is enough. Just to be breathing here is enough for these minutes.

Perhaps taking a few gentle, long, deep breaths. As you exhale, relax and let go.

As you breathe in deeply, perhaps that can be an opening of resistance. An opening of being closed or contracted. Opening the doors of your chest, the windows of your heart, and then breathing out and dropping into that openness.

Then letting your breathing return to normal.

There is a kind of very mild sense of freedom in breathing. Even if the breathing is forced, contracted, or difficult, there is some natural movement within us that arises freely as we begin to breathe.

If you pause at the end of the out-breath and then allow the in-breath to begin, there is a freedom in the body breathing. If you pause at the end of the in-breath and then at some moment allow your body to exhale, there is maybe a moment of freedom in the breathing.

Breathing in and breathing out.

As you exhale, relax the thinking muscle. Soften the mind as you exhale.

As you inhale, perhaps you can imagine the mind opening. The windows of the mind open wide. No resistance to anything. All things can be seen and known easily, freely.

Finally, every time you exhale, let go of anything your mind has picked up on. Any thoughts, any concern with feelings and sensations. Release the mind from all concerns, except riding on the inhales and exhales. Free, relaxed, at ease.

Dedication of Merit

At the end of this sitting, it is often customary to dedicate merit^[3] to evoke our care and loving-kindness for the world. One of the primary expressions of this is the wish: "May all beings be happy."

Happiness is contagious to some degree. To express and live the wish for everyone to be happy, it can begin with you being happy and joyful. I suspect that most people do not avail themselves of the possibilities of joy, happiness, and delight that appear throughout the day. If we're in a hurry to get somewhere, we might not notice the joyful, delightful blue sky. Or if we're preoccupied by something, we might not notice the crisp, cool air if we go outside, or the flowers that we walk by.

All kinds of little things throughout the day can be an occasion for some modicum of joy, happiness, and delight. As a way of caring for others, enjoy your day. Take the time to slow down, to be attentive to the simple joys of a day, and let that be shared with others. May those simple joys that you experience inspire you to live for the benefit of others. May your capacity for happiness be an inspiration for care for the whole world.

May all beings be happy.