This is an AI-generated transcript from auto-generated subtitles for the video above. It likely contains inaccuracies, especially with speaker attribution if there are multiple speakers.

Guided Meditation: The Self-Same Breath

Greetings, friends. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, whatever the time zone might be. I am delighted to be with you, to feel your presence spread spatially but the same temporally—same time, but spread in space.

Today is day two of our exploration of the refrain of Satipatthana^[1], which you've been studying thoroughly and systematically with Gil. What I'd like to offer today and invite us to explore is the importance and significance of the refrain. Yesterday I tried to set the frame a little bit; I will set the frame a little more today. Then we'll explore the first sentence of it, and I'd like to invite us to explore this significant first statement in our practice together.

The first sentence in the refrain is: "In this way, in regard to the body, one abides contemplating the body internally, or one abides contemplating the body externally, or one abides contemplating the body both internally and externally."

I will decode that and talk more about it in the dharmette, but in the guided meditation, I'd like to bring in some invitations for us to explore this internal and external together. We will focus on one aspect—not every teaching of the Satipatthana, as there are so many of them, but one or maybe a couple of them—to have a taste of what this might feel like and what it might mean. So without further ado, let's sit. Let's practice together.

Let's arrive. Let's arrive in this body, in the seat. Landing, arriving comfortably. Arriving in our seat, in this body.

Releasing. Releasing whatever is not helpful right now or supportive. Releasing thoughts. Releasing plans for the future or preoccupations from this morning. Releasing.

Not out of a "should," but releasing because of love. Because we love to do this, we love to practice. We love to cultivate our heart in peace and kindness for ourselves and others, to cultivate insights. So out of love, releasing.

And relaxing into the body. Relaxing here, in this body.

When the body is relaxed, the mind can relax more easily. So relax the body. Is there any tightness or holding anywhere? Releasing with the out-breath.

And taking refuge. Refuge in this moment, the simplicity, the beauty of our intention here in our hearts. Let's take a few minutes to arrive in the body, releasing, relaxing, taking refuge together.

When thoughts arise, entanglements arise. So release. Release and return. Release and return to this moment, here. No need for self-judgment, beating yourself up—"Oh, I was gone for so long." No need. Just release, and come back to the refuge of this heart in this moment. Begin again. Relax into the body.

Feeling the breath in the body internally. This life-giving breath.

The entirety of the in-breath, the pause.^[2] The entirety of the out-breath, the pause. The entirety of the breath felt, sensed, clearly known. Clear comprehension in this body.

Without making it effortful, let it be known. The breath. This breath internally.

The breath internally, this life-giving breath throughout the body, nourishing, bringing life. The breath being sensed and known.

Taking one more moment to really grok, to really know, capture the sensation of the breath in this body internally. As if it were your first breath, or your last breath. The breath known internally.

Now relax, release, and bring to mind someone who's near and dear to you, someone you have an easy relationship with. Let their breath be known. This external breath be known to you. They breathe just like you, as human beings.

As you know your breath internally, knowing this breath externally by this other human being. Life-giving breath. How it might feel for them. You can even perhaps, in your mind's eye, imagine them breathing, seeing them breathing deeply, shallowly.

And now expanding this external knowing of the breath to as many beings as you wish in your mind's eye. Many humans, all breathing. The breath known externally.

If it feels overwhelming, then just stay with one other being, another human or animal, breathing externally.

And now exploring the instruction of knowing in the body internally and externally. As you know your own breath, this breath being known, the body and mind relaxed, knowing also externally this other being in your mind's eye. The breath known internally and externally.

Not thinking or analyzing, just simply letting it be known. As if, perhaps, you and your friend were breathing together. Both breaths known internally and externally.

Continuing to know the breath internally and externally. Maybe at some point the personality of the breath drops out, and it is just a breath. Not me, not mine. Not internal, external. It's just breath, breathing happening. Internal, external, just breathe.

Don't try too hard. Just let it be known first internal, external. The insight might reveal itself on its own when the time is right.

My breath. Their breath. Their breathing may just become breathing.

Breathing internally, breathing externally. Internally and externally.

As we bring the sitting to a close, may the goodness of our practice together—all of us in this moment in time, coming together from different places, all the breaths, all the moments of awareness, all the dedication to cultivating goodness—be gifted, dedicated, and offered generously to all beings everywhere who, just like me, just like us, breathe and depend on this breath to keep them alive.

Especially those who live right now in areas that are not safe, in war zones. Wishing them safety, ease, and breathing in peace. May all beings be well. May all beings be free.

Thanks everyone. Thanks for your practice.

Dharmette: Satipatthana Refrain (2/5) Internal, External, and Both

So today is day two of exploring the refrain of the Satipatthana, which in some ways is—I don't want to say more important, but it is as important. It is very important. Just to remind us of the refrain, I will put up the diagram from yesterday again. This is from Bhikkhu Anālayo's^[3] book, page 17. The name of the book is Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization. I also put this up on AudioDharma associated with this week's teachings, actually with yesterday's teaching, so you can look it up.

This important refrain shows up after every teaching; it shows up thirteen times. Just to say a little more about its significance, and then focusing on the internal and external that we've done today: as I mentioned yesterday, it expands each teaching. It does three things after each teaching—after breathing, after postures, after activities, anatomical parts, elements, etc. It adds a spatial aspect, which is internal and external, and it also adds a temporal aspect, which we'll discuss tomorrow, because the refrain talks about arising and passing. It brings a temporal time aspect to the study of the phenomena.

Another thing that is significant about the refrain is that it is worded not with respect to the individual content. Let me put this up again so you can get a sense of it. There are six sections for the body: breathing, postures, activities, etc. After the teaching on breathing, the refrain goes back to the body—it talks about the body. After postures, it doesn't say "postures," the wording refers to "the body." As I read, "In this way, in regard to the body, one abides contemplating the body..." It invites us to contemplate the bigger picture.

Some commentators say that what is significant here about this going back and forth is that in each teaching we focus on the content, but coming out, the practitioner is invited to study, to be aware, and to be mindful of the general characteristics of the experience. When we become aware of the general characteristics—not the details, not the thing itself, but the fact that it's internal and external, it's everywhere, and it arises and passes—we shift from studying the content to studying the general process. And when we study the general process, that's when insights about anicca^[4], dukkha^[5], and anatta^[6]—impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and impersonality or not-self—pop out. That's something I was gently inviting you to explore this morning, if it perhaps popped out for you for a split second. If not, no worries; when the mind is ready, when the heart is ready, it will be seen. The insight will reveal itself.

I'll quote Jack Engler^[7] in this regard. This is his opinion, not mine, but I think it's interesting to see it this way. He says the reason Western meditators tend to progress more slowly than their Eastern counterparts is the tendency to become absorbed in the content of awareness rather than continuing to attend to its process. They become preoccupied with individual thoughts, images, memories, sensations, etc., rather than keeping their attention focused on the essential characteristics of all psychophysical events, whatever the content. There is a tendency to confuse meditation with psychotherapy and to analyze mental content instead of simply observing it.

Many of you know this already: it's not so much about the content, is it? It's the process. It's the arising and passing, and also this internal and external, which is often not taught or emphasized. After taking more time to set the frame regarding the importance of the refrain, I want to now speak more about this first line, about this practice of internal and external, which again comes in after every teaching in the Satipatthana. Pretty wild, right?

The internal and external can be applied to every aspect. In fact, in the commentaries, especially in the Visuddhimagga^[8] (The Path of Purification), it is taught for every aspect of the Satipatthana. It can be applied to the breath and to the postures internally. And just to say, internal here, of course, means our bodies; external in this case means other human beings or other beings. So observing our own breath and their breath, our posture and their posture, our bodily activities and theirs, body parts, elements, the cemetery contemplations internally and externally, vedanā^[9] (mind states), as well as the aggregates.

I'll share a personal story here since we're talking about this. The first time I practiced this internal and external, I didn't even know it was part of the teachings! Years ago, when I practiced with my teacher Pa-Auk Sayadaw^[10], who teaches very detailed Vipassana from the Abhidhamma^[11] and the Visuddhimagga, my instructions for days were to contemplate the thirty-two body parts internally first. You do it internally until it becomes really, really clear. So clear, until actually one feels that this body is just body parts. It's like a sack of grain, rice and this and that—it's just body parts.

Then the instructions were to do it externally: externally, all other beings. Not just humans, but where I was practicing, there were chipmunks and things like that. Externally, all beings, too, are body parts, just like me. Then you start to see all beings as body parts starting to walk around, which is a very interesting way of seeing the world. We usually don't see it that way, but it is just as valid to see it that way. There are all these body parts moving around, and then internally and externally, something pops out: wow, the impersonality of this body, these body parts.

When we start Satipatthana, this line begins with contemplating the body internally. First, we do it internally to really get a sense, to establish samādhi^[12] (concentration). The body and the mind settle, and then the mind has the ability to go externally and investigate or see the same phenomena externally.

It is also said that external observation could be seeing other people's postures, their facial expressions, their tone of voice. When you get to feelings and states of mind, for example—over the next few weeks you'll be studying states of mind and the dhammas (the aggregates) internally and externally—this is a suitable practice for daily life. Perhaps one issue some people point out, or maybe feel when they do a lot of internal practice, is that they become too internalized: "I'm just interning, don't bother me, I'm just practicing internally." Whereas the instruction is internal and external, internal and external, so that we don't risk becoming self-centered and only aware of our own selves and what's happening internally. We also remain open and aware of other people's feelings, their bodily behavior, and how our actions, our words, and our internal states affect other people's states. We become more aware of our impact on the world through this internal and external practice. The external practice is so important, laid out here as the second step: first internal, then external, observing the world, other beings, their states of mind, their state of breathing, etc.

Then the third step, and this is so important I want to say it again, the third phrase invites us: "One abides contemplating the body both internally and externally." Some commentaries say since we can't do it at the same time, you go back and forth. That's one way. But another way, what happens actually, is that when you do internal and external, when you try to hold it together or even go back and forth, wow, a sense of objectivity arises. It's just a body, it's just a breath. The subjective stance drops out, and an insight toward not-self, toward the universality of whatever phenomena we're observing, pops out. So it's not just the thing itself anymore; it's the universality of it that arises.

I cannot emphasize how important these practices are, the refrain, the internal and external. Today, my invitation is, as you go through your day, your daily life, practice external mindfulness. Practice external awareness. Both internal—what's happening internally—and externally—what's happening externally for other beings. Internal and external. And see what a different shift in stance that can be.

Tomorrow we continue with the next sentence in the refrain, which has to do with impermanence, with arising and passing away, which is quite profound also. Thank you all, thank you for your kind attention, for your dedication, for your practice. May you be well, and may you practice internally and externally. See you or feel you tomorrow. Be well.