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Guided Meditation: Freedom from Desire

I offer you my warm greetings, and I am happy to be here to share the Dharma^[1] with you. Meditation has been central to my adult life, and it has certainly been a wonderful adventure with all kinds of wonderful aspects to it. In some ways, perhaps it is like a marriage or a committed relationship where it has ups and downs. There are maybe some challenges and joys. There have certainly been challenges and joys with meditation practice, most of which I contributed to. The Dharma seems to have been actually a pretty good, steady, available partner in all this, and a mirror for me to see myself. So, I am happy to share something that has been so important for me.

One of the very important areas of human life that meditators and Buddhist practitioners would do well to become experts at, or really familiar with—at least personally in themselves—is the whole universe of desire and desiring. For this meditation, I would like to say that there are two general kinds of desire.

First, there is desire which floats up in the mind and in the heart. It just appears, and there is no charge to it. The mind is not working, the mind is not leaning in, grasping, or tightening; there is no pressure associated with it. It is like a little dandelion flower^[2], a little floret just kind of floating through the air with no weight, no pressure, and no obstacle to anything. For example, for me, desires are a dime a dozen. Thoughts of desires come through, and I can have the desire that at some point today, I would like to look out the window. It is just a thought that comes up, and since it has to do with something I want to do, it is a desire. But there is no charge to the desire to look out the window.

Alternatively, I can have the desire to have a very good lunch, and that has a little bit more charge. I am wondering what is in the refrigerator, what I can assemble^[3], and there is a little bit more kind of fun. Or, I can have a desire to make a really good impression on a friend of mine I am going to see today. Now I feel like it is a little more charged and a little bit more concerned. There is perhaps a little bit more fear connected to it, and it is a bigger deal for the mind.

So, it is possible to see these two categories. It is possible to have desires which just float by where there is no charge whatsoever, and desires that have a charge. Charged desires have some tension connected to them—some pressure, some leaning into. There are negative desires—not wanting to be pulled away from something. Regardless of whether a desire is healthy or not, useful or not, there can be a charge connected to it, or no charge.

As we go deeper and deeper in meditation, the idea is to begin to let go of any charge, any leaning towards, any pressure, any holding to desire, any believing in desire, or justification of desire. We let go of giving authority to desire. Not that desire has to be wrong, but to have a mind that has none of this charge just for a few minutes—a mind that is relaxed and at ease. It can still have desires if we have learned how not to be attached or cling to any desire at all. That is the background for today's meditation.

Please take a meditation posture that allows you to physically feel enough at ease that your body doesn't feel a strong desire to do something different. Place your arms and hands in a way where they will be at ease and won't be complicit in the mind's desire to itch or scratch. The arms and hands are at ease, perhaps in your lap or on your legs in some way by your side. Ensure that your legs also have enough ease and settle to them, allowing you to settle in to where you are. If the legs are restless and do want to move, perhaps what you can provide is a broad acceptance. Tell yourself, "It is okay," and let it be. Just let it be what it is without giving into it.

There can be a legacy of energy or muscles in the body that come from desires—wanting something. They could be desires arising out of fear, desires arising out of wanting comfort or avoiding discomfort, or desires that come from other desires. You might feel sometimes a tightening in the body, an upwelling, a leaning forward, or a constriction. These might be leftovers of the desires we have been carrying.

Begin the meditation by taking a few long, slow, deep breaths. As you exhale a long exhale, see which of these holdings and energies you might be able to soften or release. A physical body that is contented is usually at ease with gravity, settled, and stable, rather than lifting off out of gravity. While we are upright, there can be a settling in to the pull of gravity in such a way that you feel the weight of your body as a stable foundation against your chair, your cushion, your torso against your waist, or your sitting bones.

Then, letting your breathing return to normal. A fair amount of the energies of the mind—of the brain, if that is where the mind is—have their source in desires. A fair number of our thoughts have the energy of desire as part of them. The mind too can have a sense of leaning forward, movement, reaching, holding, pulling back, or tightening pressure. That is born from desire; that is part of having desires. We are not dismissing what we want, but for this meditation, be willing to soften, relax, and release any pressure, any attachment to desire, and any need associated with desire just for these minutes.

Imagine that desires are like thought bubbles, and if left alone, will float away gently up into the air. They are not tethered to anything—just a simple desire, a wish, a thought in the vast space of the mind.

Then, gently, softly allow the attention to arise in the breathing, almost as if awareness exists within the body. The sensations of breathing, and the sensing of sensations that connect you to breathing, occur within the body. See if you can be aware of breathing while letting go of the tension, leaning, or pressure of desiring to do so. There is a kind of soft, relaxed desire to just be with the breathing. It doesn't have to have any sense of command, duty, or pressure. That may be experienced as this breathing coming to you. It may be experienced as being open and receptive to the body breathing arising in awareness.

As we sit this morning, the one desire that can be a little bit more pronounced is a desire to let go of any leaning into other desires, tightening, or pressure. It can be very simple. It can be the phrase, Not now, not now. Not now to any pressure to want anything, and any thought that has desire in it. And then allow the breathing to quiet the mind, to nurture the mind with a deep contentment—a contentment instead of a desiring.

Reflections

As we come to the end of the sitting, I want to point out that compassion is a desire. It is a desire for someone not to suffer, a desire to maybe do something to help them not suffer. As a desire, compassion can come with a charge or without a charge. It can come with attachment, clinging, a sense of need, pressure, and tension. It can also arise without any charge, without any attachment to pressure or tension. Compassion can arise as a burden, or compassion can arise with no weight at all.

It is possible to have compassion arise out of a deep sense of contentment, ease, and relaxed breathing. It can well up from within, from our freedom, with no charge. It is not less important when there is no charge; it might actually be more important when the ways we act in the world and our compassion comes from that kind of freedom.

May it be that the more we discover how to live without any charge, attachment, or relationship to our desires, it allows for a free flow of healthy desires. This is something that I like to refer to as aspiration. Aspiration is connected to the word breathing—like respiration—which is relaxed. The ease of breathing is associated with useful care for others.

May it be that on this day you dedicate yourself to spending a little bit of time, at least, to experiment with how to care for others and care for the world without any charge. May you act on compassion, care, and your goodwill as an aspiration that comes with ease. Acted on with ease. May it be that as we discover freedom in meditation, it is expressed in our care, love, and generosity to the whole world.

May all beings be at ease. May all beings breathe easily and freely. May all beings be healthy and safe. May all beings find delight and joy with each other in the world, and may we contribute to that possibility.