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 (51) Centering Concentration

Good day to everyone. Here in Redwood City, there's a light rain. It brings me much joy and a kind of intimacy with life and wonderful times.

So here we are, to sit here, and you're here. Everyone has their own "here," and in some ways, for each of us to say "here" is something we say in common, and also is unique to each of us because of the different location that's here for us, the different place that we sit or meditate.

In part, meditation practice on this anapanasati^[1] is gathering ourselves together here. As the practice develops, there is an emphasis on concentration—an English word which doesn't really do justice to the Pali words that are sometimes translated as concentration or concentrating. The word samadhi^[2], the one associated word, is sometimes translated as "one-pointedness."

But if it's one-pointedness, it uses an ancient analogy of all the rafters of a small hut that maybe started more or less as a round hut; they all come together up into the singular point at the top of the roof. So everything gathers, everything points, everything reaches for that point. And that point, in a sense, if it's a circular building and you look from above, it's at the center of it all, and everything else radiates towards or comes towards it. Everything moves towards the singular focus.

But "focus" suggests in English too much of a strain and a duality between us and what we're focusing on—a laser focus or something. Rather, I think of it more, if you use rather than a hut with a roof, just a concentric circle. The center of it is where the mind, everything is focusing, everything is gathering, everything is circling around, and it's all included in these concentric circles of our lives: body, emotions, thoughts, mind. Everything is somehow included, but everything is gathered around the center.

Sometimes we say in English around meditation practice, to be "centered." And so we're centering ourselves here with everything included, but resting at the center.

One of the ancient techniques for centering ourselves and really gathering ourselves and everything kind of coming in around something, developing concentration, is counting the breath. I suggest we do that for this sitting. The way that I was taught, which I still do sometimes, is to count the exhale, and then the next exhale gets the next count. So one, two, three, up to five, up to ten. At ten, start over again. Be completely relaxed about losing count or getting distracted. At the first opportunity, just begin again at one. It doesn't matter if you only get to two, or even just one before you lose count. Start again at one. One person I knew who practiced in Japan, his teacher taught them to count up to one and then start over again!

Don't just make the count a little voice in the mind that counts, but rather, see if the whole mind, the whole being can somehow become one. Like all of you is included, maybe as if you were singing and all of you is included in the singing. It's kind of like really being there for the exhale, and with the release of the exhale, settling and gathering together.

The complexity of counting up to ten requires a little extra attention to keep count. That makes a little protection from wandering off too easily into thought. You're more likely to catch yourself thinking, perhaps you notice you've lost the count because you have this very clear task. But the main thing to do is just gather together, the whole mind settles and lands, landing on the center. The center is the place where you most experience the breathing—the belly, or the chest, or the nostrils, or whatever. Just gathering, settling, one.

So taking a posture for meditation where you can somehow begin centering yourself in your body, and centering yourself around where you're going to experience your breathing, the inhales and the exhales. The predominant place to experience breathing.

Then from this predominant place, the center of it all, take a few long slow deep breaths. As we do this, use the exhale to really settle in, let go. Release yourself into the body that's breathing, into the place where breathing is felt. Deep breath in, and exhale, relaxing the shoulders, softening the belly, releasing the tensions in the face.

And then letting your breathing return to normal. Familiarize yourself with that part of your body where you feel your breathing, and imagine that that's at the center of it all, the center of the universe. As you breathe from that place, awareness spreads outwards throughout your body and maybe even beyond. And as you exhale, awareness settles back into that.

Then with a very soft quiet voice, but with a voice that includes all your being on the exhale, use the count "one." If you want, you can just do "one" each time, as if each breath is complete in itself. Or you could keep it simple enough and just count to three, and then start over again. And if that works well, you might count to ten, and if you get to ten you could start again.

While you want to try to keep the count, the important part is settling into the center. Relaxing any centrifugal force outwards into thought, into feelings, that takes you away from being centered on the breathing. Not fighting anything or resisting anything, just not giving it attention, not getting involved. Where attention goes, where your involvement goes is following the count and centering yourself here in the breathing. Inviting all of who you are to be included. So the count is not just a little word in the mind, but it's an expression of your whole being, willingly fully here, quietly here with the breathing.

As you do the count, spread out the pronunciation of the count—a long count, "one"—in such a way that maybe it begins quieting the rest of the thinking mind. Like you're gathering yourself around to say something intimate and soft and warm-hearted. And as you do this soft "one," center your body on the breathing. Land fully, with your whole being, on the experience of breathing. Giving yourself over to the counting and experiencing breathing, as if it's the only thing to be done for the next minutes. Letting go of your thoughts, except the count.

And then in the last couple of minutes of this sitting, let go of the counting and just sit here with the breathing. Enter into the breathing, center yourself on the breathing without the counting, and see if you're a little bit more centered and connected.

And then at the end of the sitting, remain as centered as you can. Centered inside of yourself, rooted in the weight of your body and the weight of your attention into the center of breathing. A place of balance where you're not easily pushed around or caught up in things.

And being so centered now, open your awareness up to the world around you, to the communities that extend out from where you are: neighbors, townspeople, people in your county, your province, outwards into the world. Open yourself up to consider the people you might run into today or communicate with today.

And from a centered place where maybe nothing has to happen—at least for now sitting here, no responsibilities for them, no requirements or obligations—just a centered experience that includes other people. Awareness of them, thinking of them, imagining them. And in this kind of way of not being obligated or required to do anything or react or talk to them, open your heart to evoke your goodwill, your basic capacity for friendliness, care, kindness, and love. Maybe that's related to a tenderness within.

To whatever degree that you could have this goodwill for others, feel how it maybe also is rooted in your centeredness, in your calm or your concentration. And then imagine that it radiates out from you as a warmth, as a light, as a care.

May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be peaceful. May all beings be free.

And may we appreciate how being centered and balanced and non-reactive supports this possibility for the world. May our practice be for the welfare and happiness of all the people we encounter and communicate with today. May the world benefit from our meditation together.