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: Here, Relax, Know

Welcome, and a warm welcome to all of you, and to being here together for our meditation.

The general idea of mindfulness meditation, or the underlying practice, direction, or attitude, is that of being simple. Being simple with the instructions, being simple with the practice, moment by moment. The simplest way of describing that is just to know what's happening as it's happening. But the Buddhist path has two primary components of using our mental attention, our minds, and our practice: one is to relax, or as it gets deeper in practice, to let go, and then to know.

Because it's difficult to just sit down and let go, the first is to be here. Really be here in the simplicity of this moment. Relax, let go, and know.

Then you do it again: here, relax, and know. Know what's happening very simply. Know it without any reactivity, without any interpretations, without any story. Just know the simplicity of this moment. To relax is to relax in the simplest way that's available, to not have ambitions, not strain to relax, to relax what we can, to let go. To let go of what's appropriate. The meaning of letting go in the teachings of the Buddha, the primary orientation around it, is not to let go of things, but to let go of our clinging to things, or grasping to things, ideas, identities, desires. And here, just here, nowhere else.

So maybe that can be the rhythm or the practice, if you'd like, for this meditation. You can say to yourself this sequence: here. What's here for you? The simplest possible way of recognizing that, just here. Letting go, relaxing. Maybe relaxing first, later letting go. Maybe letting go first, then relaxing, and then recognizing what's here.

Recognizing that we're in our bodies, here in our bodies. Recognizing the breathing in the body, here with the breathing. Relaxing with the breathing. Recognizing there are inhales and exhales, here with the inhales and exhales. Recognizing some of the sensations that come in with the inhale, some sensations that come with the exhale. Letting go of stories around breathing, what's supposed to happen around breathing. And then recognize, just recognize what's here. Maybe recognizing the breathing more fully, or recognizing the pleasure of having let go of stories, expectations, agendas. And then here. And whatever is here, it's easy and obvious that it's here and now in the simplicity of this moment.

As we go through these cycles of here, relax, know, perhaps it's a movement of becoming simpler and simpler with what's here. Less story, less future, less past, less interpretations, less reactivity. A contentment to just be here with this experience.

Taking a posture that you think is suitable for you to be both alert and maintain some physical presence, alertness, stability, to let go deeply while the body is aligned. If you're sitting upright, aligned in an upright posture that doesn't collapse.

And then to let your gaze be relaxed, maybe gazing down at about 45 degrees. Relaxing around the eyes, not looking at anything in particular, soft gaze. And then gently closing your eyes. Taking a few long, slow, deep breaths to become established here, just here. And then to let your breathing return to normal.

I'll go through this three-part sequence for a little bit, and you can follow along.

So very simply recognize what's here, experientially, in the present moment for you. It's more like just be here with it. Here you are. And then as you exhale, perhaps you can relax, let go. And then know what's here, very simple. Maybe one-word recognition. And then again, here. Given what you have known, be here with this. Be here with your experience.

As you exhale, relax, let go. And then know, recognize what is here. Recognize what is obvious, that's simple and obvious to know here in your experience. Not elsewhere, not other places and times, not about anything different than what's experienced here.

And then here. Be here with whatever is close in. Whatever the experience is that is centered here. Relax, let go of any holding, tightening. And having let go and relaxed, know something about this present experience that stands out. No need to search, just what comes.

And then here. Relax. And know.

And then as you do this relaxing and knowing, perhaps you're settling in more and more into your experience here in your body, your breathing. Here. Relax. And know it.

Whatever rhythm you want, whatever pace. And as you get settled, if you want to drop one of the three, and then two of the three, and then all three. Drop them in order: drop here, drop relaxing, and only if you're very, very still, relax, knowing.

Remembering to be here in your experience. Remembering to let go, relax, even if it's micro relaxations. And to know, to recognize what is obvious in this immediacy of direct experience.

As we come to the end of the sitting, perhaps consider that doing this practice of here, relax, recognize—how that benefits the people we interact with through the day. How is it to be really here with someone? How is it to be at ease while we're with them? And what is it to really know what's happening with the person, with yourself, between the two of you? What benefits come? How are these relationships enhanced and developed this way?

The practice we do on the cushion can serve us so well in our world, in our being with others and relating to others. And to offer the benefits of this practice to be shared with others, and to feel how the practice benefits us in social situations, can deepen how we practice when we're sitting alone.

May we share this practice with the world in how we are present, how we are at ease, and how we see clearly. May we bring the benefits of this practice into the world to contribute to the welfare and happiness of all beings. May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be peaceful. And may all beings be free.

Dharmette: Karma/Dharma (4 of 5) Ouch, Ah, Let Go, Know

Continuing on this theme of the karmic stream and the dharmic stream. The karmic stream, the karmic momentum of our lives, and how karma^[1] is shaped, how action shapes our ongoing experience. I keep wanting to refer you back to how you can know this for yourself directly. So it's not a metaphysical idea or abstract idea about imaginary futures or pasts; you can actually watch it work in your mind, in your body, here and now, if we pay careful attention.

It's one of the primary principles that often comes along^[2] with these karma teachings—teachings about action. Actions that have ongoing repercussions in our lives, actions which condition us or influence us ongoingly, sometimes in a way that we don't understand why we're so compelled to act and be certain ways.

The way that our actions condition us, influence us, lay traces within us, or imprint things within us is based on a very simple principle. In order to make this very simple, I'll do it in two steps. The first step is based on the notion that we can know what brings with it an ouch, and what brings with it an ah. I use those little expressions so that we don't get narrowed down by the words that might express that.

For example, we have the idea of good karma and bad karma. As soon as we say it that way, which is a common enough expression, it narrows it. It can be confusing; it can imply morality. All kinds of things kind of come along with that. But maybe it's very simple just to recognize experientially that some things we do, as we do them, have an ouch, and some things we do have an ah.

So that's the first principle. The second one is that those things which are propelled by, conditioned by, or come along with an ouch, tend to produce more ouches. Those things which are compelled or pushed along by an ah, produce more of the same ah. This is not the same thing as comfort and discomfort, but something deeper—a sense of what Buddhists like to call suffering or happiness.

The key thing here is what propels it. What is the motivating force? What's the atmosphere or the condition in which something is done? If we say something, do something, or even think something, what's propelling it is some feeling inside, some motivation inside. Something inside which, in and of itself, just feels like—if you're really careful and pay attention to it—we feel, "Oh, that hurts, that's ouch." Or we can feel, "That's what's good, it's ah, that's good, ah, that feels right."

So karma is when things are acted on from that kind of compulsion or propulsion, then they tend to produce more. You can watch that in your mind with your thoughts. If there are thoughts that are being propelled by our anger and our hostility, or our attachment, or our greed—if that's the propulsion of it, then a thought of greed or a thought of anger tends to produce more of the same. Not necessarily more anger or more greed, but the very movement of anger and greed is another ouch.

If what propels it is an ouch, then the thing itself is an ouch, and it creates more propulsions, more influence, more conditionality for further thinking that way.

For example, if there is greed for something because there is a feeling of being very critical of oneself, and one wants relief. Well, the movement for relief through greed is being propelled by an ouch: that criticism for oneself. The greed itself is an ouch. That whole movement then brings along more criticism of self, like, "Now I'm greedy and bad," or it creates more conditions to be more greedy, or to think that's the answer. Or, if there is a little bit of relief from the greed because it's fulfilled and we get what we want, then that reinforces that this is the way out to get more relief, and so we end up in a cycle.

Classically, they say that what creates the momentum of karma, the karmic repercussions, is the intention^[3] for what we do. But I think that it's not just intention; it's what propels it. It's more than that. Intention seems kind of narrow and almost philosophical, like an agenda or a very clear idea. It's more like the mood behind it that's there. In mindfulness practice, one of the things we do with our thoughts—for example, when there are a lot of intense thoughts that we're caught in—is to notice the emotionality, the mood, the conditions out of which the thoughts are coming. More and more, as we develop mindfulness, we start seeing that underlying the surface expressions of our thoughts (the thoughts we can see or the actions we can see), there are layers and layers of conditioning, of attachments, of clinging, of motivations that are really the real issue. This is the real thing that shapes and influences the karmic stream.

Now, some of this karmic stream can be positive. It can have ah in it. But it still involves a kind of propulsion, a kind of movement that keeps us active. It promotes a kind of agitation. Even though it can do a lot of good for ourselves and the world, when there's a propulsion, a compulsion to do these things, it might feel pleasant, but there's a kind of agitation there. It is not ultimately the best for us.

So there's a whole other line we can take, which is a dharmic stream^[4]. The positive, the ah karmic stream supports the dharmic stream. It creates the conditions that lead us to being in a good place to enter this dharmic stream.

The dharmic stream is found through two primary ways that we enter into it: one is to let go, and the other is to know. To let go and to know. The core practices of the Buddha can be put into these two categories. Some of them are more focused on deep letting go and relaxation, and some of them focus more on knowing.

The ones that have to do with letting go are the ones that tend to produce the most happiness. The ones that have to do with knowing produce the most clarity. But this happiness and this clarity are not something we're willing or intending. It's not something that we're creating. It's not coming from a constructed action of what we're doing. It's not part of the karmic stream. It's almost like we're getting out of the way. We're not interfering, we're not pushing. There's no compulsion to act and to do.

Letting go has a lot to do with getting out of the way and allowing something to move through us. Not a compulsion, but an inspiration. We're not pushing something, but something is flowing rather than pushing.

And then we're not caught up in our agendas and reactivities, what we want to have, looking for and trying to understand the way forward to fix things. We're just knowing in a very simple way, and that produces clarity, and clarity also has space for things.

So the dharmic stream involves a whole paradigm shift, a change about how we live our lives, what motivates our lives, or where the center of our lives is. It is not a life based on the wanting that characterizes the karmic stream in one way or the other, including wanting what's good, wanting the ah. It might seem like, "Why not want what's good and healthy?" Sure, it's fine to do it, and it can be very beneficial. But it's only half the picture. It's only half the story of what's possible for us.

Most people only live in the karmic world, and that's what they're navigating, negotiating, and always moving around. It's a little bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The dharmic stream involves a whole different paradigm. It's like learning how to float, to swim, so we don't have to move all the deck chairs around as the ship goes down. And how we float, how we swim, is we learn how to let go of reactivity, let go of clinging and wanting, and this compulsion of the karmic stream.

We learn a very clear and simple knowing that brings clarity—a clarity that is not agitated by the wanting mind. In that letting go and clarity, and getting out of the way, something supports us. Something begins moving through us, something gets awakened. There is wisdom. Clarity and letting go make available a lot of wisdom and clarity about what's happening here with ourselves and the world around us.

It gives room in the heart for love, care, and compassion^[5] in a way that has a very different feeling to it than any kind of compassion that's maybe genuine enough but has wanting as part of it, or has self and self-concern as part of it. Clarity and letting go are radically selfless. Because of that, it's not exhausting; it's not tiring in the way that the karmic stream is when much of it is motivated by "me, myself, and mine."

So you might see today, as you go about the day, what's going on with your thought stream. Is there an ouch or an ah in how you think?

If you notice an ouch, look more deeply and see if there's a deeper mood or place that those thoughts are coming out of, and see if that also has an ouch. Probably it will. And if there's an ah in those thought streams, then look below that and see if there's some deeper mood or way of being that also feels like it comes from an ah. Stay close to the ah and see if staying close to it supports you to let go, relax, and to know clearly what's here.

So thank you, and I hope this little exercise today is nice for you to do.