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Guided Meditation: Better Than the Alternative

Welcome everyone. I feel delighted sitting here and being able to be in this kind of way with you all. Seeing the greetings certainly is a happiness-producing beginning of our time together, and I am also delighted to be able to share a practice with you and teachings with you that have been so meaningful for me, and have brought me much happiness and satisfaction. So thank you.

One of the things that brings much benefit, and even a joy, in this mindfulness practice is beginning to value how much we have better things to do with our life than just letting our mind wander off in its usual habits.

Now, some of you might have very wholesome and beneficial habits of mind, and all you ever think about is how to do wonderfully virtuous activities and things for the world. Your whole thought streams, mind streams, and heart streams are simply a paradigm of joy, happiness, and benefit for the whole world, or maybe even part of it. But I think it's a little bit embarrassing, to say it mildly, for many people when they begin meditating to discover what their mind is up to, and how often the mind stream is actually not that beneficial. Even if it's just neutral, it's not really nourishing and enhancing our life. To learn slowly through mindfulness that maybe we in fact do have better things to do than the usual habits of mind and the directions we're going.

One of those things is to be present here for direct experience. To really be attuned, to be aligned to what is actually happening in the flow of present moment experience. To have that be clear, a clear recognition, "Ah, this is what's going on." The clarity of knowing, the clarity of mindfulness, or the groundedness of the attention is the alternative to just letting the mind stream flow and go along the regular highways and byways of its habits. This is not in opposition to what the habits of the mind are, but rather an alternative resting place. An alternative place where we feel grounded. This is where our life flows from. It doesn't flow from the unwholesome tendencies of the mind, but it flows from a place that's deeper, fuller, or an alternative.

One of those things is to clearly be aware, to clearly be present to know what's happening in the present moment as it's happening. It's not so much a full-throttle doing, like, "Okay, now I have to really get busy." But it's a kind of knowing and clear comprehension that we learn that is an alternative to the stressful ways in which the mind operates. It brings with it a kind of clarity, a calmness, and a spaciousness that becomes more and more, in comparison to the usual flow of mind for many of us, a place of rest.

But as that place of rest becomes fuller, to say it's rest is not really accurate anymore. It becomes neither restful nor stressful. It feels not so much like a doing, but not so much like a letting go of doing, or a non-doing either. It's life. This is the wonderful flow of present moment life that we're here for and experiencing in a way that feels valuable, purposeful, nourishing, and clear. It is just a valuable way of being, and a better alternative than the usual flow of everyday thoughts, ideas, and preoccupations that some of us might have.

So here we are to sit. Maybe begin to appreciate more than we have each time we sit down, to appreciate this wonderful possibility of being present and mindful. So we begin with our body and the body's posture, and to be clearly comprehending the posture you're in. Some people meditate sitting in a cross-legged sitting posture, some in a chair, some on a bench. Some people meditate standing. Some people meditate walking in the ancient tradition of walking meditation. And some people practice this mindfulness lying down. Each posture is sometimes called a dignified posture. Is there some way, in whatever posture you're in, that you can maybe make some slight adjustments, either physically or maybe mentally from the inside out, that you are sitting here with a kind of dignity? A kind of sense of personal respect and value, a worthiness. Maybe it's being a little bit more upright than usual, or a little bit more open-chested than normal, and gently closing your eyes.

Then with clear comprehension, as if you really know what you're doing and appreciate what you're doing, do it and feel it as if it's nourishing for you, nurturing for you. Gently, actively take a few long, slow, deep breaths. Taking your time to really savor or recognize, this is a deep in-breath, and this is an extended exhale. There might be other thoughts and concerns that you have that keep pulling you away. But maybe there can be a recognition that some of the things you're preoccupied with are maybe not really to the point right now, or even so useful. A good alternative is to establish this intimate connection here with yourself, with your body, with your lived experience.

Then consciously, as another activity to be mindful of, let your breathing slowly return to a normal breath, a normal way of breathing. Without being too concerned with what normal really means, just whatever seems easier and at ease with breathing. Then again, with a gentle sense of purpose and clarity of what you're doing, to do it in a way that just feels calming or nourishing. As you exhale, relax, soften the muscles of your face. Relax and soften around the eyes, the temples, the forehead.

Just gently, softly, but consciously, do the same for your shoulders. As you exhale, relax your shoulders. Even if you can't relax them, a softening around them. And if you can't soften them, maybe it's simply an appreciation of having shoulders, being with them. And a softening of your belly, relaxing. If the belly is already relaxed, or if it can't relax, maybe just appreciating the opportunity to clearly feel and sense this belly of ours. Then being aware of the belly in a way that is gentle and generous, or appreciative of the opportunity to be present, mindful of something that's an important part of who you are: your belly. In being mindful this way, maybe that's a good alternative to the habits of mind you usually are in.

Then in a relaxed, calm way, with a gentle sense of purpose and appreciation, just settle in to experience the rhythm of breathing in and breathing out. Breathing in and breathing out, clearly, calmly knowing, this is an inhale, this is an exhale. Where the mindfulness, the awareness, the knowing, maybe you can feel it as a healthy alternative to the thought streams you might get pulled into. That gentle, relaxed, but dedicated awareness to breathing allows a settling, a calming intimacy that maybe being involved in your thought streams doesn't provide. Trusting the experience of breathing. When you're exhaling, when it feels useful, quiet the thinking mind so there's more room to experience breathing more. Might it be that mindfulness of breathing is the better alternative?

Then, as we come to the end of the sitting, turn your attention now outward to consider and think about the people in your life. Whatever comes to mind, whoever comes to mind as you do so. People you know, people you don't know, people who are challenging, people that you care for, people who are close by, people far away. Then consciously, purposefully, in a way that feels nourishing or supportive for you, see if you can have thoughts of goodwill for them, well-wishing. That may be a better alternative to some of the ways in which you might think about other people, or the mind involved in the mind stream of thoughts about others. Perhaps you can have some gentle, relaxed thoughts of how wonderful it would be if others were happy, peaceful, and safe.

And may it be that this practice that we do today extends itself out into the world. That we live a relaxed but purposeful life. A purposeful and nourishing life where we benefit self and others. We contribute to a better world for ourselves and others. May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe and peaceful. May all beings be free. And may we come to the time we can really share such a world together, happy, safe, peaceful, and free.

Thank you all.

Dharmette: Mindfulness of the Body (2 of 4) Clear Comprehension of Activities

So, I continue today with some of the teachings from the foundational mindfulness teachings of the Buddha, from the discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta)^[1]. It begins with a very strong emphasis on mindfulness of the body. We know from other teachings of the Buddha that it seems pretty foundational to him, the practice of being connected and aware of the body. In fact, there are strong statements he makes that there is no experience of awakening without mindfulness of the body.

So I would like to read the next exercise in this discourse on mindfulness of the body. It goes approximately like this. I paraphrase lightly, rendering "monastics" as "practitioners":

A practitioner is one who acts in clear comprehension when going forward and returning. Who acts with clear comprehension when looking ahead and looking away. Who acts with clear comprehension when flexing and extending one's limbs. Who acts in clear comprehension when wearing clothes and carrying one's outer robe and bowl, carrying one's plates and dishes, and whatever one needs. Who acts in clear comprehension when eating, drinking, consuming food, and tasting. Who acts in clear comprehension when defecating and urinating. Who acts in clear comprehension when walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, talking, and keeping silent.

So here there are many of the ordinary activities of daily life. Looking one way or the other, walking, sitting, moving our limbs and legs and feet, lifting and stretching, whatever we are doing with our arms, we clearly comprehend what we're doing. Like I'm lifting my hand now to make the point, and clearly comprehending that my hand goes up and I'm making my point with an Italian gesture that I learned growing up in Italy, the fingers coming together.

And when going to the bathroom, one clearly comprehends, is present and there for it. This "clear comprehension" is a very important term. The word is sampajañña^[2]. Some people translate it in different ways, but I like "clear comprehension." The root of the verb is to know or comprehend, and there's an emphatic prefix to really know. So I like the word "clear comprehension" rather than "clear knowing" because knowing maybe implies something a little bit simpler, whereas comprehension is richer in meaning. In fact, the commentaries suggest that this clear comprehension means to clearly understand the purpose of why you're doing something. So it's a purposeful life.

It means to clearly comprehend the suitability of what we're doing, the appropriateness, the timeliness of what we're doing, that we're living a purposeful life that is suitable for the circumstances. So we're living appropriately. It is a kind of appropriate response to situations, but doing it with some sense of purpose. Not casually, not barreling ahead in habits of mind, but having a sense of what is valuable to do, where, and how to do it. It also means to understand the pasture of what we're doing. The pasture means where we get our nourishment from as we are present for things, and that's explained as being present with mindfulness in our direct experience of body, feelings, mind, and dharmas (the Four Foundations of Mindfulness).

There are so many different places our minds can be, and we know the mind stream that we live in can often take us away in distractions and fantasy, get us swept up in irritation, complaining, criticalness, fear, anxiety, and ruminations of all kinds. We get lost in the past, or in planning and anticipating the future. Some of that mindstream is wonderful and appropriate to do, and part of the pleasure of life, but oftentimes it is not really so nourishing and supportive for us.

So to live a purposeful life, a life that's appropriate for the circumstance, and one that feels beneficial, nourishing, and supportive for me and for others, to be present and clearly aware of what we're doing as we're doing it, is beneficial for the world. Because when we don't have that clear comprehension, that's when the old habits, some of the unhealthy motivations and purposes we have, can take over. Sometimes we say what we regret, we do what we later feel sorry we did, and maybe we act in ways that are stressful through the day, and we get tired and exhausted by the stress of what we're doing.

What I think is wonderful about these instructions on clear comprehension—sometimes called clear comprehension of activities, all the simple ordinary activities of daily life that all of us are doing all the time—is that it takes the mindfulness practice off the cushion of meditation. It's not only about meditating. There is a non-separation, there's a holistic quality to how mindfulness is practiced, in that it really involves our whole life, all the activities that we do. It is in all the activities of life, and in meditation, that there is the growth of mindfulness, growing our practice. Over time, we learn more and more how this practice can be nourishing and supportive moment by moment. Being mindful, being aware, just feels better than the alternative of the mind streams getting involved in reactivity. It feels healthy and satisfying to be here and present.

In order to have that satisfaction, it really helps that we know how to be grounded in the body, so the awareness can flow through the body. To be aware in a way that's not colored or influenced by stressful ways of thinking, unhelpful ways of thinking, and the unhelpful attitudes we have. We learn healthy attitudes, we learn supportive ways of thinking and being in the world, not in a way that's denying everything and putting up blinders, but actually the opposite. It's the ability to be present with an open way to it all. The more we can ground ourselves in clear comprehension, the more we really appreciate the opportunity to be aware of all the different things that are going on, including what's difficult about ourselves, including what's challenging in the world. We do it grounded, settled, and open in a clear way. So this is a training, a practice to do this.

For some of us, we begin learning this in meditation, and then the great thing is to be able to take what we're learning there and begin applying it in the ordinariness of our daily life. To have these ordinary activities of daily life not be done unconsciously or on automatic pilot, but be the training ground, the supportive ground for living a spiritual life. To use language maybe that I don't use a lot, but to do it in a way that's evocative or captivating for you, or gets your attention: to live a life that in all the little details of everyday life is sacred.

So, to see, to experience the sacred in going forward and returning. Participating in a sacred way with looking ahead and looking away. To experience the sacred in bending and extending one's limbs. To really feel the sacrament of putting on clothes, wearing them, carrying things that we carry with our hands. To feel the sacredness of the attention, the presence, the engagement in eating, drinking, tasting. To discover the sacredness of all the different aspects of our life as we live it, that moves through us. This way in which the lifestream from evolutionary times has come down through us and created all the different ways that we have to be, we have to live in order to sustain our life, including defecating and urinating. To feel the sacredness, the specialness, the nourishment of walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, talking, and keeping silent. All of them. All these ordinary activities that all of us are involved in every day, much of the day. Here is where we discover this valuable stream of life activity that is maybe better than some of the alternatives of the mental mindstreams, streams of attitudes and preoccupations that it is so easy to fall into.

May you really discover and value your ordinary activities as a place to cultivate a sacred life of freedom, generosity, love, and nourishment. So maybe for this next 24 hours, you can explore how bringing attention to all the little activities of life, the little and big activities of what you're doing, how that can be nourishing for you and appropriate for you, and how to do them with a sense of purpose and appropriateness. And may you be delighted by the opportunity to do this.

So thank you all very much.