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 1st Reflection; Dharmette: I Am of the Nature to Age

Introduction

Greetings Sangha, wherever you are joining us—either live on YouTube this morning, this afternoon, whatever your time zone may be, or if you might be listening afterwards—warm, warm greetings. I'm absolutely delighted that you're joining us, and I'm delighted to be joining you. My name is Nikki Mirghafori^[1], and I'm one of the teachers at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City. It's wonderful to be joining such a wonderfully formed Sangha while we support Gil in enjoying nature; as he mentioned, he is backpacking in the Sierras this week. So, I'm delighted to be supporting the Sangha this week.

For the theme for this week, I wanted to invite us to explore what are taught by the Buddha as the five daily reflections. These are five reflections that the Buddha recommended for monks and laypeople the same. As you know, many of the teachings are primarily for the monks, but the five reflections are for both us laypeople as well as monks and nuns—the fourfold Sangha^[2], as it is said.

These five reflections are supposed to be done every day, all five, and I figured let us actually sink into each one of them during the five days of this week. We'll start with the first one today, and I'll speak about it afterwards, giving a little dharma talk about the first one primarily.

The way we will do this reflection is we will drop it in when we are settled. Actually, that's another thing I'd like to invite you to consider as a way to relate to how recollections and reflections are to be practiced. Perhaps one way to practice is to first just get settled with the breath and with the body. When there is a level of spaciousness, a certain level of stability and calm, then this reflection is dropped into the body. As I will emphasize in the guidance, it is as if you are dropping a pebble or rock in the body and letting it reverberate. You are not thinking about it, but dropping it into the body and seeing what arises—listening really deeply, letting the reflection reverberate through you, and letting it move you. These reflections and recollections are not meant to create a lot of mental chatter or to think about, but to drop them in when there's a level of silence and stability and let them move you. Then we'll explore together afterwards.

The first reflection, as many of you know, has to do with aging. With this body, we're all subject to aging; we have not gone beyond aging. It's a very visceral, physical reflection. Without further ado, I'd like to invite you to settle into your seat or chair. If you need to move to be comfortable, this is the perfect time to do that.

Guided Meditation

Ah, and landing. Landing... landing in this human body in this moment in time. Arriving. Arriving. Each moment a new arrival into this moment, into this body, and know that you might begin again and again many times. No problem.

Arriving, arriving, landing in the humanness of this body, into your bones. Connecting with the bones, the hardness, the earth element—a sense of solidity, stability. Landing, really allowing your awareness to connect with all the touch points where your bottom, your sit bones connect to the cushion, connect to the earth, feeling your seat of stability and groundedness.

And feeling, really sensing, opening up to the sensations of your feet and your legs connecting to the earth. Waking up, waking up to the body. Awake, alert, sensing, connected.

Inviting the breath to move freely through this body, however it wants to move. Whether it's a deep or shallow breath, not a problem. Letting the breath, the air element, be received. Be received in the body that's connected to the earth. It's soft and relaxed. A sense of fluidity. As if the water element is moving, moving through the body, relaxing, softening, slowing.

Letting each in-breath, each out-breath, be received. Just receiving the breath. This body knows how to breathe. Notice I'm not suggesting that you breathe, because you don't want to make it into a project. Instead, receiving the breath, however it happens. You've been breathing all these years, all this time, without any intentionality, so allow awareness to be relaxed and soft. Rooted. Landed in the body. And opened up to receive the breath. As if you receive a dear friend who visits you, with the same openness. Delight. Care and curiosity. Resettling, arriving every moment. Tilling the soil to drop in the reflection in a little bit.

Now, I'd like to invite you, if you wish, to drop this reflection into your body. As if dropping a pebble into a pond. Letting it reverberate in your body. Listening to see what arises. Maybe something, maybe nothing. But it's not to be thought about in this way of reflecting.

So, staying. Staying connected to the body. Receiving the breath. Receiving the breath perhaps in the abdomen. And now dropping this pebble, this reflection, in the abdomen, too. And the reflection is: just like everyone, I am of the nature to age. I am subject to aging. I have not gone beyond aging. It is inevitable.

If you find that the mind is engaged in rumination, in thinking and worrying, simply notice what's happening. Perhaps in this moment, softening the body, offering up the ruminations, and allowing the awareness to be landed, arrived in the body, receiving the breath.

I'd like to invite us to drop in the reflection one more time. Dropping it in the body. Receiving it like the breath. Just like everyone else, I am of the nature to age. I am subjected to aging. I have not gone beyond aging. It is inevitable.

Again, receiving, just receiving, not ruminating. Breathing with the reflection. We drop in this reflection. Notice what arises. Opening up to the truth of impermanence. What's the body? [word?] And grace. And also the appreciation of any vitality that is felt right now. The level of vitality that is perceived can be known through the movement of the breath, for example.

Knowing that our vitality will change, has changed. The time is short. How do we want to live our lives? How do we intend to show up? For ourselves. For our loved ones. For the world. How can we align our lives, our actions with our intentions so that our vitality can be of service? It can express the goodness within us to benefit self and the world.

[Bell rings]

Dharmette: I Am of the Nature to Age

Thank you all for joining for this powerful reflection. These reflections, as we will explore them one by one, are each so powerful. Instead of jumping into all five today, which can be a little overwhelming, we'll just start gently with one.

They can be very powerful. A lot can come up when we really connect with these reflections and with these practices. I want to say a few words about why the Buddha suggested this, of course, and also share some ways to work with it so as not to be overwhelmed, but to really use this reflection for waking up to our humanity, to align our lives towards awakening and more freedom.

One rationale for contemplating this particular reflection, and the first three, is—as the Buddha explains in the sutta—that the intention is to weaken or overcome the conceit of youth. There's a sense of invincibility that one can have when one is young, and we've all probably experienced that. I know I have.

Also, if you notice, the first three reflections have to do with aging, illness, and death. These three reflections correspond to the four heavenly messengers^[3]. When the Buddha was a prince in his castle, he came out of the grounds and saw an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. He was horrified, realizing, 'Oh, this is what's going to happen to me as a human being,' and seeing that he was subject to all of these, as we all are. We're human. Then, seeing a monk who was walking with a lot of freedom and ease—these are the four heavenly messengers. So these three reflections, especially this first one that we started with about aging, correspond to what he reflected on, what really supported him to wake up.

This gives us some clue that these reflections are actually a support. Even though they might seem overwhelming, they are the truth of how things are, and they support us towards awakening. When we make peace with them, we're not bothered. We don't spend so much time and energy—let's focus on the first one—we don't spend so much time and energy on anti-aging or lamenting our aging. There can be a sense of acceptance. This acceptance can free up a lot of energy, and it's a way of being free in the midst of conditions. 'Of course. Yes, this is the way it is. Of course.' There is a sense of wisdom that comes from acceptance.

I'd like to share a little cartoon with you about acceptance. I just saw this the other day, and I thought it's a great way to communicate acceptance. On the left side, what acceptance is not: 'It's raining. I don't like rain. I wish it wasn't raining. My day would be better if it wasn't raining. My day is ruined. My day is like this. It's always like this. Why does it always rain when all I want is for it to be sunny?'

That can be like, 'Oh, I'm aging. I don't like aging. I don't like my back hurting. I don't like my vitality decreasing. I don't like this, I don't like that, I wish,' etc., etc.

Whereas on the right side: 'It's raining. Yep. It's raining. It's like this. It's raining. Yep.'

Similarly with aging: 'Yeah, this is the way things are.' But acceptance is just one dimension. The other dimension, as I was mentioning, is that all of these reflections can open us up to having a wise perspective. A wise perspective on how to use our precious vitality, because it is going to decrease. It has already decreased. How can these reflections allow us to align our lives, instead of feeling like we're going to live forever and have energy forever? How do we want to spend the vitality and the energy that we have in this life? What are the best ways to do that while it is still available?

Another consideration is to actually do this practice both internally and externally. Using this practice internally is what we have done today. But using it externally would be to consider the aging of everyone around you. Allow that to open your heart to compassion and care for all beings. We all age. This is the human condition; there is no escaping it.

For today, my invitation to all of us—and I will be doing this practice with you—is to keep this first reflection close to our hearts. Keep it close as we are moving in the world, as we're looking at ourselves in the mirror, as we are speaking with others, as we are working, exercising, and going through the day. Keep dropping it in. You just planted a seed this morning, and maybe some things came up. But keep walking with it like a dear friend, not like a bad omen. Walk with it as if you're holding a beloved locket close to you. Keep it close and see how it can inspire you. See how it can bring up more wisdom in the ways in which you act, interact with other people, and use your vitality in the world today. Hold this reflection close, both internally and externally.

Thank you all for joining this morning, this afternoon, this evening, whatever time it is. It's been wonderful to sit together today, and I look forward to going through the other four reflections together this week. Thank you so much. Blessings.