59:10

Guided Meditation With Ven Pomnyun Sunim

by Ven.Pomnyun Sunim

Rated
5
Type
guided
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Beginners
Plays
33

[With English interpretation] Ven. Pomnyun Sunim answers a question during one of his Sunday Meditation sessions. Learn Vipassana Meditation from a Zen Master, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim. "We meditate not to make money or attain fame but to find our way to true happiness and freedom, or nirvana and liberation." by Ven. Pomnyun Sunim.

VipassanaZenHappinessFreedomNirvanaLiberationEmotional AwarenessNon ReactivityStressEmotional ResilienceMindfulnessFocusStress PreventionMindfulness In Daily LifeEmotion RecognitionGuided MeditationsLong Term PerspectivesVisionsDistraction

Transcript

Mr.

Changes tap into a learning capacity of a lot of their life preferences.

So each moment estimates how they feel so much everyday.

And cm pad has ausc to it too.

And that becomes translated some type of emotional reaction.

If you suppress the emotional reaction that rises up,

That creates a stress event.

If you suppress the emotional reaction that rises up,

That creates a stress event.

The first goal of meditation is to recognize as soon as possible when the emotion arises.

When you have to suppress it,

There's nothing really to suppress.

There's really tiny amount of emotion to suppress.

If you suppress the emotional reaction that rises up,

There's nothing really to suppress.

If you suppress,

There's nothing really to suppress.

But if you were to pull to the left a moment of recognition,

So that you recognize before it turns into an emotional reaction,

Then there's nothing to stress over.

So the primary goal of meditation is to reach a state that you recognize your own reactions before it turns into an emotional reaction,

So there's nothing to stress over.

Secondary objective can be said to recognize it as early as possible,

But if you're not getting any emotion,

You have to suppress it small.

So stress is not a cognition per se,

It's not a thinking process.

It occurs when an emotion that's automatically a product of an automatic reaction from your karma rises,

And you seek to suppress it.

It's that pressure that happens when you try to suppress your emotions.

So this is slightly different from the concept of forgiveness.

When we are put under stress,

We often seek to lay the blame for that stress to somebody else.

And that translates into ourselves and to hatred.

So in essence,

You're trying to avoid your own responsibility and transfer your responsibility to someone else,

And forgiveness is a matter of telling people not to do so.

So when we say whether to forgive or not,

It's not an emotional problem anymore,

It becomes more of a thought problem,

Thinking problem.

But if you investigate the issue a little further,

You'll soon recognize that this is a matter of differences,

Of whether behavior,

Opinion,

Or values are not really wrong or right.

Just as your faith can be different,

Your beliefs can be different,

There's no wrong or right,

It's just different.

But once you recognize the nature of your differences,

Then you realize that since that person did not commit anything wrong,

There's nothing to forgive.

When will the time of conversation begin?

Conscious emotional reaction,

Forgiveness involves some kind of thinking process in which you lay the responsibility or the blame at the foot of the other and then kind of rationalize your ways saying that you will forgive them despite their responsibility.

If you rationalize or think correctly into the situation,

Investigate correctly,

Then you soon realize that there is nothing to forgive.

Separate to sensory senses being The Lord will never forgive us.

He will never forgive us.

He will never forgive us.

So,

In a way,

Taking a page from the Bible.

So,

When Jesus was crucified,

He said,

To those who crucified him,

The centurions that crucified him,

He said,

Forgive them for they know what,

They do not know what they do.

So,

This sense of forgiveness does not arise from laying responsibility or blaming them for his pain and suffering,

But realizing that they are just doing their job at that point.

They truly do not know the wrong of what they do.

So,

It's not a matter of wrong or right.

It's a matter of recognizing that they're just doing what they're told to do,

What their job is.

So,

This perception,

This perspective,

It really goes beyond a regular human perspective or human level.

It really rises to a level of all-encompassing love that's shown by God.

Sorry for the lengthy reply.

Second question.

So,

As the awareness of meditation deepens,

Is there a shutting down of the senses?

So,

When the hearing function ceases,

Or is it the tension that has become more acute?

So,

Your senses do not become dull or stops or actually become sharper?

You can actually see better.

You can hear the other person's better.

You can smell better.

And you can taste better.

And you can feel a sense of touch because it's much more sensitive.

So,

Meditation is a way of learning how to not react emotionally to an external stimulus.

So,

It's not a dulling of the senses.

It's actually trying to maintain peace of mind by ceasing or interfering from reacting emotionally to kind of external stimulus.

For example,

This room I'm in is a little warm.

So when I go deep into meditation,

It doesn't mean I don't feel the warmth.

I still feel warm.

In a way,

I might be even more sensitive to the warmth.

But meditation,

The sense of mindfulness,

Allows me not to translate that warmth into a like or dislike.

I just recognize warmth as warmth.

Meditation can includemAhpe or Soressen,

Ordone with deepstice power as well as with a lot So,

When you do meditation and you focus on the breathing,

What you're practicing is developing the capacity to interrupt the natural and automatic transition of stimulus into emotions.

That's why you're practicing.

Third question.

It's very frustrating that I cannot sustain focus on my breathing.

Why does the mind resist so much to a simple task?

You're trying to be greedy about this.

Usually,

We live our lives in a state of distraction.

You need to be mindful of the fact that you're usually distracted.

And then your goal should be to slowly improve your sense of focus and develop the discipline.

And try to continue that practice of mindfulness even after meditation session is finished.

You don't feel as frustrated.

So what I'm saying is that you may lose focus on the breath,

But you won't be frustrated by it.

So say you were practicing basketball and you keep missing the basket.

It just means you're not skillful enough to hit the basket all the time and you're being frustrated about it.

Same thing with meditation.

You're being frustrated because you want to try to achieve something that's beyond your skill level.

So if you shoot 10 baskets and none of them go in,

Well,

That's your current skill level.

But as you keep practicing,

Maybe one out of 10,

You'll make it.

And you're just on a path,

On a progress.

So do not be frustrated just because you can't make it more than one out of 10 baskets right at the beginning.

So if you decided to take up basketball,

All there is is a matter of practicing consistently.

And try to explore the why so your basket's not going in.

Maybe it's your position.

Maybe it's your legs.

So basically create some kind of expectation and fun into the process and try to investigate the causes.

Fourth question.

How has meditation impacted your life?

I think I can safely say that it has mitigated emotional reactions,

My emotional reactions to external stimulus that rises out of my natural karma.

So I also have modulated my reaction to a failure or disappointment instead of being disappointed.

I tend to be curious as to why it has failed.

And even if I become emotional or react negatively to something,

I don't engage in self-shaming or regrets but allow myself to understand how to move forward from a more constructive fashion.

And also allow me to practice not focusing on the immediacy of the issues but allow me to have a more long-term planning vision.

So I think the important thing is not to be in this mindfulness state just during meditation sessions but try to maintain that mindfulness throughout your everyday activities and life.

Fifth question.

How can I meditate better when my family is around me or making sounds or watching TVs and eating?

I think that's the most important thing.

Try to move your location or try to secure some location that's more isolated and quiet just for yourself.

But if you don't have any other choice,

Then try to explore whether you can maintain that type of focus and mindfulness in the midst of such distractions.

I think that's the most important thing.

So when we were little,

We were engaged in a physical competition or there was an obstacle course,

Right?

Yes,

There was an obstacle course and I was able to do that.

So obstacle course is all about that,

Putting obstacles as you run.

I think that's the most important thing.

So we run over,

Jump over,

Crawl under,

I mean we somehow go over the obstacles,

Right?

Yes,

We run over the obstacles and we go over the obstacles and we go over the obstacles and we go over the obstacles.

So it's a matter of shifting your perspective to practicing,

Testing yourself,

Whether you can maintain that focus in spite of these obstacles.

Yes,

We have to keep practicing.

So when the weather is hot,

In the midst of the heat?

Yes,

We are in the midst of the heat.

If you're tired,

In the midst of the fatigue?

Yes,

In the midst of the heat.

If you're sleepy,

In the midst of that drowsiness?

Yes,

We have to keep practicing.

If the distractions around your surroundings is inevitable,

In the midst of those distractions?

Yes,

We have to keep practicing.

Ask yourself,

In spite of all this,

Can I maintain my focus on the breathing in and out?

If I'm walking through a busy market,

I'm being pressured left and right to buy something,

Can I go through that market without hating anyone,

Without feeling annoyed?

Yes,

I feel that I can maintain my focus on the breathing in and out.

If I'm not able to maintain my focus,

I can't maintain my focus.

I can't maintain my focus.

I can't maintain my focus.

And from that perspective of non-hurriedness from peace and calm,

I want you to continue and consistently practice the breathing in and out.

Let us begin.

Let us begin.

Let us begin.

Let us begin.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

How was it?

How was it?

Now that you have done it.

I think it was a good job.

Since there is some time lag between when you upload your comments and we see it.

I am very happy to be able to share my story with you.

My leg hurt a lot today but I am still grateful for this session as a bookend to my week.

I am very happy to be able to share my story with you.

That was a question about you said there is no right or wrong but is racial bias right or wrong?

I think it is a very big problem.

So racial bias,

Race is a function of your skin color.

Yes,

But the color is different.

I think it is different from the other.

So the colors are different.

No color is better than the other.

I think it is different from the other.

However,

There are people who think that white is better and black is not.

I think it is different.

That is that person's perspective.

I think it is different from the other.

That person is living in a state of ignorance,

Of blindness to the reality,

The truth.

He is not a bad person.

He is an ignorant person.

However,

The result of that ignorance may bring about hurt problems.

I think that the result of that ignorance may bring about hurt problems.

So if we see that bad result come out of ignorance,

That is not a path we want to take.

I think that the result of that ignorance may bring about hurt problems.

So we have to maintain our perspective of knowing that the differences are just the difference in color.

It is not a value judgment of whether something is bad or better.

I think that the difference between the differences is different from the differences between the differences between the differences.

And look at the people who are biased or prejudiced as not somebody who is bad but somebody who is ignorant of the truth.

So they become targets for an awakening.

And I think that is the perspective that we should hold.

I was getting to a quiet place and I was distracted by thoughts that it ended.

Nevertheless,

I am very grateful for this time together.

Meditation after a borrowing practice allowed me to have a better peace of mind.

And let's conclude with that comment today.

And thank you for joining me for today's meditation session.

Thanks Jason for his interpretation.

We shall conclude.

Meet your Teacher

Ven.Pomnyun SunimSeoul, South Korea

More from Ven.Pomnyun Sunim

Loading...

Related Meditations

Loading...

Related Teachers

Loading...
© 2026 Ven.Pomnyun Sunim. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

How can we help?

Sleep better
Reduce stress or anxiety
Meditation
Spirituality
Something else