MA 25 Meditation In The Modern World

So we close our eyes very gently,

Breathing deeply to ourselves for two or three breaths.

Making sure our eyes are closed very gently,

And we do what's known as a body scan,

Which means scanning down through the whole of our body,

Relaxing each and every muscle as we go.

So from our forehead,

We relax any tension there.

Our eyebrows and eyelids,

We make sure are relaxed,

And that the way we've closed our eyes is really only with our upper and lower eyelashes touching lightly together.

We allow the muscles of our face to become soft,

Relaxing our jaw,

Taking care not to clench our teeth together.

Moving on down,

We relax our neck and let our shoulders drop to their natural height.

Using our arms,

Our forearms,

And then our hands and fingers.

So that even the way our hands rest in our lap is as light and gentle as possible.

Moving on down,

We relax all the muscles of our torso,

Chest,

Trunk,

And abdomen.

Relaxing both legs,

All the way down to our feet and our toes.

Until we feel satisfied that no remaining part of our body has any sort of stress or tension anymore.

There may be places in your body where tension still lingers,

In which case you do your best to relax it as far as possible.

This allows us to forget about our body,

Turning our attention instead to the feeling inside us,

That sense of warmth and well-being within.

Something which by any other name you could call your state of mind.

Even our state of mind needs to be relaxed as far as possible.

The way to relax it is to let go for a few moments of all the worries and concerns in your life.

Any regrets in your past or any plans for the future,

But remaining in the here and now.

While conjuring up a sense of happiness and joy in your mind,

As if happiness and joy were like tiny particles growing and spreading within yourself,

While chasing away any residual stresses and strains.

At a certain point when we feel comfortable within ourselves,

We imagine our whole body to be nothing but an empty space or a hollow cavity with no organs or tissues,

Muscles or bones.

Alternately you might imagine your body to be like a transparent bubble with nothing on the inside.

But at this point you can remember back once again to the picture of the sun shining or maybe a full moon,

A star or a diamond,

Or perhaps an object you can feel rather than see,

Conjure it up in your mind.

The object may be clear to you or it may be vague.

For our purposes it doesn't really matter.

We allow that object to float slowly downwards within the space of our body until it comes gently to rest somewhere around about the area of our diaphragm at the deepest point of the breath.

If our awareness wanders anywhere else then we're going to bring it back to this point.

If the inner object disappears we can think of a new one.

If the mind is quiet from thoughts,

Then we allow it to be that way.

But if the thoughts are still numerous in the mind then we can make use of that silent mantra hearing the sound of the words Samma Arahang,

Samma Arahang,

Samma Arahang coming up as if from the same point at the center of our diaphragm.

The two things hand in hand,

The inner object and the sound of the mantra,

Will gradually lead the mind deeper at the center.

Freeing the mind of unwanted thoughts to the point that nothing but a sense of stillness remains.

Although technology has transformed our lives,

Which on the surface seems so beneficial,

But sometimes lasting happiness is hard to find.

No matter how fast technology progresses,

But it never seems to be able to catch up with all the problems.

We're left wondering whether there is more to life than technological prowess.

Whether what we have is really happiness or is it just a postponement of further suffering.

It's as if we've forgotten something.

It's as if we've forgotten a point of balance within ourselves.

We know we're after something,

But we're not sure what we're looking for.

We only know that if we find it,

It would be blissful.

We suspect that meditation is something of what we've been missing,

That it might provide answers for our quest.

In fact,

Our natural birthright has given us a point of balance.

Others who know how to keep this point of balance are unscathed by social pressure and can live a life of happiness.

In society,

We feel worn down by the onslaught of problems that seem to get in the way of our happiness,

But there's no need for us to play the victim.

Each of us has a potential in us to find a balance free from all these problems,

But the power of our mind is still insufficient and leaves us vulnerable to stress and strain imposed on us.

Power of the mind is concerned with everything we do,

24 hours a day.

To perform any task successfully takes concentration,

Encouragement,

Memory,

Awareness,

And understanding of those around us.

But if our mind isn't trained,

Our happiness cannot stay with us for very long.

Rain drop by drop splashes and scatters over the land.

Each drop alone has no intrinsic value and soon disappears.

In the same way if the power of the untrained mind is scattered and divided by a thousand personal complexities,

It has no momentum and is vulnerable to unsatiated consumption,

A lack of true friendship,

And despair in the face of problems.

The very things that are at the root of discontent in society.

But what would happen if the power of the mind is withdrawn from a thousand concerns into a single unified focus?

Like the rainwater,

It comes together as rivulets and streams,

Gathering momentum and power,

Until as the torrent of a mighty river,

It can generate enough power to fulfil our need for meaning in life.

Suddenly we will realize that we have a new sense of intuition in understanding ourselves and have started the journey toward higher knowledge,

Exploring the frontier of inner space.

Our knowledge of the world goes hand in hand with what we can see of the world.

In the darkness of the night,

Where the sun's rays cannot penetrate,

It is hard to discover or explore things beyond our understanding.

In the same way,

Although our mind may be powerful,

We cannot explore the mind that is still in darkness.

But at the dawning of the day when the sun illuminates the world for us to see,

We can truly say we know the world.

The rays of the sun are bright,

But they cannot shed light into the inner world of the mind.

The illumination we need to explore the mind is the light of the mind itself.

Illumination that comes from the mind's natural point of balance at the centre of the body.

Illumination which arises from the power of the mind becomes focused in stillness at the centre of the body.

Because balance of mind brings brightness and the power of unification,

It is the source of the knowledge and happiness which we need to keep up with the sophistication,

The stresses and strains of the world around us.

Meditation is a legacy passed down from the wisdom of the ancients.

It harnesses the unification of nature in the power of our mind.

The river's torrents,

The brightness of the sun and us cool stillness.

All you have to do is close your eyes,

Feel at ease and bring the mind to a point of balance at the centre of the body.

As if you were returning to find the true nature of yourself with all the time in the world.

To leave behind all tensions and concerns about the things of the world.

Finding a point of focus at the most peaceful point at the centre of your body.

Maintain your mind there at the point of balance whatever you are doing.

Train your mind not to drift out of harmony with the centre of your body.

Still the focus of your mind becomes more and more unified at the centre of yourself.

Bright and clear,

Harnessing the natural brightness of the mind which will let you glimpse at the unending happiness which comes from the balance without succumbing to the thoughts of consumerism,

Suspicion,

Fragmentation or problems but leaving only benevolence and compassionate understanding.

Meditation in stillness and unity brings together the natural brilliance of the mind at its point of balance.

Gives rise to the penetrating knowledge to understand ourselves in relation to the root of problems in our society.

Meditation alone or together,

Even for only 20 minutes a day,

Exploring and understanding yourself and the mind uncluttered by influences of the modern world,

Will bring you back into harmony and balance with nature.

In a balance is a happiness which is beyond words and beyond doubt.

And once we have seen the point of balance within ourselves,

The happiness we have attained will spread to those around us in society and eventually to the nation and the world.

Those who meditate will recognize the fine balance of body and mind and its impact on society through a love of integrity and virtue.

So meditation is our true legacy,

Passed down from ancient times but never more relevant than in the present day.

Through meditation,

Exploration of inner space will become more important than the exploration of outer space,

A milestone on the road to a higher level of knowledge for humanity,

The key to knowing our place in the universe and our next great step forward.

So now for a few moments in silence,

We keep our mind focused gently at the center of ourself with the inner object of our choice,

Something we can see or something we can feel,

Each to our own practice now for a few more moments in silence until we come to the appropriate time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Don't forget if your mind wanders away onto other things,

Each time you realize simply bring your attention back again to the center of the body as before,

Bringing it back for as many times as it takes to become established,

To form a connection with the center,

In a way that you can actually feel the connection.

Is the soul to return to your best to ignore them?

Use the mantra if ignoring them isn't working.

And always double check to make sure you're using only the very lightest of touch in the way you apply your mind at the center.