MA 26L Meditation Against The COVID Blues (Live)

So if you'd like to start by finding a comfortable position for yourself in meditation,

Either sitting cross-legged on your meditation mat or sitting with your back fairly straight on a chair,

We close our eyes very gently,

Letting our eyelids droop almost drowsily,

So that our upper and lower eyelashes touch barely together.

There's no need to squeeze our eyes closed any tighter than that.

No part of our body should be under any tension or stress.

We allow the muscles of our body to become relaxed and soft,

Starting with the muscles around our face,

Then moving down to our neck,

Relaxing all the muscles there,

Relaxing our shoulders,

Both arms,

Both hands,

All the way down to our fingertips,

So that they all feel as if they're free of any tension.

From there we relax our chest,

We allow our back to become relaxed,

The muscles of our belly,

Both legs,

All the way down to our feet and our toes.

And here we're left with a sense of lightness on the inside,

A sense of lightness that extends to our whole body.

We remain with this relaxing sensation throughout our body for a few moments together.

In a similar way we turn our attention to relaxing our state of mind,

Allowing our mind to become free of any worries or concerns,

Allowing our mind to become more relaxed,

More neutral,

More comfortable and more independent from whatever is happening in the outside world.

Our attention only gets caught up in the outside world because we forget to turn our attention inward,

To put our mind in contact with that inner sense of peace.

Really the sense of peace is always there but because we forget about it then our mind wanders off onto other things.

To regain that inner sense of peace is as simple as bringing the mind back from wandering outside in the world,

To focus instead on the inside of our body.

And in this respect we can imagine that inside our body is just an empty structure made of a thin outline,

And inside no bone,

No muscle,

No organs,

Just if nothing remains inside our body but an empty space.

And for a moment we slowly internalise the sense of awareness that we know as our mind,

And allow it to stay still,

Softly and gently within this empty space of our body.

The way we shift our attention to the place inside us should be slow and soft.

There's no need to rush at all.

We allow the feeling to become soft and still,

Somewhere in the general area of our abdomen.

But in fact if you feel more comfortable elsewhere within the body then you can adopt that place instead.

But for now,

For the time being,

We allow the awareness to remain at that place of comfort with the softness of a tiny feather floating down from the sky and finally touching upon a still water surface without even creating a ripple.

For now we maintain this soft awareness of the mind comfortably inside the body as continuously as we can for as long as we can.

Some of us may be content simply to remain with this inner feeling,

In which case we can continue in this vein for as long as we can.

For others whose mind is a little bit more antsy,

A little bit quicker to be interrupted or distracted by things around us,

Then we might keep the mind in place by giving it an anchor,

A visualised picture of something that we're familiar with like the sun shining,

A full moon,

Or even a shining star,

Whatever we feel the most comfortable with.

But we allow that image to stay in the mind naturally so that nothing else will have the chance to interrupt.

And we remain with that inner image comfortably and without worrying about the passing time.

If the way we're visualising leads to discomfort,

Then we can begin again at any time,

Maybe applying the mind even more softly than the last time.

And if ever distractions arise,

Then we can just recommence with our visualisation,

Repeating the visualisation again and again in a leisurely manner at the centre of our body,

For as long as it takes for the mind to settle at a place of comfort inside of us.

As for thoughts in the mind,

Sometimes if we ignore them,

They will go away by themselves,

Like sediment settling out of a barrel of sandy water.

If simply ignoring the thoughts is not effective enough,

Then we might make use of that traditional mantra,

Hearing the sound quietly in the mind of the words,

Sama-Arahang.

Sama-Arahang.

Sama-Arahang,

Where the word Sama means in the proper way,

And the word Arahang refers to a state of having no more mental impurities,

No more of that negativity that normally affects our mind in its everyday life.

The words Sama-Arahang mean the proper way to purify the mind,

To eventually bring forth a state of absolute purity,

A state that we all long for.

So we continue to repeat the mantra,

Sama-Arahang,

Continuously feeling the voice of vibrating and expanding outwards from the centre of the body.

Sama-Arahang.

Sama-Arahang.

Sama-Arahang,

Over and over again,

So that the mind can settle on the inner object while absorbing the sound of the mantra as a way to dissipate any thoughts from the mind.

And if we're able to practice this every single day,

We may be surprised that even as a beginner,

Someone like us can keep the mind still forever lengthening moments by practicing a little every day.

The sensing of the mind will become as natural to us as breathing,

Because breathing is something we can do even without thinking about it.

We'll be able to free the mind from any negativity much more easily,

Allowing the mind to become pure and crystal clear.

The purer the mind becomes,

The easier it will be for it to connect with that source of pure energy inside,

Which will help to safeguard us from any of the harmful elements,

Illnesses,

Sicknesses around us.

As if all of our thought,

Speech and actions seems to come from a place of integrity within us.

It is something that the world is in particular need of at the present time,

So being part of the solution,

The positive thinking,

The positive emotions in the world will be an important part in protecting the world around us.

Being part of that stream of pure energy that radiates outwards across the entire planet,

Extending protection and harmony in every place.

We continue to maintain the source of our pure energy gradually multiplying and magnifying it at the center by means of our inner mantra,

Samma Arahang.

Samma Arahang.

Samma Arahang over and over again as we sit for meditation with our inner object and the mantra helping one another hand in hand for a few more moments in silence until we come to the appropriate time.

Continue to keep our mind on track at the center of our body the whole time.

We find our attention slipping away onto anything else.

Each time we realize we gently bring our awareness back again to the center of the body as before.

If the inner object disappears,

We can think of a new one.

If it changes,

We just follow it in its new form.

And our practice may change to be one of observation where we simply follow the way the inner experience transforms and evolves as time goes on,

Watching without interfering,

Allowing the inner experience to become fluid,

Ever-changing.

With the by-product for our mind that the mind becomes increasingly calm,

Serene,

Increasingly in contact with the deeper faculties of our mind that lie beyond the superficial thoughts.

We continue to cultivate our attention in this way always using nothing more than a feather-like touch to keep the mind in place for a few more moments in silence.

The mind continues to gather up that sense of pure energy inside of itself.

We can imagine that the inner energy radiates out from that central point in all directions.

We can gently visualize the pure energy taking the form of a crystal sphere which seems to grow larger to encapsulate the whole of our body,

Reaching out further to our whole family,

Our neighborhood,

Essentially outwards to everyone in the world,

Everyone without exception,

As we emanate a positive intention with that extension of our pure energy,

Energy full of love and compassion towards all without exception.

For those who are suffering,

We make the wish that they be free from sadness and pain.

For those who are already enjoying some degree of happiness,

We make the wish that they become happier still.

We might imagine that we emanate a positive intention to everyone in the country,

Neighboring countries,

The entire continent,

All the continents of the world,

Covering the entire globe and beyond with the wish that everyone everywhere be well and happy,

Living in peace with the thought that even in the darkest of nights,

The starlight can still shine through.

Even troubled times can have a silver lining.

Even times of crisis can bring forth resilience and growth.

Even when things around us have gone awry,

Yet our mind can re-engage with happiness through the practice of meditation.

We make the wish that all human lives be filled with empathy towards one another,

Free from stress or anxiety,

Free from worry or irritation,

Free from sickness or danger.

As we share this peaceful energy for the benefit of our ancestors,

Family members,

Friends,

Whether they are still with us or whether they have already passed,

With the feeling that all may be cleansed with hope and joy while being sheltered against sadness,

Sorrow or danger.

May all sentient beings be free from distress.

And may a growing stream of pure energy dispel any harmful elements from the environment,

As if this whole planet of ours could become a bright sphere,

As bright as the inner sphere we have created inside us.

So that only things of purity and quality,

Integrity,

Come to the fore in the world around us.

And out of all the transformations that we have come through in the last few years of our lives,

May the whole of the world emerge into a better place,

A place of freedom without harm or aggression,

With this pure energy of ours protecting the world from all forms of negativity,

As we sit and make wishes for ourselves or others for the last few moments of our meditation together.