MA 31L The Light Of The Inner Sun (Remaster)

So we start by finding a comfortable position for ourselves in meditation.

If we're sitting on the floor then we try to sit cross-legged.

With our right leg over our left leg.

The right hand over the left hand.

Palms turned upwards and resting in our lap.

Even if we're sitting on a chair.

And we try to sit in a relaxed way.

Sometimes it's better to avoid leaning against the backrest.

Sitting in an upright position.

A position of poise.

We adjust our sitting position so that we feel completely at ease.

We close our eyes very gently if we haven't done so already.

And breathe in gently and deeply to ourselves.

When we breathe in we may feel that our chest is expanding and our back straightening.

And as we breathe out we may feel that we're letting go of any negativity or problems.

Again we breathe in,

Taking in the cool refreshing air from around us.

Allowing it to refresh us from the inside.

And after a few such breaths,

You'll start to feel more ready for the meditation ahead.

One of the most important parts of the meditation preparation is the way we close our eyes.

We need to close our eyes as gently as possible.

With our upper and lower eyelashes just touching lightly together.

We never squeeze our eyes closed.

And we avoid applying any force to our eyes.

Our eyelids should feel as light as a feather.

And we allow all the muscles around our eyes to relax as far as possible.

As are some of the most sensitive muscles in our body.

If we're able to relax the muscles around our eyes,

Then all the other muscles in our body will follow suit.

So we allow that tide of relaxation from around our eyes to spread downwards through our face.

You might try putting a little smile on our face while relaxing the muscles of our forehead,

Our cheeks,

Our chin,

Allowing them to be fully relaxed.

And we spread the relaxation down through our neck,

To our shoulders,

To both arms and to our hands.

All the way down to our fingertips.

And we allow the tide of relaxation to continue further on down through our torso,

Chest,

Trunk and abdomen.

All the way down through our legs,

To our feet and our toes.

And examining each part of our body,

If we feel any discomfort remaining or resulting from our posture,

Then we can make an adjustment now,

So that the blood can circulate freely throughout the body.

And so we can minimize any possible aches or pains during the meditation,

To the point we feel we could sit like this for as long as we liked.

And when we feel the whole body is totally relaxed,

We'll feel as if our body is light in weight,

Hollow like a tube with no internal organs,

Just hollow and light.

As if our whole body were floating in the air,

Or as if our whole body were expanding,

Light in weight,

Expanding outwards to the horizon.

As if our whole body were merging with the atmosphere around us,

Little by little our body disappearing,

Until we feel no physicality of our body anymore.

And we turn our attention now to relax the mind.

Only our mind is filled with so many thoughts,

So many worries,

But for now we put each of these thoughts and worries to one side,

Leaving us with an empty mind,

Like a person with no future and no past,

Where all you have is the present moment,

The here and now.

And you might imagine that you're sitting all alone in a vast space,

And all around you is nothing and no one.

And if your mind drifts away onto some other thoughts,

Then just let the thoughts settle and remain in this silence for a few moments more.

And at this point we breathe in really slowly and make a mental note of the turning point of our breath,

Somewhere inside our stomach.

And once we've taken note of that turning point of the breath,

We can forget about our breath from here on in.

It's just that the turning point of the breath inside our stomach is the very center of the body.

It's a place where we would prefer to relocate the focus of our attention.

It's a place that we're going to rest our awareness,

Right here in the center of the stomach.

In practice it doesn't really matter exactly where we place the mind,

At least in the beginning,

Because once our mind is calm and refined enough,

The mind will zero in on the exact center of the body all by itself.

So for now we might conjure up in the mind some sort of bright,

Imaginary object,

Maybe like a picture of the sun shining,

A full moon,

A star,

Or perhaps a diamond,

Or even the feeling that one of those objects is present in the mind,

Even if we can't see it,

But we can feel its presence by its weight or by its texture.

And we allow that object to settle,

Gravitate down gently to that place at the turning point of the breath,

Or the most comfortable point for us inside the area of our stomach.

Once it aligns itself properly,

You will have a feeling almost as if something is alive at the center of the body,

But for the time being we just rest the mind gently in the general area of the center of the stomach,

At the point which feels the most comfortable for us.

The way we place the awareness at the center of the body should be as gentle as possible,

As gentle as if you were floating a needle on the surface of some water.

It's about the same sort of gentleness that we need when placing the mind gently at the center of the body.

But to help to keep the mind in place,

We maintain that image of the bright object,

Or the feeling of the presence of such an object at the center of ourselves.

A picture rather like the sun on the horizon,

Shining bright,

Clear and round.

Visualizing without making any effort,

Because after all it's the natural ability of the mind to picture things internally.

Whatever we think of,

Then the picture will arise in the mind.

It's the way we visualize.

So it can be something like the shining sun at the center of the body,

Even if it's not as clear in our mind's eye as we normally see it with our real eyes,

We can still work with it.

Even if it's just a feeling,

Then we can work with that as well.

The important thing is the continuity,

Maintaining that inner object as continuously as we can,

For as long as we can,

Without letting the mind wander away anywhere else.

And in order to dispel any thoughts that return to our mind,

We do our best to ignore them If this doesn't work for us,

We can always make use of the traditional mantra,

Hearing the sound of the words,

Samma Arahang Samma Arahang Samma Arahang With the sound of the mantra coming up from the center of that bright object,

The sound of the mantra being soft,

Tender,

Soothing to the mind,

Until in our mind there's only two things remaining,

The inner object at the center of ourselves,

And the sound of that mantra if necessary,

Coming up from the center of the object.

So we repeat the sound of the mantra in a gentle unhurried way,

Effortlessly.

We repeat the mantra for as long as we need to,

Until at a certain point the mantra itself will fade away of its own accord.

If you start to feel the mind is calm and it doesn't wander anymore,

Then we don't need to restart with the mantra again,

We just rest the awareness at the center of the inner object.

If we do notice that the awareness is drifting away into random thoughts,

We just gently bring it back to the center of that inner object as before,

Going back to the mantra if necessary.

The longer we can rest the mind gently at the center of the body,

The more refined our mind will become,

Little by little becoming calmer and calmer,

More and more refined,

Softer,

More peaceful,

And we will remain with this inner moment of peacefulness in the mind for a few moments longer.

The notional illumination from inside that comes with our inner object is rather like a touch sensitive switch at the center of the body.

If we touch the switch gently enough,

Then the illumination comes on.

In fact the illumination is always there already,

But rather like the sun,

It can sometimes be hidden behind a cloud,

Meaning that we're unable to see it.

Usually the light in the mind is sometimes blocked by any impurities within the mind,

Sometimes to the extent that we may never know that there is light within our own bodies and minds.

But through meditation we can gradually remove all those impurities from the mind,

Allowing the light of the inner sun to shine through,

Brighter and clearer than before.

So we rest the mind at the center of the body,

Lightly,

Gently and continuously,

Until we can feel that sense of inner peace flowing outward from the center of the body,

Shining outwards continuously as we apply the mind with the utmost gentleness,

Never using any pressure,

Never using any force,

Never in a hurry,

Allowing that stream of peacefulness and happiness to flow forth from the center while we observe like a neutral witness,

As if we were just watching the view from a bus window,

Keeping track of the country scenery.

The scenery may change or we keep watching impassively.

The longer we can gently rest the mind while observing at the center of the body,

The more refined the mind will become,

And in this sense the mind will make a start on a journey inwards all by itself,

A journey inwards into the center of the center.

As the mind becomes more and more refined,

As you engage and connect with that deeper sense of happiness within,

Flowing forth,

Cleansing the body and mind,

Until we feel that both body and mind are being purified somehow,

By a special kind of energy from within.

So for now we continue to let the mind make that inward journey of its own accord,

While we observe neutrally at the center of ourselves,

Each to our own practice in silence for a few more moments now,

Until we come to the appropriate time.

We continue to keep our mind on track at the center of the body,

The whole of the time.

If our attention wanders away onto other things,

Each time we realize we just bring our attention 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.

There's no need for us to change it back again.

If thoughts recur in the mind,

Then we do our best to ignore them,

But if they're too persistent to ignore,

Then we might make use of that mantra,

Sama arahang,

As before.

But in the meantime we allow the mind to rest gently at the center of the body,

Noticing that sense of happiness from within.

That refreshes and energizes the mind,

Leaving us with a feeling of being awake and alive inside ourselves.

And if we place our awareness very gently at the center of this feeling,

Or this inner illumination,

We'll notice that this inner kind of happiness is something that we can allow to spread outwards from the center,

By a process known as the spreading of loving-kindness.

We can extend that loving-kindness initially to the whole of ourselves,

Allowing that feeling or inner brightness to pervade the whole of our own body with good wishes,

Before allowing it to spread beyond ourselves,

Outwards to all those around us.

Resting the mind at the center of the body,

But allowing the radius of our loving-kindness to extend further and further outwards into the atmosphere,

In all directions all around.

With a wish that all living beings be well and happy,

Free from suffering.

We extend that sense of loving-kindness further still,

Outwards to the neighborhood,

Town,

City,

County,

Country,

The whole continent,

Outwards to cover the entire world.

With the wish that all living people,

All beings in the world,

Be well and happy,

Be free from suffering,

Free from illness.

And extending the loving-kindness further outwards into space,

Towards all the stars and galaxies,

Filling the whole universe with loving-kindness and happiness originating from the center of ourselves.

We may even cast that same positive energy towards loved ones of ours,

Those still living,

Those who have already passed on,

With the wish that they too be well and happy.

May they all have the opportunity to discover the same inner peace and happiness that we are now experiencing.

So we continue to make good wishes for ourselves and for others,

While spreading loving-kindness in this way for the last few moments of our meditation together.

Thank you.

Thank you.