MA 36 The Art Of Waiting

So when you're ready gently close your eyes.

Settle yourself comfortably for meditation by finding a sustainable position of poise for yourself.

Either sitting on the ground or on a straight back chair with your spine elongated and yet relaxed.

Allow your hands to rest palm upwards on your lap and remember this is your time.

Begin to connect with the sensation of your breath moving through your nostrils.

Continue breathing in a slow steady rhythm.

You can imagine that as you breathe you are taking in a delightful fragrance with each in breath.

Roses in full bloom,

A freshly brewed pot of coffee or anything else that is pleasing to your senses.

Notice how the breath expands your lungs creating a subtle rising and falling movement.

And let this breath nourish and soothe you.

Now imagine a wave of peace and relaxation washing over you as you invite your muscles to begin softening.

Relinquish and release any pent-up tension.

Relax your entire face,

Your eyebrows,

Your eyelids,

The jaw.

If there's any tension in the jaw area you should avoid clenching your teeth together.

Allow everything to relax completely and let go.

Continue relaxing down through the neck,

The throat,

And the shoulders.

Let your arms hang effortlessly and let your hands feel soft and receptive.

And allow the sense of relaxation to flow in,

Allow that sense of relaxation to move through the lower mid and upper back.

Feel that expansion in the back area,

Allow that sense of relaxation to flow in,

And allow that relaxation to move into the abdomen area.

Feel the sense of relaxation moving into all of your organs.

Relax your belly and the internal organs.

Allow the hips and legs to soften.

And allow your legs to relax completely and let go.

Through your knees to your calves,

Bring your awareness to your ankles.

Gently bring your awareness to your toes and to your feet,

Allowing them to relax completely,

Until the entire body is relaxed.

Feel your body is evaporating or melting away by bringing to mind the image of sand running through an hourglass,

Or a melting ice cube if it helps with the relaxation process.

Turning our attention now to relax our state of mind,

We let go of all thoughts and distractions.

We let them fade into the background,

As we give ourselves this time to slow down and reconnect with our body and spirit.

So we turn our attention inward in our usual way,

As if inside our body is just an empty space with no organs or tissues,

No muscles or bones,

Like a hollow space inside us.

And in our mind,

We conjure up a feeling of the positive energy in our life,

Or a feeling of empty space within us,

Or a feeling of empty space within us,

Filled with happiness and joy.

We imagine a bright,

Clear object,

Like a shining sun,

A star,

Maybe a diamond or a full moon,

Or a feeling as if such an object is present inside us,

And floating slowly downward,

Until it comes to rest somewhere around about the very center of our body.

If anything distracts our awareness away,

We bring our attention back to this central point each time.

If a picture or feeling disappears,

We can conjure up a new one.

And we continue by checking in with the center.

We make sure that we don't press the feeling tightly.

The way we check in is just by a soft nudge,

By checking in with the center gently but firmly.

The way we touch the center should be really soft.

Now,

After waiting for a while,

The mind becomes used to that gentle connection inside the body.

In the meantime,

We continue to be slow,

Until such time as the slow mind can become still,

Until such time as the peace energy we are gradually accumulating can pave the way to this stillness.

If you find yourself becoming distracted from time to time,

Acknowledge the activity of your mind,

And direct your attention back to your center.

The reality of meditation in the beginning is that it's always going to be this gentle back and forth.

So pay attention to this process of moving away from the center and coming back.

As you do so,

This movement of attention will leave you unfazed,

Allowing you to come back again and again,

And cultivating a sense of patience and gentleness within yourself.

You never have to push anything away,

You never have to try to control or fix your thoughts.

If at any time during the meditation you realize that the mind wandered off or got caught up in thinking,

No problem,

That's just what it's used to doing,

Give it something different.

Re-introduce it to the center,

Observing the center.

Every time that you bring your awareness back to your center,

It will allow you to dive deep to where the stillness and calm is,

To where the beauty is.

Tell yourself there's nothing that you have to get right or to perfect.

You simply remain curious and observe in the present moment.

You're getting to know the center,

Observing its qualities.

You're creating space between yourself and your thoughts,

And tapping into that still,

Silent place.

If thoughts return,

We do our best to ignore them.

If ignoring the thoughts proves ineffective,

Then we can make use of the traditional mantra instead,

Using the words sama-araham,

Sama-araham,

Sama-araham.

The more you say the mantra,

The more power you give to the words of the mantra,

And they start to become true.

They start to lead us deeper towards the sense of purity in the mind.

So feel these words resonating within your heart,

And within every cell,

Every fiber of your being,

With every repetition of the mantra.

In this meditation,

Know that you're constantly guiding your mind to the present moment,

And your true nature,

Inward,

Beyond thought,

As you gradually build a relationship with the center,

As you get to know the center.

And in return,

The center is guiding you to the present moment,

To that calm and peace within.

You may be aware of space or silence,

You can observe that.

You may be aware of thoughts,

Sounds,

Or emotions,

But you can observe them.

In this way,

The mind stays in touch with the center,

Gradually building up a familiarity with the center.

In the meantime,

We don't harbor complaints in the mind,

Like,

Why is it taking so long,

Or why don't I feel it that much?

Meditation proper takes a little time to kick in.

Patience in meditation can sometimes mean sitting back and evaluating our meditation less frequently or less critically,

So that we can appreciate our progress.

Changes can be slow,

Like grass growing.

Being impatient can be especially problematic,

When we are coping with a chronic or severe problem.

If we can assume that with mindfulness practice,

Some kind of improvement in life condition will occur over time,

Albeit slowly,

Then it's a good strategy to spend less time continually asking yourself,

How's my meditation going?

Do I feel better right now than I did a moment ago?

Running less of a mental commentary gradually frees up the mind to enjoy the meditation in the present moment more.

This helps to avert discouragement and despair that can arise when we insist on seeing spectacular changes all the time.

The ocean knows a thing or two about patience.

The ocean will spend eons breaking rocks into sand.

It makes the same tidal movements every day without complaint.

It touches land with surf,

Waves,

And waves.

It touches land with surf,

Wave upon wave.

It is inexorable and elemental.

Similarly,

As our attention wanders away from the center,

As it inevitably will,

We just bring to mind the interminable nature of ocean waves lapping at the shore.

And with the same unfailing gentleness and kindness,

We'll be able to usher our attention back to the center.

There's no shame in having the mind wander.

It is a natural feature of the mind,

And it happens to everyone.

So it wanders,

We simply check in again with the center,

Or breathe the awareness back to the center.

It's no big deal,

It's no real trouble.

There's no reason to rush,

To get frustrated or even disappointed.

The glimpse of inner peace will come,

Will grow little by little.

In the meantime,

We keep our mind free of expectations.

If we are distracted by thoughts,

We acknowledge them without fighting back.

They will go away by themselves if we don't take notice of them or starve them of importance,

Until the mind becomes emptier little by little.

In the meantime,

The weight already helps us to feel a little more peaceful.

In this way,

We can continue to remain inside the center,

In this way for a few moments more.

In the meantime,

We let the peaceful feeling and the energy cleanse this empty mind.

The energy can pass on to the body,

And let the body absorb the same clean,

Pure energy cleansing.

Enjoy the lightness of body with the understanding that peace energy is pervading the whole of our body and mind.

Whatever the experience,

Even if the mind wavers,

We are able just to accept it without any comment,

Without judgment,

With no mental commentary,

No sense of right and wrong.

The waiting mind is just as neutral.

The more neutral we are,

The more robust the quality of energy will become.

To be neutral begins with the right attitude that waiting is the simplest way to further meditation on any level.

This is why the waiting mind is so precious.

Without the waiting mind,

Nobody can be successful in meditation.

It's said that either that all things or goodness are the same.

The mind is so precious that it is so precious that it is so precious.

It's said either that all things or good things come to those who wait,

Since patience allows us to remain steadfast in the face of provocation,

Annoyance,

Misfortune,

Or pain,

Without complaint,

Without loss of temper,

Without irritation,

Or any other adverse reaction.

It can help us overcome restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delays,

By helping us persevere even when we seem to be a slow learner in our meditation.

Another distraction that might arise are feelings of impatience,

Restlessness,

Or boredom.

Typically,

This happens when the mind projects itself into the future,

Or tries to elaborate the practice into something more than this simple observation at the center.

You can acknowledge these distractions without buying into their stories.

According to the ancient wisdom of the badega-rata-suta,

We shouldn't chase after the past or place expectations on the future,

But we should remain with whatever quality is present that we see right here and right now.

We continue to remain inside the center in this way for a few more moments in silence.

We observe more merging of the energy.

If it happens for the first time,

Just accept it.

We won't allow the questioning mind to get the upper hand.

We just accept it with the radiation of the peace energy expanding from the center.

With or without expectation,

Energy will radiate no matter what.

So,

This is the nature of the energy,

There is no reason to ask why.

Welcome or accept the expansion of energy.

The body may feel emptier,

Lighter,

Or may disappear completely.

We accept this too.

Energy is replacing the weight of the body.

And we allow the energy to expand,

To grow,

To radiate outwards,

Filled completely with peace energy.

Until the last part of our meditation,

We can remain deep in the embrace of such strong,

Deep peace.

We let more of that peace energy expand until the entire feeling,

Not just inside the body,

But beyond,

Grows bigger and grows wider.

This may happen automatically in some meditations and in others not.

Whatever we experience,

We just feel aware that peace energy has the potential to radiate further,

Making the body structure so weightless,

As thin as threads of gosama or xifeng goes,

So light that is transparent.

The energy inside spreads throughout our being,

As if there's a soft merging of inside and out.

Remain aware of such a gentle process of merging.

Check in with the center which remains full of peace energy.

Remain at the center of the deep peace of the middle of our body,

Asking in the flow of that radiant consciousness,

Bathed in golden light.

And we retain that feeling of peace and wonder for a few more moments in silence until we come to the appropriate time.

You.