MA 38 Five Good Reasons To Meditate

So we'd like to start by adopting a comfortable position for your meditation.

Closing your eyes and adopting a position that is upright and yet relaxed.

Take a few deep breaths to yourself and allow your shoulders to drop.

Make sure your eyes are closed only very gently and invite the inner gaze to soften.

Bringing your awareness back to yourself and allowing the awareness to soften as well.

We start by relaxing every muscle of our body.

We relax every muscle starting with the muscles of our forehead,

Our eyebrows and eyelids.

Making sure the eyes are only very gently closed.

Never squeeze the eyes closed but close your eyes gently in just the same way you would close your eyes to go to sleep.

Make sure there's no heaviness on your eyelids.

If you notice that your eyes are too tightly closed or if there's any heaviness on your eyelids you may need to open your eyes and close them again more gently.

Close your eyes in just the same way you might close them to go to sleep.

And then relax the muscles of your face.

Relax your neck,

Your shoulders,

Both arms down to the tips of your fingers.

Relax your chest,

Trunk and abdomen.

Both of your legs down to the tips of your toes.

So it all the way from the top of your head right the way down to the tips of your toes.

There's no remaining part of your body with any sort of stress or tension anymore.

If you do notice any tension remaining in your body then do your best to relax it completely.

Because if your body is completely relaxed you'll have the feeling as if your body seems to melt away into the atmosphere around you.

And you have no further worries about your body anymore.

From there you can turn your attention to relaxing the mind.

Relax the mind by letting go of any thoughts we may have about the past or the future.

So letting go of any thoughts concerning responsibilities,

Concerning the labels you identify within life.

Whether it be your name,

Your age,

Your gender.

Just letting all of that fall away.

Also letting go of any labels concerning your relationships to others.

Letting go of all those ideas of self and instead just be.

Just be the awareness.

Just be in the here and now.

And also let go of any narratives you may have of who you are,

Your past,

Your future,

Your to-do list,

Or who you want to be.

Just be aware in the present moment.

Accepting that there's nothing to do and there's no one to be.

There's only being.

If there are any thoughts for now just let them come and go.

Watching them without attachment,

With no need to intervene,

Here in stillness.

Surrendering into this space of nothing,

Being no one,

Not being anyone,

Just being.

And conjure up a sense of happiness and joy in the mind.

Perhaps casting your mind back to a time in your life when you felt truly happy.

As if that feeling were composed of tiny particles of happiness and joy.

Completely filling your mind.

Allowing that feeling of happiness and joy to leave you feeling refreshed on the inside.

And cherishing that feeling of happiness and joy for a few moments.

As if all the happiness radiates outwards from the center of your body.

In the meantime we just merge into the totality of our surroundings.

Remaining for a few moments in the stillness of this space.

Inside our body we imagine it's just an empty space.

Our whole body has been transformed into a sort of bubble with nothing on the inside.

More equally as if our body has disappeared completely,

Leaving a great empty space.

But we allow our mind to reconnect with that special place inside us which feels like the point of greatest contentment.

Somewhere around the area of our diaphragm.

And maintaining our attention there as continuously as we can for as long as we can.

Not letting our attention slip away to anything else.

If you already have an inner object of some sort,

You can adopt that as the focus for your meditation.

If you don't seem to have anything obvious to focus upon,

You can always start by conjuring up one of your own.

A visual object or one that you can feel inside you.

If your attention wanders away to other things,

You simply bring it back again as soon as you realize.

And bring it back repeatedly until little by little.

Keeping the mind centered becomes second nature to us.

Remaining always at the center of whatever we can perceive inside us.

Not as if we were looking down on that point,

But as if we were actually there ourselves.

So as if we have shifted the whole of our mental office down from the level of our brain to that place at the center of our stomach.

Though perception,

Memory,

Thought or cognition in the same place at our center.

Actually within the object that we perceive.

If thoughts return,

We do our best to ignore them,

To let them die down,

To leave a sense of silence in the mind.

Sense in which there is nothing but our inner object as the total focus of our attention.

If we rest our mind gently,

Continuously,

There'll be a sense in which it's almost like threading a needle.

So an extreme lightness of touch,

Which can allow the mind to reach through to the other side.

If we can achieve this level of finesse,

We start to see the center of the body as much more than just being a point in the mind.

It's actually more like a trailhead for a pathway that leads the mind deeper.

As for the possible problem of there being thoughts in the mind,

Thoughts are at quite a low level,

You can generally get away with just ignoring those thoughts by not encouraging the thoughts.

In which case we'll find that one thought will no longer lead to a second or a third,

But will die down into silence.

For some of you it may be that the thoughts don't just go away quite as easily as that.

In which case you may need to take it to the next level by making use of that mantra,

The thought blocking strategy I taught you earlier,

Which is to hear the sound of the words,

Sammā arahang,

Sammā arahang,

Or something equivalent coming up as you hear those words like a silent music,

With the source of the sound at the center of your body.

Sammā arahang,

Sammā arahang,

Sammā arahang,

Over and over again,

Lightly,

Gently,

Continuously.

At a certain point in your meditation you'll start to find that the thoughts have died down.

You may find yourself forgetting the mantra because it's no longer necessary for you anymore.

So if that happens then just be content to remain in silence with nothing but that inner object at the center of yourself.

So we cultivate our attention in this way,

Lightly and gently,

Keeping our mind on track by means of our inner object,

Discouraging any thoughts from arising in the mind and touching gently at the center of our inner experience,

Allowing the mind to go deeper for a few more moments in silence.

Sammā arahang,

Sammā arahang,

Sammā arahang,

Over and over again,

Lightly,

Gently,

Continuously,

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

Mind wanders away each time we realize we bring the mind back again to the center of the body as before.

Inner object disappears,

We can think of a new one.

If the object changes then we just follow it in its new form,

Following,

Observing,

Accepting as the images or the feelings in the mind evolve.

These days there seem to be a lot of terms for meditation buzzing around the internet.

They may leave meditators with rather underwhelming expectations for what their meditation can achieve.

So-called centering meditation seems to be about gathering up your attention so that you can have it available to you.

So-called grounding meditation seems to be connecting with the energy of the earth.

So-called visualization meditation seems to be about getting the things you want in your life.

And the body scan seems to be about nothing more than physical relaxation.

Today we'll see that meditation is about much more than just relaxing or attracting wealth,

Getting spaced out,

Gaining superpowers,

Clairvoyance or divination.

Because none of these motivations really do justice to the goals of meditation passed down from ancient times.

The authentic goals of meditation should at the very least include bringing the mind back inside the space of the body,

Helping overcome problems in our lives,

Gaining spiritual refuge,

Understanding the nature of life and attaining an end of defilements.

So we'll look at each of these objectives in turn.

Our initial objective should be to bring the mind back inside the body and to center the body.

Because for most of our lives,

Whether we are working,

Studying or solving problems in our lives,

Our mind is pulled away from our bodies and our center.

So meditation has the first objective of bringing the mind back within the space of the body.

Because only if the mind is internalized can it shake free of thinking about things in the past or plans for the future.

Only if the mind is internalized can it come to a standstill.

And since we know a standstill of the mind is a secret of all other success in meditation,

This is the first reason why we need to meditate,

To bring the mind back within the space of the body.

A second reason to meditate,

Which is really just a byproduct,

Is to overcome problems in our lives.

Meditating can help us to regain so-called headspace in our mind while taking off the pressure,

Thereby bringing us a feeling of lightness or happiness or solace in our lives.

Bringing us a feeling of happiness and refreshedness.

And to give our mind a place to go even in the face of problems.

A place which is clean and pure and which is steadfast.

These things that we experience along the way help to make the time we spend meditating worthwhile.

When meditation fosters skillful qualities of mind,

Whether it be mindfulness,

Concentration,

Discernment,

Persistence,

Truthfulness or perseverance,

Then the whole world is left looking as if it has a new coat of paint.

As we work at these qualities,

As we put them into action,

They get strengthened and become more and more the wise arbiters of our lives.

Pointing our lives in a direction we really want to go in.

If you've been practicing meditation continuously,

Even if your mind hasn't yet reached the point of attainment,

Along the way meditation is still a skillful activity in terms of developing conviction,

Persistence and the perfection of our character.

So even if you haven't attained something transcendental,

Don't be discouraged thinking that you haven't benefited from your meditation.

And at this point it will become clear that meditation has more benefits deriving from the journey even before you reach the destination.

The byproduct of the journey is that problems in our life will gradually disappear along the way.

As the mind has relocated its source of happiness from the external to the internal,

You find that meditation starts to generate a sort of spiritual energy,

Sometimes known as merit,

Which makes our path easier.

Those who want to improve their lives,

Such merit makes life better.

Accumulating merit is a perfectly valid reason to meditate.

The great Abbot of Wapak Nam,

The founder of this meditation tradition,

Compared the merit of meditation,

Even lasting for no longer than the flap of an elephant's ear or the flick of a snake's tongue,

To be more than the merit of building many permanent temple structures.

While meditation may not seem as benevolent or altruistic as other charitable deeds,

The simple act of meditating is a perfectly valid way of attaining merit.

Develops a mind of goodwill,

Meaning meditation is not only a fairly easy and simple way to collect merit,

Because merit benefits all who have it,

And serves as a key to improving one's happiness and good fortune throughout this life and the hereafter.

This is the second reason we need to meditate,

Because it helps us overcome problems in our lives.

A step deeper in the benefits of meditation is it will allow us to gain a refuge.

Meditation draws the mind inward,

And the mind will move all by itself to attain inner peace.

Whether you want to describe that as the diamond bright sphere at the centre of the body,

Or the body of enlightenment,

We can attain a refuge in life by meditation.

We will gain a feeling of safety and confidence in our lives,

Which is a valid third reason that we need to meditate in order to gain that refuge.

Fourth reason to meditate is to gain an understanding of life,

And learn about who we really are.

In this middle phase of meditation we can start to explore life according to reality.

Meditation will provide us with the opportunity to see life as it really is,

To see beyond suffering and impermanence,

While not becoming attached to an illusory ego.

If we can come to know these truths,

Then because of this understanding,

We'll be able to have realistic expectations about life in a way that minimizes the shadows of suffering.

This is a valid fourth reason that we need to meditate,

To understand life as it really is.

The fifth reason to meditate is to bring ourselves to an end of defilements,

Whether it be greed,

Hatred or delusion.

Eventually if we persevere in our meditation,

We'll be able to overcome all of the defilements in the mind.

In order to break free from suffering once and for all.

This is something that we need to spend our time doing.

You could say it's our real purpose in life,

Or our birthright.

And anything else in our lives is relatively unimportant by comparison.

This is the fifth reason that we need to meditate in order to reach an end of defilements.

The question remains how we can get to these goals.

Ironically the best way is not to think of the goal,

But rather to concentrate on technique.

Rather like a tennis player who concentrates on hitting the ball properly,

Rather than where they expect the ball to land.

Meditation shouldn't be about grasping after results,

Because after all we know that craving is a source of suffering.

Meditation shouldn't be mixed up with craving because everything we need to attain is already within us.

So what we have to do is let the mind become refined enough to perceive it.

Because we know that the stopping of the mind is a secret of success.

In other words the four C's,

Concentration and comfort imbalance,

Consistency and checking to make sure that we are on the right track.

These four C's together can help us to achieve the goals that we have set out to attain.

In the meantime the practicality of moving towards the correct goals of meditation is that practice makes perfect.

Meditation is much like playing a sport or an instrument.

It's a practice that requires doing and on a regular basis.

Cannot be fully understood in theory or without first hand experience.

Regardless of the reasons one chooses to meditate there are substantial motivations to meditate.

Whether you're coming from a Buddhist background or not,

To fully understand meditation and why millions of people practice it,

Requires much more than what you can learn on online articles or in books.

But ultimately we have to do our own work,

Something that no one else can do for us.

Although we may know about this process of purification,

We know about the potential of the enlightened ones and meditation teachers,

We have to accept that they can only point the way.

No one can save us but ourselves.

No one can and no one may.

We ourselves must walk the path and our mentors and teachers can only point the way.

In the meantime we should bear in mind that meditation aims,

Whether it be to bring the mind back inside the body,

To help us overcome problems in our lives,

To gain spiritual refuge,

To understand the nature of life,

To attain an end to defilements.

We should not let our expectations fall short of these.

In the meantime we shouldn't compare our meditation experiences favourably or unfavourably with our fellow meditators.

So for now with the knowledge of the full spectrum of benefits coming from meditation,

We cultivate our mind lightly and gently,

Keeping our mind on track by means of our inner object and discouraging any thoughts from arising in the mind while touching gently at the centre of our inner experience,

Allowing the mind to go deeper for a few more moments in silence.