MB 29 Leading The Mind Deeper At The Center

So we start by settling ourselves down into a comfortable position for ourselves in our meditation Closing our eyes very gently Closing them in much the same way we might close our eyes if we were going to go to sleep And we slow ourselves down by taking a few deep breaths to ourselves Breathing in to the full extent of our lungs And then breathing slowly and smoothly out again Again we breathe in the cool refreshing air from around us As we breathe out we may feel that we are letting go of any previous worries or concerns that we've had Each time we sit for meditation we take a few moments to scan down through our body Making sure each and every muscle is relaxed as we go We relax ourselves starting with the muscles of our forehead Releasing any tension in the muscles there Before moving slowly on down to relax the muscles of our eyebrows and eyelids Even the way we close our eyes should be as gentle as possible We allow the muscles of our face to become soft Taking care that we are not gritting our teeth together And that our jaw is also relaxed We move on down relaxing the muscles of our neck If our shoulders are tense at all we allow them to drop to their natural height Before relaxing the muscles of our arms,

Our forearms,

Our hands and fingers So that as our hands rest in our lap they seem to do so almost weightlessly Then we continue by relaxing all the muscles of our torso,

Our chest,

Trunk and abdomen Taking special care that our stomach isn't at all tense Before relaxing the muscles of our legs all the way down to our feet and our toes Until eventually all the way from the top of our head Right the way down to the tips of our toes We'd be fairly satisfied that there's no remaining part of our body With any sort of stress or tension anymore Having relaxed our body we should find that we're left with the feeling as if It seems to have melted away into the atmosphere around us Leaving no more worries about our body anymore in a way that we can turn our attention inward To the feeling on the inside,

A feeling of warmth and wellbeing,

A feeling of inner peace This inner feeling by any other name we could call our state of mind And it's something which can also be relaxed further in preparation for the meditation ahead The way we tend to relax the mind is by letting go of all the normal things we tend to worry about in our lives Whether it be thoughts of work,

Friends,

Families or studies,

Regrets about the past or speculations about the future We are able to shed all these possible sources of chatter in the mind Before long we find our attention settling back into the moment,

Into the present time And on the task in hand,

Reminding ourselves that we have nowhere to go and nothing to do Meditation is what we're actually here for And we are able to bring our attention back from a thousand different things in the outside world To a place on the inside which is almost like a bunker,

A place of shelter or a refuge From all the unpleasantness of the outside world,

A safe haven for the mind If we can bring the mind back in its entirety,

It's as if we have a certain distance from the external happenings in our lives With that also a sense of freedom for the mind,

Lightness,

A sense of the mind being self-sufficient somehow in its own happiness If we're able to engage with this more and more on the inside,

Before too long we'll have the feeling as if the same sense of joy and happiness Starting from a single place on the inside,

We'll start to fill the whole of our body and mind in a way that leaves no space in the mind for any other sort of thought When we feel refreshed and relaxed,

Both in body and in mind,

Very gently using no effort at all We imagine that the inside of our body is just an empty space,

A hollow cavity without any organs or tissues,

Muscles or bones Inside this empty space of our body,

Somewhere in the area of our abdomen,

We remember that picture of the bright shining sun which we imagined a few moments ago But this time instead of being in the sky,

A picture of the sun appears in miniature,

Shining at the centre of our body,

Shining with a cool clear light A light with a softness similar to that of the moon,

More than of the sun itself We don't worry too much about whether the actual picture of the sun is very clear or not,

Even if it's vague we accept it anyway In this way we allow the picture of the sun to become clear on its own and in its own time If we should find that our attention wanders off onto other things,

Each time we realize we simply bring our attention back again to that picture on the inside as before If it wanders we bring it back,

Each time we bring it back it should become a little bit easier to keep it there the next time round As for the possible problem of there being thoughts in the mind,

For some people who are not so troubled by thoughts,

It is sometimes possible simply to ignore the thoughts and avoid giving them even the time of day In which case they tend to die down by themselves However for those who are new to meditation or who find that there are so many thoughts in the mind that it's hard to know where to even start ignoring them It may be better just to start with the use of a mantra,

Hearing the sound of those words coming up from the center of your bright object,

With the words Sammah Arirang Sammah Arirang,

Sammah Arirang over and over again lightly,

Gently and continuously Helping to lead the mind deeper at the center while freeing the mind of any interrupting thoughts The two things help one another hand in hand,

The bright object that we've imagined and the sound of the mantra Helping the mind to stay for longer and longer periods of time in the center If the picture changes we follow it in its new form,

There's no need to change it back again If the picture disappears you can think of a new one,

Otherwise we simply follow the way the inner experience in the mind evolves Observing without a mental commentary,

Without judging our own experiences Without getting excited by new things that happen in the mind and not becoming frustrated if there seems to be no change Sounds around us distract us,

We simply bring our attention back If we're uncomfortable we can move,

But doing so gently in a way that we don't disturb the stillness we've built up in our mind We cultivate our attention in this way lightly and gently for a few more moments now in silence until we come to the appropriate time Don't forget if your mind wanders anywhere else,

No matter whether it be to the sounds around you,

Sensations in your body or thoughts in your head As soon as you realize always bring your mind back again to the center of the body as before Keep our mind always at the center of the body all the time Center of whatever inner experience we have attained for ourself,

Whether it be a feeling of stillness inside,

Brightness inside Sphere inside,

Inner body's inside or with image inside ourself Place our mind gently at the center of whatever inner experience we have achieved And allowing our mind to come to a standstill at that point Gradually make a wish at our center,

At all the merit coming to us from our meditation to straighten out our views,

Calm our mind All this merit come together as a clear sphere of merit in our center Helping to attract into our lives all the very best of things,

Opportunities and people While helping to protect us from all dangers,

Leading us to success in our lives whether it be family or business Giving us the encouragement we need to do goodness throughout our lives,

Whether it be studying hard as a child,

Working hard as an adult Educating our family to know the difference between good and evil Make a wish on the basis of this merit for the last few moments of our meditation