Taking a comfortable seat,
Feeling the spine rise and the body just softening and relaxing around this rising spine.
Making any necessary micro adjustments with the posture.
Make sure the shoulders are relaxed.
Your hips are same height,
Hopefully a little higher than your knees.
Just feel the sense of being dignified yet relaxed at the same time.
Many of us are raised with the belief that we are in essence of flawed human beings and a lot of this work we do is in self-improvement.
I want to introduce you to a buddhist concept of what they call that our true nature is essentially the buddha nature.
That we're all essentially living buddhas.
Whereas they say a diamond covered in mud.
So we're not trying to make ourselves better,
Trying to necessarily improve.
We're really just trying to open up and to recognize our true basic nature and then open up and recognize this is everyone's basic nature.
And really these practices are really just about cleansing.
Cleansing all the stuff that's been brought on to us from life and society and the world.
The traditional way of entering this practice is putting into your mind's eye someone who really exemplifies these principles of being a calm,
Aware,
Compassionate,
Joyful being.
Someone who really really lives and embodies these principles and you can put them in your mind's eye.
An awakened state.
And then recognizing you yourself.
That your basic nature is the buddha nature.
That you are your essence is calm.
That awareness is always there.
It's always present.
Same with kindness and compassion.
A lightness of being where we don't attach and cling to things.
We don't need to be worried about things.
We really connect with this flow of life.
This impermanence.
This joy of living.
And bring into your mind's eye someone in your life.
This could be someone going through problems.
Someone you love.
Maybe even just someone at work.
Just whoever comes into your mind right away.
And instead of focusing on their difficulties or maybe some personality quirks that you have difficulty with or that bother you.
Recognizing their true nature.
This diamond covered in mud.
That their true nature is of this awakened,
Enlightened being.
Someone calm,
Aware,
Compassionate,
Content,
Living in a state of equanimity.
And recognizing their true buddha nature.
This diamond in mud.
Recognizing the diamond and not being so caught up in the mud.
And bring to your mind's eye someone else.
The same recognition.
Diamond covered in mud.
That their basic nature is the buddha nature.
Their basic nature is not their appearance of how they might be around people in a social setting.
Someone maybe who seems anxious or stressed or depressed.
That's not the basic nature.
The basic nature is this diamond buddha nature.
And take in this feeling with you through your day-to-day life.
Connect with this feeling in a very real sense.
Not an intellectual exercise here,
But connect with the feeling.
When you come upon people,
This could be family members or friends,
Work colleagues,
Neutral people.
That instead of getting caught up in their appearance or how they appear to be,
You're connecting with them through your day-to-day life.
Reminding yourself that this person is a diamond.
That their basic nature is essentially of this awakened,
Enlightened being.
And that we are all like this.
So whether you're focusing on yourself or with others around you,
That we're not necessarily trying to change ourselves,
Improve a flawed being.
We're really just doing the work to connect to our own true basic nature.
That every being on this planet has the same simple desire to be free of suffering,
To experience genuine happiness,
Simple,
Genuine joy in their day-to-day life.
Thanks for joining me.
