Thich Nhat Hanh's Death, Presence And Posture

In this practice that we are engaging in together,

We are being invited again and again to come closer to where we are,

To abide in our conscious connection with our immediate experience,

Both for the well-being that this provides as we more and more develop this capacity,

Provides a place of refuge for the heart,

But equally for the potential for wisdom that it offers.

In this tradition we understand that it is the immediate,

The direct contact with our experience that allows us to understand in a way that transforms.

So not just intellectually understanding,

But understanding in a way that is transformative and this is what we call insight,

Seeing deeply.

And the initial invitation and encouragement is to give our attention,

To offer ourselves to this immediate experience.

Using this breathing body as a foundation for this,

Not because it's necessarily more important than any other aspect of our experience,

But because it's available to us and it has a lot to offer.

This body is always here.

Our mind can be any place that seems and sometimes with remarkable or even alarming enthusiasm it departs,

But then we notice and we can return.

And as we gather our attention again and again,

Settle and steady our attention in the experience of this body sitting here,

Breathing in and out as we have been doing,

We notice the capacity for this begins to develop slowly,

But ultimately,

Unstoppably.

It begins to grow.

And at the same time we become aware of just how much we are absent,

How quickly,

Easily and as I said,

Sometimes enthusiastically we head off for somewhere else that is not really where we are in this moment.

And without judging that movement,

Noticing,

Becoming aware,

What is it that pulls and pushes our attention?

What is it that captures this capacity we have to connect?

How is that taking place?

Not by trying to figure it out,

Just by noticing what happens,

Becoming interested and being open to whatever happens,

Whatever arises.

And in this,

The qualities that we're cultivating as we practice,

We could understand as having this foundation and the capacity to gather and collect our attention,

To steady and sustain our focus in the chosen direction.

And this as a capacity and a training in meditation of course applies in so many aspects of our lives where we might be asked to gather and focus and sustain our attention,

To not be drawn away by other competing or attractive possibilities.

And so this gathering,

This focusing,

The settling and noticing how we do this,

That there can be a way in which sometimes we try and hold on to.

We tighten in trying to force the attention.

And this is not so helpful,

Allowing the attention to be soft and yet intentional.

And together with this gathering,

This focusing capacity,

We are equally cultivating a quality of openness,

Allowing the experiences that come,

Many of them unbidden,

Some of them perhaps not welcome,

But nonetheless seeing if we can open to what comes,

Allowing ourselves thereby to come even closer to what is here,

Acknowledging that's not easy when what is here is uncomfortable for us.

But perhaps understanding and trusting that this may nonetheless be good practice,

This capacity of our heart to open is something that serves our well-being and nourishes us in the midst of engagement.

And with that willingness to open,

To include what we might find not comfortable or easy,

We can also bring a quality of curiosity,

Of not presuming we already know what it is that this experience is revealing,

Which isn't the same as trying to figure it out or come to some conclusion or answer to the question of what's this that's happening right now,

But more the orientation that's expressing an understanding that we don't yet know all there is to know about this,

That there is perhaps more yet to be discovered.

Becoming interested in this experience in that way,

In that spirit,

Opens us to deepen in understanding and wisdom,

To come to understand what it is that pushes and pulls in our heart and how it comes to be so,

What it is that captures our attention and how it may be released.

The ways in which we look upon the world that serve and look upon ourselves that contribute to well-being and ways of perceiving or viewing ourselves or the world that do not contribute to the well-being we seek for ourselves and for the world.

Without trying to make it happen,

The natural process of understanding unfolds in the willingness to be present with that quality of openness to discovering,

To understanding.

So we practice in this way and as we become more settled and naturally we will be somewhat more settled.

That doesn't mean it will always feel settled,

But it might be we're just more aware of the unsettledness than we were before.

But as we settle more,

We can also usefully include more of our experience directly.

And so noticing where that which is uncomfortable,

Maybe physical pain,

Pressure or stress in the body and taking a moment to feel the experience,

To make space for it,

To notice what it's like to be in contact with this.

And so far as we can in a kindly or a caring way,

It doesn't mean we have to like the experience,

That we could make room for it,

Where that's possible.

To notice the experience of sounds that come and go and just receiving these experiences without needing to figure out where it's coming from or why it's here or how long it will continue or whether it will return.

Just the sound of a bird or one of our companions moving nearby.

The sound of the eating system or these words can simply be heard,

Received,

Noticed.

They do not in themselves take us away from where we are.

Likewise,

Thoughts and emotions,

When they arise,

We can just notice them.

It can be helpful if they're sticky,

Compelling,

Charged or impactful in some way,

To bring attention into the body and just notice where in your body it may be responding,

Resonating,

Touched by or expressing something connected with the thought or the feeling.

And if that's not particularly clear or obvious,

That's fine,

Not trying to figure it out.

But just noticing what's happening in your body when the thought or the emotion has arisen.

So in a way we don't have to make too many choices,

Noticing what's here,

Coming back into the body.

This body sitting and breathing in and out just as it does.

And finding a balance between that,

Allowing the noticing that allows what is here to be here,

Without regarding it as a mistake or a failure if we find ourselves lost and thinking,

Disconnected.

Perhaps just taking a moment even to appreciate that we've returned.

In the moment we know that we were lost,

We're no longer lost.

And the moment we can't become aware of where we are,

This is the place we begin again.

Noticing that experience,

Gathering our attention again into the experience of this body sitting and breathing just as it does.

And as we notice the movement of experience,

As one breath flows in and flows out,

As the ripple of sensation in our body changes with that movement of breathing,

Just noticing and sensing what's useful for you,

Whether to stay a little closer to the channel in which the breath moves through the body,

Pathway of breathing from nose through throat,

Chest and belly.

Or to allow your attention to be a little wider,

Including the whole of your body,

Sitting as you breathe.

And for some,

Including space around the body can be helpful,

Particularly if the experience seems intense,

Or we find ourselves tightening and unable to soften in response to our experience.

Just giving a little more room can be helpful sometimes.

Offering that to ourselves in a spirit of exploration to see what is helpful here.

Without regarding any experience as an obstacle,

Each moment offers to us the possibility to connect,

To be present.

And our practice is to offer ourselves to this,

To give ourselves wholeheartedly to this.

Not picking up and pursuing experiences,

Trying to fix them or figure them out.

Equally not pushing them away,

You're resisting.

Simply being right here.

Again and again coming back to this right now.

Moment by moment,

Breath by breath.

Conscious and sensitive.

Wakeful and present.

Just as you are.

Continuing to connect with this immediate experience of your body.

Sitting here,

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

And the movement of experience that comes and goes moment by moment.

And when the bell sounds,

Just staying with the experience of hearing until it fades away.

Ending the formal meditation in the silence that follows.

One of your two templates,

Choice of awareness and Tu LOC,

Can be found on the you