Ringkasan dibuat dengan bantuan AI • Belum diverifikasi
Ceramah ini adalah sesi tanya jawab yang membahas berbagai aspek praktik Buddhis, dengan fokus pada relaksasi, kesabaran, cinta kasih, keseimbangan batin, dan meditasi. Ajahn Canda menjawab pertanyaan tentang kesulitan bersikap relaks dalam latihan, menekankan pentingnya kesabaran dan kepercayaan pada proses, serta mengibaratkan latihan seperti menanam benih yang membutuhkan waktu untuk tumbuh. Ia kemudian menjelaskan metode praktik mettā (cinta kasih) secara bertahap, mulai dari memilih orang yang mudah dicintai, menggunakan frasa harapan baik, hingga memperluas ke orang netral dan sulit, dengan tujuan memurnikan pikiran sendiri. Dalam menghadapi kegelapan dunia, ia menyarankan untuk menyeimbangkan perspektif dengan melihat kebaikan, dan menjelaskan bahwa kekuatan batin (equanimity) adalah hasil dari cinta kasih, belas kasih, dan sukacita, bukan kepasifan. Ajahn Canda juga membahas tentang mengatasi penilaian diri dan perubahan sosial, menekankan pentingnya belas kasih pada diri sendiri dan kewajaran untuk menarik diri dari lingkungan yang tidak mendukung sambil menjaga hubungan dengan bijaksana. Ia menjelaskan hubungan antara elemen-elemen (tanah, air, api, udara) dengan pengalaman indrawi, dan bagaimana melihat sensasi sebagai elemen impersonal membantu melepas kemelekatan pada perasaan. Ia menegaskan bahwa berlatih bersama memudahkan meditasi karena energi saling memengaruhi, dan pentingnya persahabatan spiritual (kalyāṇamittatā). Sesi diakhiri dengan meditasi cinta kasih terpandu dan ajakan untuk praktik dāna (memberi) sebagai bentuk latihan kemurahan hati. Pesan utama ceramah ini adalah pentingnya kesabaran, cinta kasih, dan keseimbangan dalam praktik, serta dukungan dari komunitas dan lingkungan yang positif.
Okay, this is England, so it takes a while to warm up.
I find it really hard to bring this attitude of relaxation to dharma practice.
And I kind of can't shake this belief that I'm wasting time.
So I guess my question is how to reconcile that with teachings around precious human life and brevity of life.
We've met the dharma, and maybe I'm bringing a kind of capitalistic viewpoint to you that I can't shake it.
And I've interpreted it quite a lot, and it's sat on my heels all the time.
Yeah, totally understandable. Very common, I think.
It's too precious to waste by rushing.
Ajahn Brahm has this lovely phrase. I don't know where it's from. It's not from him.
There's not much time, therefore we should go slowly.
What's the other thing that we forget?
You know, in the dharma, in Buddhism, patience is always seen as the very highest quality,
and the quality that is kind of the most important to develop on the spiritual path.
And I think that's because it actually allows time for us to develop, for us to grow.
There's another nice story of a little boy who was planting seeds,
because in a way the dharma and the practice is like planting seeds, right?
It's kind of setting up the right attitude.
It's kind of setting up the right attitudes and intentions,
and kind of watering the seeds with lots of kind awareness and patience as well.
And then, you know, allowing the seasons to change and for those little plants to start sprouting
and eventually becoming, I don't know, flowers or grains or whatever they're, you know, supposed to be.
And there's this story of a little boy who was learning how to plant seeds with his dad who was a farmer,
and he planted them.
And he was so eager for seeing the results that he kept going and watching them like every day.
And he was like, still nothing's happened.
Still nothing's happened.
Are you sure that, you know, something shouldn't be happening?
Maybe they've died.
And the dad was like, no, no, just wait, you know, something will happen.
Still nothing's happened.
He was getting so frustrated.
And then one day these little shoots came out, and he was so excited.
So he ran to his dad, you know, oh, it's happening.
And he waited.
And then another week.
And they still didn't seem to have grown.
Another month.
And they were still not very big.
And at some point he just got so impatient that he started to stretch them.
And, of course, he broke them all off.
He snapped them all.
And they all died and didn't actually yield any crops or any flowers.
So this is the problem with impatience.
But, yeah, the other thing that just came back to me is that, you know, the idea of right effort
and how much effort we should put in, when to sort of hold back, when to just be passive,
it's always one of the main questions in meditation.
And it's very much a dynamic kind of flow.
It's not that there's one right way.
But Ajahn Brahm often says, you know, the effort is actually to get onto the meditation cushion.
And that's where most of the effort stops.
Once you're actually on the cushion, you just put in the causes,
which is largely the idea of getting a kind of,
um, wise way of relating to whatever arises.
So just getting our motivations and attitudes right.
Then we can just allow nature to unfold and to take its time.
So, yeah, as long as you have this intention,
then you can kind of trust that the path will develop.
Yeah.
It's almost related to a lack of absolute trust.
And, of course, all of us had that, right,
until we're really far on the path.
We're not quite sure it's going to happen or it's going to work.
But I think as we develop in the practice and start to see the benefits,
we realize we are on the right path.
And we can just relax a bit and have a bit more trust.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Thank you, Ajahn.
You know, I really respected what you said about loving kindness.
And I feel like my, you know,
our practice is our life.
And what you said about metta, really,
is where I like to abide in my life.
Yeah.
Could you outline, for those who find it difficult to practice metta,
is there a, like, a method or some kind of way
that one should try to put that at the forefront
of their mind at all times,
even though it can be difficult sometimes to do that?
Yeah, sure, sure.
Yeah, if you have a method, that would be helpful.
Yeah, methods are helpful, right?
Starting points, yeah.
So, yeah, I completely agree the practice is our life.
And the life is what we practice, right?
Our life is the practice in a sense.
So there's different levels at which we can practice loving kindness.
But, obviously, if you're talking about meditation,
and that's what we're doing today,
then there are some techniques,
if you like.
And, you know, the Dhamma is always very flexible.
So different things work for different people at different times.
Not the same thing will work all the time,
even for the same person.
So, but the general idea is to start thoughts and feelings
of loving kindness flowing by choosing an object of our loving kindness.
So a recipient is a nicer way to call it.
And usually it's supposed to be the easiest person.
In our life.
So in ancient India, I think quite often that was oneself.
And in countries where there's a healthier sense of self, perhaps,
it could be ourself.
Because we really do wish ourselves well.
And we do have a lot of good intentions towards ourselves,
believe it or not.
And that's why we're all here today, right?
Because we want to feel well.
We want to take care of ourselves.
We want to, you know, cultivate our minds in wholesome ways.
But still, it can be tricky.
Because we know so much about ourselves.
And sometimes it's really not the easiest place to start.
So we start with whatever is easy.
And quite often that's a person in your life
who you have quite a simple relationship with.
It might not be your partner.
It might not even be your parent.
It depends, right?
Everybody has different experiences of being, you know, raised
and also of being a parent.
It's not that it's always unconditional love,
although that's an aspect of it.
So we try and choose a person who we have a very easy relationship with.
We can think of, and it kind of lights us up with a smile.
And we can start by, as usual, you know,
developing a sense of groundedness and presence.
And then just bringing that person to mind.
Whether it's an image of them or a felt sense of them.
As long as you know that's who you're sending love and kindness to,
that's enough.
And then we start to use phrases of love and kindness.
So the classic ones are things like,
May you be happy.
May you be safe.
May you be peaceful.
May you be at ease.
But make it relevant to that person.
And not just what you wish for them,
but what they might wish for themselves.
So sometimes my phrases change according to the person.
Because for some people it might not be happiness.
It might be a sense of contentment that they're after.
Or it might be healing, for example, physical health.
And then we kind of say those to ourselves mentally.
But, you know, keeping this person in mind.
And staying grounded in our immediate embodied experience.
And so we would say a phrase mentally and then listen,
if you like, with our kind of inner senses
to see what kind of resonance that has in the heart.
And over time, when you give it this kind of space,
you find that this feeling of love and kindness starts to grow.
And you can still use the phrases,
but you actually need them only to just gently nudge the mind
so it stays with that feeling.
And so it becomes kind of a building up of samadhi.
A building up of sustained awareness, let's say,
with the object of love and kindness.
And after a while, when that feeling becomes very predominant,
that becomes the kind of object.
And when it's steady for a while, we can choose another person.
Maybe a more difficult person,
like somebody we don't really have a lot of contact with, perhaps.
Somebody that we don't have too many hopes and plans with.
So rather someone who, yeah, we're not that invested in, basically.
We call that the neutral person.
And sometimes it can be harder to stay with them
because, yeah, we get bored, right?
And then we start to say,
oh, our love and kindness is quite caught up
with what a person gives to me.
And so it takes a little bit more time
for the love and kindness to develop for them.
And then we can go back to the loved person again
and just try and see if we can even it out.
And then bit by bit, we try with more difficult objects.
So like a person we don't like very much
until the love and kindness is quite equal.
Yeah, so this is one way.
Another way, which is actually in the early Buddhist texts,
is just to start kind of generating feelings of love and kindness.
So at least ideas of loving kindness
and spreading it in all directions.
So it's a much more kind of generalized sense of goodwill.
But one thing is that can be a little bit difficult to sustain.
And the other thing is you might feel full of love and kindness
for all kind of imaginary beings.
But still, when you meet that being that really triggers you,
you'll find that you still get irritated with them.
So it can be helpful to go through
the different categories and really check out
whether the loving kindness is sustained.
But anyway, I do loving kindness meditations
at least twice a week on Zoom.
So that's quite accessible.
And there's loads of videos on YouTube
from myself and other teachers as well.
I think it's a beautiful place to abide in.
Oh yes, absolutely. The divine abidings.
It doesn't get much better.
I'm just trying to practice loving kindness
to Donald Trump at the moment.
Okay, good.
Well, if you're ready for that, wonderful.
Maybe he needs compassion.
Yeah, that's it.
It's almost like forgive him
for he doesn't know what he does, almost.
So have the teachings or something.
And remember that loving kindness
is not for the other person.
It's for purifying our mind.
So whether he changes or not
is beyond anybody's control.
But in the meantime,
we can protect our mind from ill will
and resentment building up.
But I wouldn't recommend anybody who,
unless you really like Donald Trump,
I wouldn't necessarily recommend you
beginning with the difficult.
It's easier to start somewhere
that's nourishing for you.
Yeah, hi.
I've got a question about equanimity
and also a broader question of
how to skillfully,
and I appreciate this is a very broad question,
but how to skillfully relate to the world
when there is so much darkness.
I've noticed that the more
I learn about the world,
the darker I feel.
And that really affects me
and affects my practice.
So that's kind of one element of this,
but also are there specific ways
to bring more equanimity into practice
in a structured way?
Firstly, don't only look at the dark sides,
because right now,
is this the dark side?
Or is this the beauty of humanity?
Relative strangers coming together,
living peacefully,
sharing resources,
developing peace,
living by their highest ideals,
even in times when others are not doing that.
That's amazing, right?
So try and get a balanced perspective
because all you'll read about in the news
is the dark stuff, mostly.
I mean, you do read incredible things too
about people saving other people's lives
at the risk of their own
and people going out to even Palestine
and planting olive trees as a human shield
for people who are experiencing genocide there.
So there's a lot of incredible good
and that stands out even more
against the other forces that are there.
But it's those that tend to be more destructive
and more newsworthy.
And so it can give us a sense
that that is the general majority of people,
but it isn't.
The reason it's in the news
is because it's so abhorrent, right?
And it's so terrible
that we need to see what's happening.
But that is not the kind of example
of the general person in the street.
So try and balance that perspective
to tune in with the good
because only allowing your mind
to go with what's wrong,
and it's important to know to a degree,
but if you allow your mind
to be kind of controlled
and consumed with that,
it will be harder to find that inner strength
to actually bring forth what's good
and to connect with that.
So I think that's one way
of kind of getting a more balanced perspective
to keep us resourced.
And then equanimity should never be confused
with kind of passivity
or indifference or apathy.
That's not what equanimity is.
Equanimity is an incredibly profound practice
and it's the fourth Brahma Vihara.
So we're talking about the divine abidings
and the first is loving kindness
because that's usually easiest to develop.
And it's important to practice this a lot,
to have loving kindness for beings in general,
recognizing that all beings wish to be happy, right?
So having goodwill for all beings
so that they are happy,
even if we don't like them very much,
is good for everybody.
It's good for ourselves.
It's good for them.
People usually do terrible things
because they're really suffering
to the degree that they've completely
lost the path,
they've lost track of their own humanity,
you know, they're out of touch.
So the loving kindness is a foundation
and then compassion.
So when loving kindness is just not appropriate,
you know, for example,
if somebody is really going through heavy grief
or people are actually experiencing
the horrors of starvation or, you know, war, whatever,
we don't really want to say,
may you be happy, may you be well,
it's kind of naive, right?
But may you be free from suffering
or may you be safe, may you find peace.
This is kind of compassion where that comes in.
So that is much more connected
to the suffering in the world
and it's a kind of appropriate response to that.
And then we have mudita,
which is like rejoicing in the happiness of others.
So the reason that both of those are in there
is to balance again.
So yes, there's suffering
and we need to respond in a compassionate way,
but there's also a lot of good
and there are people enjoying themselves
and living really virtuous lives.
And if we can tune up with that
and wish for that happiness
that they experience to continue,
that's a kind of altruistic or empathetic joy.
We actually can resonate with their happiness.
And from there,
when we have the loving kindness, compassion and mudita,
when equanimity develops,
it develops on the basis of that.
So equanimity is not doing nothing.
It's almost a wider perspective
that recognizes that even though we can feel compassion,
even though we can feel joy for others,
ultimately everybody has to go their way.
Everybody's path is unique to them
and they will receive the results of their actions.
So even though I wish for this person,
may they be free from suffering,
may they be happy,
or may their happiness continue,
still, you know,
people's lives will go the way they do
and largely that's due to their own intentions.
Right?
Their own kamma.
That's what kamma means in Buddhism,
like the quality,
the ethical quality of a person's intentions
and then actions of body and speech.
So equanimity is like this bigger perspective.
You've already given your whole heart out of care
and then you just find this little bit of space
and recognize that actually this is the nature of the world
and despite my best wishes,
there's only so much I can do.
So it's a very expansive
and beautiful resting place for the mind
which allows us to kind of just,
yeah, connect with the fact that
all beings have to learn their lesson somehow
and allow a space to recognize
that we're just one tiny, tiny being.
We can't really control things.
And then from that rest,
we can move back into action again
when the time comes around.
Does that make sense?
It's a bit of a long answer.
Yeah, sure.
Yeah.
But I think equanimity,
I've understood,
is almost the outcome of the Brahma Viharas actually
at some level.
It's not something we should develop beforehand
or kind of think of as a kind of ideological stance
and allow ourselves to be kind of
aloofly distant from what's happening.
Does that make sense?
Yeah, it has to have the foundation first.
Yeah, I think so.
In an emotional way.
Yeah.
In a felt way.
In a felt way that you actually feel
like that suffering affects you.
You know, you're affected in a way that then motivates
or generates a response that's wise and connected.
Yeah, cultivating virtue.
So I've started noticing in myself
there are times when I struggle
and particularly in interactions with people
and I find it kind of I'm noticing things about myself
and kind of I'm like,
oh, why did I say that?
Yeah, yeah.
And it's like,
well, that's not how I want to be.
Yeah, yeah.
And there's this,
I'm just noticing more
and then I notice the judgement that comes with it as well.
And there is also this sense of pulling away from people
as well and not wanting to be going out so much
and seeing people so much
and just wanting to see people at work
and then feeling I need,
I need like a good hour's meditation
to like be able to cope with all of this.
Yeah.
I'm just wondering like,
is that part of what's happening?
It obviously is.
So somehow with our questions
we often are asking a very basic question.
Is this normal?
Is this okay?
And it always is.
I mean, if it's happening,
then it's normal, right?
Because it's the reality.
So firstly, I think it's a good thing
because you're probably already having those habit patterns
but weren't aware of them, right?
So when we start to develop in the Dhamma
and we start to love virtue
and we start to understand what it is,
then we can see the areas in which it's still in process, right?
It's not that you're failing
or that you're not,
you're not good enough in those areas.
It's just that those areas are still developing.
That's all.
And so you're starting to see those areas
which means there's room for growth.
So that's an excellent thing.
I'm not sure why you feel
you don't want to see people as much.
Is it because you're worried that your reactivity may come out or?
I think just noticing that kind of the way,
like afterwards I'm like,
why did I say that?
Yeah.
And then part of me is like,
well,
you know,
thinking about the causes that leads to
or the conditions that leads to kind of.
So I noticed like during the day
if I've had a quite a challenging work day
and then I'm out with colleagues
because someone's leaving.
Yeah.
I might just say a phrase
which is kind of like a standard kind of like jokey fun phrase.
But it's like that's actually kind of not a nice thing.
Yeah.
You know,
sometimes that sarcasm or something comes out.
Sure.
And I'm just kind of like,
oh,
then I feel bad.
Yeah.
About having said that.
I mean,
part of the problem is the judgment we have towards ourselves,
right?
And part of the thing is wisdom,
knowing which kind of context brings out our best.
Yeah.
So we don't want to put ourselves in context where that's likely to happen
or something that's,
you know,
unskillful is likely to happen.
So there is some amount of restraint around that and wisdom around that.
But I think it's the self judgment.
That's causing the suffering here.
And maybe expecting a little bit too much of yourself.
Yeah.
I think it's a bit of both,
perhaps.
So what can I do in my practice?
Yeah.
Is that again,
looking at the Brahma Viharas and practicing loving kindness to myself?
Yeah.
Compassion to yourself,
loving kindness to yourself,
accepting your mistakes.
Yeah.
Accepting that you're a human being.
Think about how you would respond if another person was doing that,
probably just say,
oh yeah,
they've had a stressful day.
That's why.
And I think they're probably really not so unskillful.
I imagine you've got fairly high standards.
So seeing that and maybe softening to that.
And at the same time,
it is natural when we start to practice that we kind of do want to socialize
less and meditate more.
So that's a beautiful thing,
but just check whether that's coming from,
you know,
a genuine wish to kind of,
yeah,
deepen your meditation so that you can kind of be more skillful and more
connected to others when you need to be,
or whether there's sort of a guilt and a self judgment and almost a shame
involved.
And that's okay as well,
but we have to see these things,
right?
Yeah.
In order to find ways to work with them.
Yeah.
I think it's probably not the shame,
the guilt,
it's more that like friends like to go to the pub.
Yeah,
yeah,
yeah,
yeah.
And it's,
I'm just like,
yeah,
okay.
I don't think I want to be like,
I mean,
I don't drink,
but I can sit there,
but I can,
I can listen to the conversations and notice how the alcohol is affecting me.
Yeah,
yeah,
yeah.
It's kind of like,
yeah,
I mean,
very early on in my practice,
I mean,
I didn't go to pubs cause I hate pubs and I was in Asia anyway,
so there weren't really pubs.
I was in meditation centers.
But one of the things my first teacher told me after a couple of retreats,
cause I decided this is my path for life.
He said,
it's not only kind of keeping your silo,
it's also not being around other people who don't keep theirs.
So not going to places where people are breaking their silo.
And I think that's probably what you're picking up on.
There's a certain energy that's just not uplifting,
right?
It's not enabling people to kind of be their best.
And yeah,
it's kind of depressing to see that,
isn't it?
And it will affect you because even if it doesn't like influence you in that direction,
it's not inspiring and uplifting for your mind.
So I think our social groups just do start to change.
And it's not that you might have to always avoid it.
You might actually find that if you can,
you know,
be around them sometimes and you show a good example of not getting drunk and continuing to be,
you know,
respectful and enjoying yourself in a wholesome way,
they might get influenced not to do it either.
So it's a bit of both,
isn't it?
Like in the beginning,
it's almost like our little plant is a bit delicate,
so we have to protect it from all the external things.
But later we become quite strong and then we can move into situations which are more difficult
and then actually have a positive impact on others around us.
Because I think a lot of people don't really want to go to pubs.
But where else do you go in England?
I mean,
we were walking through London the other week and there were no cafes or anything.
And every place that people were hanging out were pubs everywhere.
And they're all standing there by the river.
With these horrible pints of beer and it stonked.
And I'm sure nobody enjoys the taste.
They just acquire the taste,
right?
Because that's what you have to do.
And yeah,
it was just really sad.
It was like...
Yeah,
when you live in London,
it's tricky.
Yeah,
yeah,
yeah.
I think they go there just for the community.
Yeah,
they want to connect,
right?
And that's how you connect.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yep.
I'll see.
Thanks.
Yay.
I have a question about practicing with the elements.
Yay.
That's the four elements.
We've been doing that a little bit recently.
Yeah.
And so I was just trying to think about,
you know,
we talked about,
you know,
the elements externally,
internally,
how that they're the same,
merge in some ways,
and it's not different.
And then,
but what I'm a little confused about,
I think,
or not thinking about is in the practice,
or the association,
the association between the senses and the elements.
So like in the Sutta yesterday,
or like,
you know,
about like,
say the ear or whatever it was.
I'm just,
if there's some.
Okay.
Yeah.
I think the way I understood it in the Sutta yesterday,
which some of you were there for,
I think,
but most of you probably not.
So it talked about the elements and it talked about earth element in this particular case
as being solidity,
like hardness,
things that have some kind of,
you know,
solid form to them.
And particularly going through parts of the body,
like the hair,
the skin,
the nails,
and things which are basically quite dense,
right?
Quite solid.
And then talking about that being no different from the earth element outside,
right?
There's earth outside as well.
There's like soil,
there's trees,
there's all kinds of things.
And it's to start undermining this sense of the body being particularly special or belonging
to us,
belonging to a self,
because actually it's just a part of nature.
And then it talked about how the practice,
I suppose it was saying,
or the metaphor of earth,
the being like the earth can help us when we're abused.
So in this particular case,
it was saying somebody can revile you with harsh words,
or somebody can even throw things at you.
And that the earth element can be a contemplation,
contemplation there.
And it was saying that basically when there's a sound at the ear sense door,
there's contact,
right?
Between the sound and the ear.
And then because of that,
there can be an unpleasant feeling.
So I think from the level of sensations,
like when that unpleasant feeling arises,
the way that relates to the earth element then in practice could be that,
okay,
I'm sitting meditating.
Maybe you're already contemplating the feelings.
That means feeling them,
feeling sensations of heaviness,
or feeling sensations of hardness in the body.
Somebody says,
you stupid,
lazy meditator,
get up and wash the dishes or something.
And you feel like,
oh,
and then there's an unpleasant sensation in the body.
Yeah.
Because through the sense,
yes,
through the sense,
the ear,
then you could actually identify characteristics of earth element in that sensation,
or characteristics of heat,
quite broadly.
Possibly.
Or your stomach starts gurgling.
Gurgling,
that's like air element,
right?
So then also that seeing it as elements takes away from,
this is my feeling.
This is what they did to me.
It's like,
oh,
now earth element is denser,
or now air element is aggravated,
or.
Okay.
So that could be a way.
The perception that comes in through the contact of the sense.
Okay.
It's a certain feeling in the body.
I see.
And in my old practice,
I would just say,
oh,
well,
I was so much connected with impermanence as being my main perception.
So it was like,
oh yeah,
that feeling is just arising and passing.
Maybe it is fire or heat or whatever,
but my main concern is that it's arising and passing.
But I think with the element meditation,
you go back a step to understand how it's arising and passing.
What's causing it.
It's like always you say,
what do you feel?
Where in the body?
What are you feeling in the body?
Where,
you know,
where are you feeling it?
What are you feeling?
But it's kind of almost before that.
Yeah.
About how this contact and then arising of the sensation and then associating the sensation
with an earth element to stay kind of at that elemental level versus pleasant,
unpleasant,
or anything.
My feeling.
I don't want this feeling.
Right.
Right.
And not personalizing it.
Right.
For that.
Oh,
okay.
So I didn't want to tell you.
No,
no,
but it's interesting because it's very kind of obtuse and not very obvious,
right?
At first,
the way it was in the,
in the Suta,
I was just a little confused.
I was trying to think like,
well,
if it comes through the eye,
am I supposed to be thinking about something?
Forget it.
Anyway.
Yeah.
I mean,
I think one of the ways to understand any of these teachings is like,
how does this apply to direct experience?
You know,
rather than like thinking about what does it mean?
It's like,
how can I get some kind of practical application out of it?
Right.
Of this.
And I think the element meditation is really interesting in understanding,
um,
the cause of the feelings we feel.
Yeah.
I like that.
It's,
yeah,
right.
And it's so not personal.
Yeah,
exactly.
Because the earth element is just an element,
just like you have more hardness outside or more heat outside.
Does that mean the,
you know,
fire,
is it angry?
No,
it's just hot.
That's all.
Whatever it is,
something you see or something,
whatever you,
um,
something makes you,
not makes you,
but there's the contact.
Yeah,
yeah,
yeah.
That may be like some kind of associating with the,
with the water or with the air.
Things blow through.
You can think of it that way too.
Yeah.
Just come in so quickly.
I mean,
there are different things that affect our feelings in the body,
right?
So there's like the external impressions at the sense doors.
And then there's things like heat,
like environment,
so it might be windy.
You get a certain feeling in the body.
It might be hot.
And then you start to feel more heat in the body.
So there's this kind of,
yeah,
it's starting to see that everything we experience is conditioned.
Right.
Very good.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Very helpful.
Yeah.
Last one.
Yeah.
I,
in my confusion about the elements,
went into,
uh,
think about,
you know,
into cellular level.
Yeah.
And thought,
everything,
it's made of either atoms.
So,
it is.
There is energy,
there is space between atoms.
Yeah,
yeah.
Or in my body,
in,
if you take a cell.
Yeah.
There is water element inside.
Absolutely.
So,
I related.
So everything is in that basic four.
Sure.
Elemental category.
I didn't know whether that.
Yeah.
No,
that's right as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like I said yesterday in the Sutta class,
that,
you know,
it's just that there's a predominance of a certain element in a,
kind of,
direct experience.
We might feel more hardness or more softness.
Yeah.
Or more of the heat aspect.
But actually,
all of those are inside any.
Inside any.
Experience.
Yeah.
And of course,
if you actually have the mindfulness to start getting down to feeling the cellular level,
which is possible,
then you would feel the different elements within a single cell.
Yeah.
Some people can do this.
Yeah.
And they actually can see this as well.
I see.
I have images of cells in my head.
Right.
But they see it through,
they actually see it,
what's happening in the body,
through some kind of very strong Samadhi.
Yeah.
But it,
it's good.
Yeah.
I mean,
it's all good because as long as it's helping you with the sense of non-self and being,
you know,
this whole process being an impersonal one,
and being a changeable one,
then that's helpful.
It's getting you more in touch with the idea of impermanence and non-self.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's good.
Are you a doctor or something?
How did I guess?
Yeah.
How about,
you are a biology teacher,
don't,
is that true,
that all the elements are in you?
Or do you not even talk about it?
Yeah,
it's how I meditate often actually.
Ah,
When I,
when I'm grounding myself down.
Ah,
interesting.
I think that's the four elements and their connections.
Interesting.
So I don't want to be an ecology-based thing.
Right.
Beautiful.
Right,
Oh,
I should talk to you more about that.
Interesting.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Ah.
Any last,
anything,
doesn't have to be about elements or metta,
can be.
I find it,
when I come here,
meditating is much easier than doing it at home.
I,
I always want this energy,
this,
Yeah.
Is there,
some sort of thing like,
Yeah.
where people practice?
Definitely.
Yeah.
Definitely.
Yeah.
Definitely.
I mean,
we tune into each other.
Yeah.
That's why the Buddha said,
spiritual friendship.
Yeah.
It's so vital.
You know,
if one person gets really peaceful in a retreat,
then it's likely other people will get that little bit more peaceful too.
Sometimes I've been in retreats where,
there's been this sense of like agitation in the retreat or something.
And then you speak to people afterwards.
Oh,
I was really agitated.
Oh yeah,
me too.
Oh yeah,
me too.
And everybody's picked that sort of feeling up.
Cause we have many feelings,
right?
All the time,
but it's more that what is predominant in the sort of environment starts to,
you know,
yeah,
influence those around us.
So that's why it's so important to have thoughts of loving kindness,
because although you don't practice it to influence others or to change others,
it will affect them.
It will definitely affect them.
Even from a distance,
you know,
it can affect other people.
I can feel sometimes when somebody is sending me metta,
you know,
and then I check it out afterwards and they were.
Yeah.
We totally tune into each other.
And in a place like this,
even without the people in this room,
it's already been a lot of power.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We actually had,
um,
I won't go into the,
this because you don't all need to know,
but yeah,
the council for the second time came to visit and,
uh,
a nice lady actually from the council,
uh,
to see how the place is used.
And she came in here and there was no one here.
And she said,
Oh,
it's really peaceful in here,
isn't it?
She could feel it,
you know,
she just stood and I thought,
Oh,
does she need me to say anything else?
But no,
she was just standing here.
Cause it was so nice.
Yeah.
And so peaceful.
So I guess that told her how the place is used.
So shall we,
um,
do a little bit more meditation to end the day?
We can do some love and kindness practice.
That's usually what I like to do at the end.
So,
um,
if you do need to nip out to the loo,
that's okay.
But otherwise maybe just have a stretch,
allow yourself to be as comfortable as you possibly can.
Again,
it's okay to lie down.
It's okay to have a little bit of space somehow.
Okay.
So just settling back into our body.
Once again,
allowing the mind,
the body to feel grounded,
perhaps by sensing earth element,
a sense of solidity,
of heaviness,
of contact with the ground,
of stillness,
steadiness,
and to be soft.
And we can expand our awareness to a little bit more of the mind.
To include more of the body,
even the area just beyond the skin.
So we're both grounded and expansive,
spacious.
And this can help relax any sense of trying too hard.
We've already arrived.
We're just watering seeds.
First and most beautiful condition for our little seeds to grow is to establish a sense
of kind awareness.
Mindfulness combined with an attitude of loving kindness,
gentleness,
letting things be.
Being friendly towards our bodies and minds.
Mind awareness to just soak right through your body.
As though you were absorbing the beautiful golden rays of the evening sun.
The light of the sun is like your mindfulness,
and the warmth
is the kindness that follows along with it.
Soaking you through from the head,
your body,
your shoulders,
your arms,
your torso.
Soaking you through to the tips of the toes.
Giving yourself permission to relax.
Just to soak through bit by bit at your own pace.
Perhaps just lingering in any parts of your body that are still feeling tight,
or
which maybe have
some
sickness,
an old injury.
Just allowing kindfulness to do its thing.
Give a gentle sense of companionship to anything that's painful,
without wishing it away.
That can be extended to our emotional world.
And carrying awareness to
any emotions that are maybe
difficult to bear.
If you wish,
you can continue to practice
in your own way.
Maintaining this attitude of kindness.
Of letting things be.
Or if it feels
nourishing for you,
we can practice loving kindness
in a more systematic way.
By beginning to
bring to mind
a person who's easy to
develop loving kindness towards.
Who you have natural feelings of warmth,
friendliness,
goodwill towards.
And just imagine they're here with you right now.
Get a sense of their face,
their physical appearance,
as they're looking into your eyes,
or smiling.
Be a sense of their presence,
how it feels to be around them.
Or particular
admirable qualities they may have.
And staying connected to any feelings
in your body that are
fairly easy to be with.
Perhaps if it's
comfortable.
Any feelings around your chest.
You can start to send them loving kindness.
Being centred in your own experience.
Wishing them well.
One simple phrase if you wish.
Like, may you be happy.
Or if you prefer, perhaps two or three.
No more than four.
Phrases like, may you be safe.
May you be healed.
These are the seeds that you're planting in your heart.
And the space between each phrase
is like the sunshine and rain.
Mindfulness.
It just shines down
due to the emotional resonance
of these words.
The meaning.
Felt sense of loving kindness
that's slowly developing in your heart.
And just enjoying.
Giving.
Freely.
Without expecting
any particular
experience.
Without expecting anything at all
in return.
Just enjoying planting seeds
and trusting
those seeds to sprout and flower
in their own time.
Your friend or
a special person's face.
Starting
to shine.
They receive the loving kindness
while staying connected to the feelings
in your own heart.
You can keep this person
close to you.
And now allow the feelings
the thoughts of loving kindness
to spread
further into
this room. To everyone
sitting here.
Your companions
for the afternoon.
Everyone here. Happiness.
Safety.
Peace.
Liberation from all suffering.
Imagining this loving kindness
leaving our chest and spreading
like golden
evening light
to everyone in this room.
So everyone feels the same
warmth. The same
nurture.
And as we share our loving kindness
it continues to grow.
Combined loving kindness
becomes so strong it starts
spreading further
through the walls of this
room. Through the windows.
The whole area.
All the birds. The insects.
Little deer. Neighbours.
People on the hill
and down in the valley in
Oxford. Many of you may have
friends and maybe even
family. And just imagining
this beautiful golden
light. Golden energy
spreading to the town
or the city
from where you came.
This area. All human beings.
All animals. All insects.
All birds.
Spreading in every direction.
To the south. To the west.
To the skies. And below.
To any beings
below the ground.
Maybe beings in other realms.
And just allow this loving
kindness to keep on spreading.
Through the
whole country and
beyond
overseas.
To the world where
people are living in relative
safety. And to
places where there's
so much fear.
Genocide.
Imagine this loving kindness spreading
through the whole world.
Maybe
even more strongly on those places
those countries where people
are living
in great fear and pain.
Recognising that in those
places too there's goodness.
There's a possibility for
peace. May all beings
wherever they are. Whoever
they are. Whether they're
living wisely
or not. May all beings
be happy.
Be free from suffering.
Be peaceful.
Be free from fear.
Largest animals. The
tiniest, even microscopic
little beings. Human beings.
Non-human beings.
Visible.
And invisible beings.
Wherever there's life.
May all beings be free.
And your loving kindness to expand
beyond this earth.
As though this beautiful planet
were just
shining, radiating
golden light.
And a message of peace
throughout this universe.
Beyond the idea of
beings. Just
unbounded, measureless
loving kindness. And just
sitting in that
spacious, boundless
sense of loving kindness for a while.
Very gently
starting to draw in
your awareness. But leaving
the warmth of loving
kindness outside.
Gently bring
it back to this place.
To this room.
To the sense of everyone
sitting here in this room.
Human beings.
Free davers.
Who knows.
And back to your body.
Parts of the body.
In contact with the ground.
The cushion. The chair.
The shape of your body.
The sense of your emotional world.
This being
you know so well.
And just allowing yourself to
receive loving kindness.
Your own good will.
Allow it to spread through your body
from head to toe.
Not feeling any physical,
mental, emotional.
Forgiving your mistakes.
With so much gentleness,
tenderness and care.
Like a loving parent or
enlightened being.
The way they might regard you.
Give yourself that
care. That non-judgmental
love. Whatever I've done
in the past. However my
mind is right now.
Whatever my body's doing.
Whatever I may do in the future.
However my body may be.
I offer myself
unconditional loving kindness
and friendship.
Knee-strings attached.
Sabe
Sata
Sabe
Sabe
Buta
Sabe
Pugala
Sabe
Atabawa
Atabawa
Atabawa Pariyapa
Atabawa Pariyapa Itiyo
Sabe Polisa
Sabe Polisa
Sabe Deo
Sabe Deo
Sabe Manusa
Sabe Manusa
Sabe Winipadika
Sabe Winipadika
Awimtu
Abhya Pajahontu
Abhya Pajahontu
Abhya Pajahontu
Sukhyatanam
Sukhyatanam Pariyarantu
Sukhyatanam Pariyarantu
Durkamunjantu
Durkamunjantu
Yadalada
Yadalada Sampatito
Yadalada Sampatito
Mauve
Mauve Gajantu
Mauve Gajantu
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
Asaka
No, that's American.
Or Sam.
I don't know.
No, you don't know.
We won't try.
So we can do it very much over the top,
and this is supposed to bring a smile and a giggle to you.
Ready?
Okay, all right, that was the first try.
So we try again.
We've got two more.
And lastly.
Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo!
You had to have the ha-ha-ha.
That's such a fan's order.
Excellent, very good.
And thank you for your practice.
Yes.
And I'm inviting Nancy today to say a few words to end the day.
So would you like to come right here?
And then you can show up on the video as well.
Oh, okay.
Nice.
Look at that.
If you don't mind.
Oh, thank you so very much.
Thank you, everybody.
So wonderful to practice with you.
I'm here just to first thank you, Deepau,
and her both beautiful teaching.
So the teaching is offered without any charge,
asking just to share the Dhamma and the Buddha.
This was the practice that started.
This practice and the teachings have been shared
from work.
Warm heart to warm heart since, you know, more than 2,500 years
and has lasted this way with the practice of Dhamma,
which is generosity, such a beautiful practice.
And so if people are feeling inspired and would
like to share generosity for the teaching, for anything that may,
move you, only if that is something that you feel you'd like to do,
there's a variety of ways of being able to do that.
We do have in the halls and when you leave, folks can give you some information
about sharing, whether through it's a card or cash, there's ways to do that.
There's other ways if people feel inspired and would like to volunteer.
There's Dhamma that can be offered for meals, shopping, some needs of the monastery.
You can go on the website and there's a list of different needs,
and you know, whatever really moves you and it's such a beautiful practice.
The idea of people say sometimes, oh the monks or the nuns, they're begging,
but the idea that the Buddha is, you know, there's no need for that.
I started with was that it's actually for us it's actually for us to be able
to broaden our love and to feel how good it is to share and to be generous so
just a little brief reminder and thank you very much may you be well thank you
thank you