Youtube recording: 12/29/2024
Meditation: MP3 Audio file
SanghaOfOne.com

Alternative MP3 player

Dear Jeff, please let me know if this works better (on your Android phone):

Hello, everyone.
Lovely to be with you.

Just a reminder that we will be
in a guided meditation
for the first part of this meeting
followed by questions.

So welcome.
You can sit comfortably and,
rest as best you can.

Rest as being.
Rest without knowing,
without direction,
sort of a relaxation,
like a baby relaxed
in the arms of its mother,
nothing to do,
no concerns,
no worries.

Nothing that you need to remember
or fix or attain.

And, also,
you can let go of the past.
Let go of whatever you are doing,
whatever you need to do.
Just let it all go for now and listen.

Listen without knowing
what you are listening to.

Sort of an open space,
an open listening,
without any judgment.

Embracing your entire experience.

Invite your mind to rest for now.

Notice,
the stillness,
the quiet.

And whatever is appearing to you,
like a thought may appear to you,
it appears within that still space.

Which is always there.

It is noticed when the mind is quiet.

Many of you,
right now,
hear these words
and this peace,
this inner silence is not disturbed
by hearing these words.

You can notice the breath of the body.

This gentle movement,
and this,
silent, still aware presence
is not disturbed by the breathing of the body.

Various bodily sensations
may appear on the screen of awareness
without disturbing.

When we are not seeking anything,
when we are simply resting.

It’s an internal resting.
And yes, for now,
during this meeting,
it’s also the resting of the body.

But there is an internal resting,
which is this,
spaciousness of awareness.

Within that,
spaciousness,
there can be movement appearing:

Various thoughts
and bodily sensations.

But there is no disturbance.
Like the clouds appearing
in the wide open sky,
they do not disturb
the wide open sky.

And why do we suffer?

Imagine a wide open sky
that is having issues with the clouds,
with the shape of the clouds,
or the size of the clouds,
the density of the clouds,
or the water content of the clouds.

What for?

In time,
we’re resisting our experience,
wanting something else,
and then something else,
after that.

What for?

In this passing dream,
in a certain sense,
is on a time clock.

You come empty handed
and leave empty handed anyway.

We resist and
we seek a different experience.

That experience is always fleeting.
It’s always changing.
You cannot grasp it.

You cannot hold on
to anything phenomenal.

How can we be like the wide open sky,
unworried and unconcerned?

Can we investigate
the worries on behalf of whom?

Who is worrying and
who are we trying to protect?

What are we trying to maintain?
What are we trying to aggrandize?
What are we trying to safeguard?

The body,
is not separate from the universe.
It’s constantly changing,
aging.

We take care of the body the best we can.

The body is also wired for survival.
Like the acorn is wired to,
given the right conditions,
become an oak tree.

And rivers and lakes,
given the right conditions,
become clouds,
and clouds become rain.

The rain nourishes the seeds,
and the seeds grow.
And the sun can nourish these human bodies.

It’s all there.
Nothing that is missing.

Thoughts appear to you.
You don’t create them.
You perceive them,
and you discern,
thoughts that are relevant
and the thoughts that are not.

All of that is happening effortlessly.

But why the suffering?
Why the fear?
The sense of lack?
The concern about the past and the future?

So we take a look.

What is it that is concerned,
and who are we trying to protect?

When we find this imaginary me,
its identification with
images,
thoughts, and
sensations,
beliefs,
opinions.

The me structure,
images,
judgments of myself and others,
a complex me structure.

And at the core of it,
is the belief that,
I exist in time and space,
that I am a mortal entity,
a material form,
a mass,
a structure of sort.

But we can take a look.
We explore the truth in this moment.

What is this I?

If not this invisible to the senses,
this invisible transparent awareness.
It’s neither female or male.

The reality which perceives
in this moment has
no size,
no gender,
no age,
no color,
no beginning,
no ending.

What appears within that borderless awareness?

Images appear,
sensations,
soaked in this formless awareness,
which is always there,
and that which is non-phenomenal,
which is not subject to conditions,
which has no phenomenal attributes
whatsoever.

That is what I is,
and that does not suffer.

You need to come to this understanding and live accordingly.

So that the the peace,
the causeless happiness,
can be yours.

…

So, if you have any questions,
please unmute yourself,
and you can raise your hand.

Or at the bottom of the screen,
there is an icon called react.
And if you click it,
there is an option to raise your hand.

And you are welcome to turn on
your videos if you care to,
as I always enjoy seeing you.

So any questions?