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| Sit comfortably and
quietly. Keep your spine straight and just let go of everything as you relax. You will
need a small bell, as this meditation has different sections, which are divided by the
sound of a bell. The resonance of the bell, once it is gently invited to sound, takes the
meditation deep into your cells, body and consciousness. Initially you will breathe slowly
and deeply for ten breaths, just noticing the quality of your breath as you breathe in and
out. Then you invite the bell once. As the resonance of the bell fades into silence, read
or say out loud the first sentence on the in- breath, and the second sentence on the
out-breath. For instance with section 1 of the meditation, read on the In-breath
“Contemplating the attractive body of a woman or a man, I breathe in”. Read on
the Out-breath “Seeing the impermanent nature of that body, I breathe out.” Then continue silently inside for ten breaths with the key words. For instance in section 1 of the meditation, the key words are: In-breath/Attractive body: Out-breath/ Impermanent nature of body. At the end of ten breaths using these key words, invite the bell once more and wait until it falls silent. Then continue with the next section in exactly the same way. First of all reading the sentences (or saying them out loud), then continuing silently inside for ten breaths with the key words. This meditation brings us face to face with the danger, suffering and hardships caused by our cravings, desires and attachments. As we shine the light of awareness on our weaknesses, we stop watering these seeds, because we are seeing deeply into the consequences of our patterns of attachment - of our pursuit of fame, money and sensual pleasures. We gain the strength to enter life renewed, and stop wasting our energy agonizing over our desires and ego attachments. There is a clear step of letting go, first by acknowledging with our mindfulness that the patterns are there, then choosing to let them go. In this we are assisted by the focus and concentration on breath - In-breath and Out-breath - which keeps us in the present moment and allows us to see whatever is there, just as it is. That places us firmly in the consciousness of the heart, and enables letting go and transformation to happen. Mindfulness, seeing clearly and locating yourself in the present moment of heart consciousness are the keys. |
| So sit quietly and begin.
Take ten slow breaths in and out, noticing the quality of the in-breath and the quality of
the out-breath. Then invite the bell to sound once. Read the first sentence on the
in-breath, the second sentence on the out-breath. Continue for ten breaths using the key
words on the in-breath and out-breath respectively. Then invite the bell to sound once
more. Wait a short while for the resonance of the bell to fade into silence, then begin
the second section of the meditation, following exactly the same structure of the section
you have just completed. |
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The meditation I wish to do with you is one that is drawn from Thay Nhat Hanh’s book of meditations The Blooming of a Lotus. I have used this one many times, to good effect, and have adapted it slightly. Of all the meditations that directly apply our mindfulness to attachments I have found this one to be the most powerful. |
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