Trekking in Patagonia slide video

Trekking in Patagonia

Between Febuary 5th-27th, 2011 I made a trip to Patagonia in Southern Argentina and Chile to do some trekking in the Patagonia Andes. After many trips and treks in the Himalayas in India and Nepal, this was my first time to visit Patagonia. I went with two Brasillian Dhamma students, Joao Rafael and Fabiana Gomes.

We flew from Sao Paulo via Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego which is the southermost  town of any consequence in the World. Ushuaia sits on the Beagle Channel that connects the Alantic and Pacific Oceans. This is the channel that Charles Darwin sailed through in his ship, The Beagle, when collecting information later used in his Opus, The Origination of the Species etc. On our first day in Ushuaia we took a three hour boat excursion out into the Beagle Channel to view some sea lion and comorant colonies.The nearest penguin colonies were a seven hour boat ride away. Being short on time we decided to take a pass on the penguins. It was a way to practice non attachment also.
The next day we went into the Tierra del Fuego National Park to camp and made two day hikes.The weather is fairly cold,windy and rainy way down in Southern Patagonia. The daytime temperatures were between 5-15 degrees centigrade, even in summer. We were told, however, that while we were there the weather was fairly mild in comparison.
  From Ushuaia we flew north to El Calafate to visit the famous Perito Moreno glacier and make a three day trek with camping to Mt. Fitzroy and Laguna Torre in the Los Glaciers National Park. The weather was fabulous during the trek to Mt. Fitzroy, sunny and warm. However, on our second trek in the Torres Del Paine National Park further south, it was the opposite. It rained on us the whole night through whiled we were camped at Campamento Torres. We did not even get to see the goal of the hike, the three towering monoliths of Torres del Paine because of the low and thick cloud cover. To make it worse, just after we had trekked back to the roadhead and boarded our bus back to Puerto Natales, the weathed quickly cleared up, providing those who were just on their way up, fine views. Being Buddhist meditators we had to practice letting go, gratitude and lovingkindness.

   A highlight of the Patagonia journey was a four day cruise from Puerto Natales northwards through the Fijords of coastal Chile to Puerto Montt. This gave us a rest from hiking ,camping and travelling in cramped vehicles. However, this ship was a cargo Ferry and carried as its main cargo many tractor trailers filled with cattle being ferried north to the markets. The cattle were cramped like sardines with hardly room to move for four full days and nights. The only thing we could do was practise Metta (lovingkindness) meditation towards them.
As we cruised northwards a few hundred kilometers the weather became noticeably warmer.
 Following that cruise we travelled north of Puerto Montt to make an interesting three day trek to Banos de Caulle in a region of volcanos, fumoroles and hot springs. We finished our Patagonian adventure with a three day trek to Refugio Frey and Refugio Jacob-Martin in the Nahuel Haupi National Park in the Lakes district of Chile/Argentina. We then flew from Bariloche, Argentina back to Sao Paulo.

Because of the time limits on Youtube this slide video presentation is in two parts.  The first part covers the beginning of our trip in Ushuaia to the end of our treks to Mt. Fitzroy and Torres del Paine. The second part covers our four day Navimag Ferry excursion from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt and the two last treks. 
Enjoy!!

Trekking in Patagonia part 1

Trekking in Patagonia part 2

Buddhamas Carol or The Ode to the vipassana yogi

Dear Friends,
 I hope you have an enjoyable but mindful and insightful Holiday season. Here is familiar tune to new lyrics which came to mind a few years ago while sitting in my kuti at the Bhavana Society a couple of days before Christmas.



A Buddhamas Carol

or

Ode of a Vipassana Yogi

(Composed by Bhante Yogavacara Rahula)

Silent Night, Peaceful Night,

All is calm, Stars are bright,

Round the hall Yogis sitting still,

Keeping their backs straight, exerting will,

Enduring pain without any ill-will,

Pervading Metta all throughout space,

Wishing Good-will to the whole human race.

Silent Mind, Peaceful Mind,

Thoughts are few, Pain is slight,

Focusing mind at the tip of the nose,

Knowing each breath as it comes and it goes,

Percieving the light that steadily glows,

Feeling the Rapture from head to the toes.

Sitting in rapturous joy,sitting in rapturous joy

Silent Mind, Tranquil Mind,

 Thoughts are stilled, Body feels light,

All the Five Hinderances have died down,

The Ego no longer is spinning around,

Mind is one-pointed not moving a bit,

Enjoying at long last the Jhanic Bliss,

Sitting in blissful peace, Sitting in blissful peace.

Silent Mind, focused Mind,

Awareness is strong, Mind is bright,

The Spiritual Faculties are prepared,

Vipassana-Insight has Mara scared,

Scanning the body from head to the toes,

Anicca, Anicca, each moment goes,

Anicca, Anicca, Impermanence flows,

 The Five Aggregates appear empty as foam,

The Truth of No-Self is easily shown,

Sitting in insightful Joy, Sitting in insightful Joy.

Silent Mind, equanimous Mind,

Awareness is clear, Wisdom shines,

The six sense-impingements arise and pass,

No desire, no clinging, no ego to grasp,

No holding to present, future or past,

Mara has vanished he took his last gasp,

This body-mind house is empty at last,

Sitting and walking the whole night through,

Greeting the dawn completely anew.

Silent Mind, Wisdom Mind,

Now is the time, Conditions are prime,

The Enlightenment Factors are developed well.

The Four Noble Truths become clear as a bell,

The Eye of Dhamma is opened wide,

The three lower fetters are broken in stride,

Tonight the Yogi enters the Stream,

Tomorrow Nibbana no longer a Dream.

Please click the url below and then the second link that appears if you'd like to listen to the song:
 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53357063/BuddhamasCarol.mp3

Three books by Bhante Yogavacara Rahula for free download

 Please click here to download the e-book "One Night Shelther".

  Please click here to download the e-book "The Way to Peace & Happiness".

Please click here to download the e-book "Meditation - Body & Mind Connection" .

Links to Dhammatube videos

For more video talks by Bhante rahula go: ven.rahula/Dhammatube

Meetings with a Remarkable Monk

 

   Meetings with a Remarkable Monk

Bhante Nanadipa

 

                                                                           

In Sri Lanka
                                                                        
This year marks the 35th anniversary of my ordination as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka. One wish that I had while on this visit was to reconnect with, if only briefly with The Venerable Nanadipa. Bhante Nanadipa is of  Danish origin but has been living, studying the Dhamma and practicing meditation as a Buddhist monk here since 1968. He took Upasampada ordination at the famous Polgasduwa or Island Hermitage in 1969. I had first heard about him and met with him in 1975, in the first year of my 'pabbaja' or novice ordination. He was living at the time in a remote kuti near the scrub jungle village of Bundala on the south coast. The name of the kuti was in fact, Bundala kuti. I spent a few days visiting him and having inspiring Dhamma discussions with him. He had a vast knowledge of the Pali suttas and could articulate on some Dhamma topics and meditation about which I wished clarification. We also shared an interest in practicing Yoga, especially the headstand as it helped the body/mind in the process of meditation. He said that he stood on his head for over thirty minutes a day.
      To get a better idea of what motivated Ven. Nanadipa to live in this remote place it is worthwhile to learn of the prior inhabitants of this famous kuti. It could be called the ‘kuti of death’.  Not a inspiring name for people with strong craving and attachment to Self, but for meditating monks with an ascetic bent, it is challenging. The most famous of the prior occupants of Bundala kuti was an English monk named, Nanavira. He died in this kuti in 1965 apparently by suffocating himself with a plastic bag. It was said he committed suicide because he had been suffering for a long time from an incurable (it seems) gastric ailment. The only way he could get any relief from the pain was to indulge in certain fantasies unbecoming of an ordained bhikkhu. So he felt that there was only two alternatives open to him: either to disrobe as a bhikkhu and return to a layman status, or to end his physical life. He believed that physical death was preferable to ‘Bhikkhu death’ (disrobing) and continuing to suffer. He believed in rebirth so he knew that he would be reborn. It was assumed by some of his close friends (through letter correspondence) that he had already attained the level of ‘Stream Entry’. Theoretically, having reached this first stage of Enlightenment would have the effect of mitigating or partially justifying his seemingly contradictory action of taking his own life. There was a lot of subsequent debate on this issue as to whether someone who had attained Stream Entry would be capable, ethically speaking, in taking even their own life. Would it not be a breach of the first precept, not to kill, something a Sotapanna would supposedly be incapable of?
     Ven. Nanadipa was quite interested in studying the letters and notes on Dhamma which Nanavira had left behind in his kuti and later made into a book called, Clearing the Path. In these letters to friends he had discussed his dilemma. However at these first meetings with Ven. Nanadipa we did not discuss this topic. It was beyond my understanding at the time to bring up the subject and he did not volunteer to bring it up himself. Ven. Nanadipa did have a vast knowledge of the Pali suttas even at this relatively early stage of his bhikkhu life. His main interest was to integrate his understanding of the Buddhas’ instructions with the correct and diligent practice of meditation. He was single mindedly bent on persuing the life of a reclusive ‘hermit’ monk following the outline and details of the Dhamma-Vinaya of the Buddha. It was his dedication to earnest study and practice, not wasting time on frivolous things, which inspired me in this formative year of my own monk life.
Another of the former western monk inhabitants of Bundala kuti had unmindfully trodden on a poisonous serpent while stepping out of the kuti one night and was promptly fatally bitten. But this had not deterred the courageous hermit, Nanadipa from choosing to live there. It may have in fact encouraged him to challenge whatever remaining fear of death he may still have had. He told me his own personal close encounter with a highly poisonous snake while living in this same kuti. He had already been meditating outside in the full lotus posture and had just reached his limit of bearing up the pain when he felt a serpent slither up onto his legs. The snake proceeded to drape its’ long body over Ven. Nanadipas’ shoulder to take a nap it seems. Needless to say the great ascetic held his ground motionless and sent ‘metta’ to his new uninvited friend. After some time the serpent moved harmlessly on, much to Nanadipas’ relief. At least the experience helped him sit another thirty minutes bearing up the excruciating pain in the full lotus posture, which he may not have done on his own initiative at the time. This story inspired me to live in a remote cave at Dolukanda, near Kurunegala where I had some similar close encounters with poisonous snakes. These remote forest/jungle abodes provide a good environment to exercise more vigilance/mindfulness and ’contemplation of death’ (maranasati), much praised by the Buddha.  As it turned out, however, I was not able to match the Venerable Nanadipas’ long unyielding resolve in virtually shunning the world of social interactions, teaching, and even very limited contact with other monastics. He was and still is a real ‘loner’ after 40 years, hell bent on attaining complete Nibbana in this very life.  Even after my 30 years of travelling, teaching and living actively with other monastics in monasteries and reaching the age of 62,  Bhante Nanadipas’ dedication and ascetic way of life still inspires me.

After these few days with Bhante Nanadipa I never personally met with him again until now, 35 years later. Though I had lived in Sri Lanka until 1977 and again from 1980 until 1986 our paths did not cross. He relished near total seclusion and did his best to minimize contact with the outside world, even visits with other monks. When people found out where he was residing and began to pay him visits he would surreptitiously change his dwelling place. He kept moving to more remote, difficult places to access. I respected his wish for solitude and did not make the effort to seek him out. Anyway I was caught up doing my own thing. But occasionally I would hear from others about where he was living and especially about one near fatal incident that happened to him.
 Some years ago he had been living in a remote forest area inhabited by elephants when he directly encountered one. Despite the venerables’ radiation of Metta the elephant charged him, knocked him down and stepped on his groin/hip area. Painful to say the least. Unable to walk and with nobody around to see and help him Ven. Nanadipa laid there on the bare ground in scrub jungle for two days in and out of consciousness, until he finally managed to crawl for help. This accident resulted in one leg becoming one inch shorter than the other. But this unfortunate incident did not daunt the ascetics great courage and resolve. He continued living in remote creature infested areas and walking two kilometers each day on alms round-- to this very day.

I was very fortunate that I was able to have this brief but memorable reunion with Bhante Nanadipa. Normally he agrees to see visitors for only one week per year. Usually monks spend the traditional three months rainy season ‘vassa’ period living in one selected place from the full moon day of July to the full moon day in October. But Ven. Nanadipa, ever out for more self imposed discipline, adds on an extra three months, making a total of six months without seeing outside visitors, save people offering him alms food. After this six months solitude he travels a couple hours away to stay in a certain monastery, to tend to any personal needs, see a doctor etc. During this time he allows those wishing to have Dhamma discussions to come meet with him—but keep it to Dhamma please! Through a mutual Sri Lankan friend, a message had been conveyed to him that I was visiting Sri Lanka and requested a chance to meet him, even though it was outside his specified time period. Besides just wishing to see him I had a few Dhamma questions I wanted to pose. Out of compassion, and perhaps remembering our friendly encounters 35 years ago, he kindly agreed to this 'Samananan ca dassanam' (seeing of recluses).

This meeting took place during his normal morning pindapata (alms collecting) routine. He walked two kilometers through the scrub jungle from his cave kuti at the base of a hill, to a designated spot where the village people also had to walk one kilometer. There he sat on a chair covered with the traditional white cloth. The villagers paid their respects to him and offered him some rice gruel to drink. Then they offered him the meal in his alms bowl which he would afterwards carry back to his cave kuti to partake of it in solitude. After he received the alms food in his bowl I came up (with two Sri Lankan monks who had brought me), paid my respects, sat down and had our friendly exchanges and lively Dhamma discussion. I informed him briefly of what I had been doing the last thirty years-- traveling, teaching Dhamma and meditation retreats, helping to run the Bhavana Forest Monastery in the USA. At the end of our discussions I asked for any kalyana mitta (spiritual friend) advice he might have for me. He replied that though what I had been doing for spreading the Dhamma in the world was a good thing. He thought that thirty years of outward service was enough. I had paid my dues, put in my time in that regard. Now I was near the normal retirement age. He advised that I should come back to Sri Lanka and spend my twilight years here meditating in more solitude in order to finish the Dhamma business that was started over 35 years back. Good advice!!  Indeed, that is what I have been inwardly longing for over the past few years. This is part of the reason why I have separated myself from active involvement with the Bhavana Forest Monastery in West Virginia, to help facilitate this gradual transition.
There is a saying: “Be careful what you wish for; it might come true”.

I then took my leave of great ascetic and departed.
He calmly smiled, slung his alms bowl over one shoulder and slowly headed back down the sandy path through the scrub forest from where he had come.





Villagers paying respects to the great monk

Taking the morning rice gruel

Engaging in a Dhamma discussion

                                                                     



Recieving his alms bowl of food

Returning to the solitude of his kuti

 

How about an M&M

       

     Life the way we know it, (our views of ourself and the world) is largely created by the mind, in, by and for each person’s mind. One of the most profound statements uttered by the Buddha was: “The world, the arising of the world, the ceasing of the world, and the path leading to the ceasing of the world, is right within this five or six foot long body with its sense organs, feelings, and consciousness.” For the Buddha, the 'world'  is synonymous with suffering. So suffering arises and ceases right here in this body and mind. The mind is the most important thing to understand, but the mind operates so quickly that it is difficult to catch hold of or see it. For this reason the Buddha taught us to approach it through the breath/body. We use the breathing/body as the gateway or threshold to directly perceive our thoughts or intentions. In this way, we can make progress to purify our bodily actions, speech, and thoughts that are the source of our kammic actions that bring us suffering.

     There are two basic aspects of the mind, the active and passive, or the aspects of doing and being. We are called human beings, but a more accurate description would be 'human doings'. From the moment you wake up in the morning until the time you go to sleep at night, the body and mind are usually doing something. Even while sleeping most people dream, which is another doing. When the sense organs are touched by something, the mind usually gets excited and neurotic or unmindful activity is activated. It is like driving a car and manual shifting through 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and then into overdrive, the mind gets triggered off  into doing.  With all this activity, we tend to lose our centeredness and mindfulness and make mistakes. We get dragged into the past and pushed into the future; we get caught up in anger, craving, worry and delusion.

   
     Most people have probably not experienced what might be called, 'pure being,' when the mind is at absolute rest. When the mind can rest in the present moment, this is 'being'  because the mind is not doing any specific activity at that time, it is simply aware. It does not go to the past or future, but quietly rests in the 'Now.' It is like a car with a perfectly tuned engine that is quietly idling in neutral gear, or a cat gently purring. (However, I am not saying that a cat has this kind of awareness). In the same way, the mind can rest in the present moment, with 'knowing', or 'awareness'. At that time it is not going anywhere or doing any neurotic activity, it is simply 'being'. When the mind rests in 'being' it feels like an artesian well,  infusing the body and mind with energy. This is the universal life energy  from which we are usually consciously cut off and have no idea of, because we are caught up in near constant doing and becoming. 

 One of the hardest things for most people to do would be to sit down, not move the body, close their eyes and not go to sleep. Not many people could do it for more than a few minutes before they would become bored, agitated or anxious, unless of course they know how to meditate. The mind will become restless because it is not trained and accustomed to non-physical activity and mental silence. The mind will want to do something and therefore will create some mental and/or physical activity. This doing/activity makes the sense of self, I or ego feel more alive. When the mind is active, it will usually be moving between the past and the future, just like a pendulum of the clock that is constantly moving back and forth in order to create time. When the mind rests in the present moment, time seems to disappear because time as we experience it is created by the active mind.

    
     So, how do we experience “being” or “awareness?”  For starters we have to learn how to move more slowly and mindfully, to downshift the body and the mind so that they may be more integrated and abide more calmly. From time to time we need to stop what we are doing completely, come to the present moment of breathing/body, to reconnect and dip into silent awareness or “being.” When we get continually caught up in unmindful neurotic activity without taking any 'pure rest', we become cut off from the source of life. Our energy is drained at the end of the day and we became exhausted. This happens because we do not mindfully stop and pause during the day in order to get reconnected to the energy source.

    
    There are a lot of misconceptions, even among Buddhists, about what meditation is all about. Some people think that meditation can be practiced only by monks who live in the jungle, that lay people can not really do it. Meditation is not pushing out the world and entering some abstract, hypnotic or blank state of mind. It is really getting in touch with the world. People have accused forest-dwelling monks of escaping from reality or the world. Actually it is opposite. People who indulge in alcohol, drugs, sex, movies and other sensory obsessions—they are the ones escaping from the world. Monks, or other serious meditators, directly confront the world, the world of the mind; there is no place else to go. Meditating monks cannot turn on the television, open the refrigerator and eat food whenever they want, rush off to the movies, or drive the block to distract themselves. They really confront the world through meditation. When you sit and hear loud distracting sounds, feel sharp pains in the body, and/or see your own confused mind and defilements, you don’t run away from them. Normally, people will do something to get rid of distractions or pain, For example, if you hear a loud sound, you shut the windows or turn on the stereo. If you have pain in the body, you take a pill. If it’s too hot you turn on the air conditioner. All of these are ways to escape from the pain of the real world.

    When you sit and meditate, you confront the world of pain or any other mental states. You watch them, even the unwanted ones and don’t try to run away from them. Hopefully, you will cultivate the  ways to observe and skilfully deal with them so they don’t cause you suffering. Then you won’t have to try to escape from them.  This way of practice is different from the artificial means that society has created to escape from the pains of life. Meditation is not running away from pain, but not fighting or struggling against it either. The art of meditation is learning to open up and allow the world to pass through your body and mind without it causing or turning into suffering. Remember the formula: “suffering = pain × resistance.” Most people tend to push out the pain of the world. During meditation we let it pass through us, but we don’t build up a resistance. The resistance is the suffering. The Buddha taught us that the source of suffering is craving or desire. Basically, it means the desire to acquire something that we don’t have now, or to reject or get away from the pain you encounter. Much of our waking time is taken up in this dual pursuit.

    We have become over-dependent on material stimulation. People don’t know how to be simple. We’ve lost the simplicity in life because of modern advancements and advertisements that make us too dependent on external things. We’ve come to believe that happiness comes from outside, such as having a new car and other gadgets, or having enough money to get and do what you want when you want. For some people, happiness means having family and friends who act the way you want them to act, or not having any sickness. Each person’s definition of happiness depends on how their mind defines it, but all of these depend on things that are impermanent, constantly changing and are beyond our control. It is not a real or secure sense of happiness when you depend on things that are changing. It will end up with dissatisfaction and some source of conflict because you will keep on wanting more. The Buddha taught that real happiness is already inside; the happiness of not wanting. If you don’t want anything, then there’s nothing to lose; then there’s no insecurity or unhappiness. Actually, happiness is our inherent birthright, the natural state of awareness/being which is complete within itself. It doesn’t need anything else to be happy. Knowing that I have been a monk for a long time, people frequently ask me if I am happy. They think that monks must be suffering if they can’t get or do what they want. I tell them that I am not unhappy and I am not searching for happiness. All you have to do is remove the cause of suffering, and happiness will already be there. It is nothing that you can search for or bring into yourself.

    
     We have to understand the nature of suffering. This is why the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths: Suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the path leading to the end of suffering. Where is the word happiness? The Buddha mentioned suffering four times but does not directly mention anything about happiness. Why is that? Because there is no need to. All you have to do is know what suffering is, remove the cause of suffering; then, automatically you will be happy, you will reach the end of suffering. Some people misunderstand the Buddha’s teaching. They say, “Buddhism is pessimistic, it talks only about suffering.” They say, “I’m not suffering, my life is great; everything goes the way I want it. I don’t know why the Buddha mentions suffering so much.” This kind of person does not understand what the Buddha meant. This is looking only upon the superficial meaning of the words.

    
     In the practice of mindfulness, we want to learn how to deconstruct or slow down the mind so we can see that we are overly dependent on doing, wanting, and craving. We can see how craving for material satisfaction is superficial. Our insatiate desires and struggles to avoid or get rid of pain actually compound our problems instead of solving them. Most people are trying to “do things” in order to make themselves happy. But in so doing they often create more unhappiness through their unmindful actions. One has to look at this phenomenon with a clear mind. During daily practice of meditation, when the mind is quieted down, you can be sitting there and be perfectly happy. At that time you don’t need or want anything, you can be perfectly content. You may even wish that it would never end. This can happen when you simply sit there being in the present moment, not needing anything from the outside. This is the true nature of the mind that rests within. We have to learn how to reconnect to this “awareness” by learning to slow down and pause. 


     One of the great practical benefits of practicing mindfulness meditation comes from learning to slow down, pause and stop from time to time. Train yourself to come back to the present moment, feel the breathing/body, get regrounded, if only for a few moments or even just for one minute, from time to time during the day. This is a practice that I call an, 'M&M', a minute of mindfulness, or a minute meditation.  You train yourself to pause, freeze, stop for one mimute once an hour. Whether you are sitting or standing, whatever you are doing, just stop the physical activity and feel your feet pressing the floor, take a slow deep breath and relax. Let go of what’s going on in the mind and come back to the physical reality of the present moment or Now. You can simply remind yourself of, 'standing breathing, standing breathing, standing breathing'. Or at the same time,you could also forgive anybody who had hurt you in the last hour and send out Metta.You remain like this for one minute and then mindfully continue what you were doing. You try to do this at least once an hour throughout the day.  This will help reduce stress hour by hour instead of allowing it to accumulate as most people do. This practice will get you at least ten minutes of valuable meditation or 'down time'. This practice will be of a great benefit especially if you cannot manage to get in longer meditations in the morning or evening. This will prove to be a tremendous help.

    
     Normally we live a fast-paced life. If you continue to neurotically rush around unmindfully it will be unlikely that you will experience any 'deeper' meditation. We have to train ourselves to slow down. We learn to stop and take inventory of what we are  doing each day. We cram our days with many things to do, but if we check up and investigate this we’ll see many things we do are not necessary. When we do things quickly we tend to make mistakes and then have to correct or redo the mistakes.  A common problem is misplacing things and then forgetting where you put them, such as your keys or wallet. You come in the house and unmindfully put them down somewhere, then rush off to do something else. When you are ready to go out again you will have to spend twenty minutes looking for them. This scenario is often repeated several times during the day with different things. This wastes a lot of valuable time. If you do things mindfully then you can avoid this senario. If you do things more slowly and mindfully, you will more easily remember the things you do and say. When you mindfully put something down, it means that you actually see where you put it down, it registers in the consciousness. Normally we do things unconsciously so the memory does not register things properly. We forget and then become angry with ourselves. The simple habit of learning to slow down is very useful.
This may be enough for your consideration.

 Don’t forget to take an M&M

throughout the day day.

 Mindfulness a day

keeps Dukkha away.

Can Yoga and Buddhist Meditation Mix-Part 2

The ABCs of Mindfulness Meditation

               The main teachings of the Buddha are summarized and centered in the Four Noble Truths: Suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the eightfold path to end suffering. It is no secret that the world is full of confusion , hatred, madness, and suffering. This suffering arises because people are trying to manipulate or change the external world to suit their viewpoint and satisfy their desires; they are caught up in greed, hatred, and delusion. The Theravada Buddhist approach advises a person to first change one’s inner world, to change and purify one’s mind; then the external world will gradually come along and be more peaceful. When people purify their own mind and learn to live peacefully and harmoniously within their surroundings, then they will be able to live at peace with the whole world. This is just a brief and basic overview of the Buddha’s teachings. Mindfulness and meditation play the most important roles in bringing about this inner mental transformation. The inner transformation brings about the outer transformation.

              In Buddhist teachings taking care of the body is not often addressed. But the truth is that the mind operates through the body. The mind is not separate form the body and the body is not separate from the mind. They are intimately connected, especially for the day-to-day activity of ordinary persons. If the body is sick and weak, if it has tired blood and/or poor energy, this will affect our life. Because of poor shallow breathing and stiffness and inflexibility in the body, our psychic energy, the nervous system energy, is not able to flow freely throughout the body. Thus, the body and mind remain lethargic and dull, or will be easily excitable and restless. Our perceptions and thinking ability won’t be very orderly and clear. So Yoga practice emphasizes and enhances having a healthy nervous system and body, having good posture and blood circulation. The posture is important in meditation, especially keeping the spine straight.

              Most people have difficulty in meditation because they are not able to keep their back straight. This is because we sit in chairs most of the time; when we travel in the car, sit at the computer, watch television or sit at the dining table, people are usually slouching or hunched over. So the back muscles are not very strong and it is difficult to keep sitting up straight. It becomes a constant battle to keep your back and head erect in order to have a clear and relatively painless meditation. Despite keeping the back straight, however, there will still be a certain amount of physical discomfort and pain involved in meditation. Learning how to skillfully deal with physical pain and mental pain is a large part of meditation. There is a saying: “Pain is a fact of life, suffering is optional.” When people  are born into this world pain is “a given;” they’re going to experience pain. But the struggles against pain and the mental anguish that arises is optional. When you have physical pain and then add mental suffering onto it, then you get “double trouble.” There is also a mathematic formula you can remember: “suffering = pain × resistance.” The Buddha’s teaching and meditation practice is not about removing pain. However, it is about the lessening and eventual eradication of the causes of suffering.

              The simplest, most basic definition of mindfulness is “to remember.” To remember what? In the Dhamma teaching, mindfulness is very specific. It means remembering the present moment, remembering what the body is doing right now and remembering what the mind is doing right now. Normally, our body is doing one thing and the mind is doing another. We might be eating or driving a car but we are often lost in thought and/or distractions. The first stage of mindfulness then is to bring the mind back to the body, remembering what the body is doing. The beginning of mindfulness practice is mindfulness of the body. The body is always in the present moment, it is always here and now. Now you’re sitting. That’s what the body is doing right now. But, as you will see in meditation, after five minutes of sitting your mind may have gone traveling around the world several times already. So, when your body is sitting you should be mindful that it is sitting; when breathing in and out, you should be mindful of breathing in, breathing out. At any time of the day the body is sitting, walking, standing, or lying down, and, of course, breathing. To remember that this body is sitting/breathing, or standing/breathing, walking/breathing or that it is lying-down/breathing, this is the basic grounding in mindfulness practice. This is our bodily life process that is going on 24/7. You have heard the expression 24/7, but we have to add one number, 24/7/365. It’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. and the next number we don’t know, because we can die at anytime.

              We use our centered attention on the body to act as a home base or anchor in order to restrain the wild mind, to tame the “monkey mind.” The mind of the untrained person is constantly thinking about this and that, getting lost in worries or anxieties, is in the past or future, is running here and there all over the inner world. This is what produces stress, tension, anxiety, and suffering. The mind is usually lost in the past and future; all problems arise from dwelling in the past or the future. When the mind is resting fully in the present moment no problems can exist. This is an essential but hidden truth. So the basic practice is remembering what the body and mind are doing right now. You remember by directly feeling your body: you feel the weight or heaviness of the buttocks pressing into the seat; you feel the way your feet are tucked under your body; you feel the straightness of the back or the head balanced between the shoulders; you feel the hands touching together. You are aware of “sitting” and aware of “breathing in—breathing out.”

              Breathing awareness forms a special focus of concentrated mindfulness. In the beginning we want to develop what is called “deep slow breathing.” The breath and the mind are related. The quicker and shorter your breaths are, the more agitated your mind is. However, the slower and deeper the breaths are, the more calm and peaceful the mind is. That is because the body needs oxygen to live. Every cell in this body needs oxygen to do its work, but because we often breathe in a very shallow way, the cells do not get enough of this essential life force. We have to breathe faster and the heart and lungs have to work harder. This causes wear and tear in the body and agitation in the nervous system. When you breathe deeply, you get enough oxygen in one breath. When you hold the breath in for two or three seconds, even more oxygen will absorb into the blood and enter into circulation. So the heart does not need to beat faster. The body and mind become more peaceful and we can get into meditation more easily.

              What you need to learn when starting to meditate is to establish a good foundation for the practice. We talk about establishing a long-term foundation because the practice of meditation is a continuous life-long process. Most people sit in a slouching posture that constricts the abdomen and rib cage/chest so the lungs cannot expand fully; the body does not get enough oxygen, and the cells in the body are half dead. In meditation this results in a constant fight with pain and drowsiness. Establishing a good foundation will help the mind go into deeper meditation more easily. I have seen many people whose meditation stagnates because they did not build up a good foundation. That is why I stress so much about how yoga helps, how important the posture and breathing is. Don’t worry about getting into deep Samadhi (deep concentration) too quickly.

              One misconception about meditation is that you have to block out all your thoughts. It is true that thoughts distract from meditation, but you can’t block them out. You need to learn to observe and be aware of them, to not get lost in them, and keep coming back to remember, “breathing-in/sitting, breathing-out/sitting.” Thoughts will still be coming and going but so long as you are linked by mindfulness to the sitting/breathing body you will not become totally lost. You can maintain some sense of centeredness. What we are trying to develop is being grounded or being centered in the body, which is the same as being in the present moment. This helps us see clearly what is happening. The body is like a tethering post. In the school yard game of tetherball, when you hit the ball, the ball goes around the post. If the chain or rope breaks the ball will fly away and perhaps be stolen by thieves or squashed by a passing car. In the same way, if we get lost in the past and future, our mindfulness can be stolen by outer distractions or inner thoughts; then defilements and suffering arise. The post is the breathing body and the ball is the mind. The rope is mindful attention that connects the mind to the body. When you hit the ball it goes around the post but does not get lost. In meditation the breathing body is in the center of awareness even though sounds and thoughts still arise and pass away in the mind. The calm awareness of breathing remains in the middle, so you don’t get exhausted. People get lost in their thoughts because they are not grounded in the present moment of “Now,” or they go to sleep because too many scattered thoughts have drained their energy.              

              The basic practice is using the breathing body, in whatever posture, as the focus of present moment attention. The secondary objects are the external loud sounds, bodily discomfort, itching sensations, and scattered thoughts that will distract you. You have to mentally note these potential distractions, to “know” that you are hearing, feeling and/or thinking, and getting distracted by something. This “knowing” will help you to let go and come back to the center, to sitting and breathing. If you have a pain or an itch, you do the same thing by a mental recognition that “discomfort is pulling at the mind.” This will allow you to let go of it, get objective distance to the discomfort, and relax around and through it.
Now sit down and try it.