Guided Nondual Meditation with Michael Taft
Streamed continue to exist Feb 17, 2022
Introduction: The Chaos Begins
Well my hair’s tousled and the web is tousled and every little thing’s tousled and yet here we go! We’re live and we’re gonna do it, we’re gonna do it tousled. So, hopefully your life is less chaotic than mine is in the meanwhile, just this afternoon. But possibly it’s not, possibly you’re feeling chaos too and we’re gonna work with that, right? That’s all wonderful. Let me just see if I can get this video set slightly bit more the best way I need it to be and we’ll work from there.
All right, so whatever sort of being you’re, in case you’re watching this you’re probably in a sentient being of some sort in a single samsara or one other and so chaos and upset and things not being the best way you wish them to be; things being possibly the best way you wish them to be, but now you’re nervous about hanging on to them the best way you wish them to be… and so forth.
You already know stuff happens, and as an enormous a part of this fashion that we’re learning here, the best way that I’m presenting meditation teachings, is that we’re noticing our already existing Buddhahood, our liberated elements. And it’s funny , as a teacher I refer to people, a number of people, day-after-day about their meditation practice, day-after-day for many years now, right? A protracted, very long time. And one among the most important things I hear with people who find themselves good at meditation is, like, “I… every little thing’s going good but I feel I’m going to back up and work on my concentration. I need to work on my concentration to get things more stable.” And in fact, it is a excellent thing.
Concentration is great, it really helps and that mood of like, “I’m gonna return to basics and get my concentration together,” that’s a great mood – nothing incorrect with that. But as you possibly can guess I’m going to say, but actually it won’t be a very powerful thing. It won’t be a very powerful thing. What’s a very powerful thing? Well, concentration is very important, but what’s much more essential? Well, we would say love or caring and kindness and compassion, and that’s true. That’s not less than equally essential to concentration and yet even love and compassion and kindness; we could discuss that as having a side of equanimity in it, and that’s what I might say is much more essential than getting your concentration together is getting your equanimity together.
So tonight we’re going to work on equanimity, okay? Since it, , in case you take into consideration what you would possibly want out of your practice one among the most important things people want is, , for all the issues to go away. But guess what? That is samsara, so so long as you’re in a body, so long as you’re here problems never go away. It’s not such as you’re going to achieve some place where you never get sick and the world is rarely fucked up and your hair isn’t tousled and things are out of order and every little thing’s breaking. That’s just the character of this place and regardless of how awake you get, regardless of how liberated, it stays that way because that’s the character of this place; that is the saha world, that is what it’s like. And so even your fully liberated Buddha-self doesn’t change that, but what it does change is the way you relate to it and the way you relate if you relate to it in a certain way of openness; in a certain way of feeling like every little thing’s okay whilst screwed up because it is. And also you’re not checked out, you’re not checked out into some sort of dissociative state, or bypassing but slightly you’re really with the stuff, understanding how screwed up it’s, understanding how chaotic it’s, understanding how tousled your hair is, or whatever, you’re totally clear about that and yet you’re okay with it. That’s called equanimity, right?
And give it some thought. Would you slightly have the power to pay attention rather well or the power that, regardless of what happens, regardless of how screwed up every little thing gets, you possibly can be—even when your emotions are screwed up—even if you’re stuffed with rage or despair or whatever, the deepest a part of you is just okay? All the things’s okay. Would you slightly have that or would you slightly have good concentration? I might go for the primary one, right? That’s equanimity, that’s like the true Buddha nature coming forward, right? I can work with this, there’s enough room, there’s enough space, there’s enough love, there’s enough compassion. That every little thing’s okay, even when it… on the relative level, on the samsaric level, it’s really not okay. Some deep a part of you remains to be cool with even the best way you’re freaking out right away. In order that’s equanimity, right? It doesn’t mean that you just all the time feel peaceful and your mind is all the time stuffed with beautiful thoughts. Equanimity is when even when your mind is stuffed with chaos and rage and despair and your emotions are all over, this deep a part of you remains to be okay, right? That’s real equanimity and that’s what we’re gonna work on.
Meditation
So let’s arrange our meditation and in fact as usual we’re going to begin with some concentration stuff; some samadhi practice, some shamatha practice. But, I need you to think about it as just sort of settling the waters, we’re getting within the groove, we’re letting every little thing sort of–I don’t like translating shamatha as concentration anyway–I like translating it as, , collecting together, as gathering, as integrating, as grounding, like that.
So sit in your meditation posture and, I haven’t said this in an extended time, so I’ll just remind you that in this hour-long meditation I need you to be still. Don’t move, don’t move your body, be really, really still. You’ll see me drinking my tea and so forth and that’s because I actually have to speak and I actually have to work with a pc so I’m moving slightly bit, but after I meditate I don’t move in any respect and I need you to also learn to sit down still for an hour, okay?
So remember, we’re getting in a posture where we feel good, we are able to lay on our backs so long as your lower back is flat on the ground together with your knees up, or in case you’re sitting you wish your knees to be lower than your hips and so your lower back has got that nice little curve in it and it makes your head pop up. Nevertheless it’s like a sort of really gentle, very easy, probably the most effortless possible erect spine. So just find that spot again, it’s much easier together with your knees lower than your hips – that spot where your spine stays nice and upright with just the minimum effort. You’re not putting in quite a lot of muscle to maintain it upright. In case you are it’ll be really hard to remain within the posture but in case you sit properly you’ll notice your back just stays upright and it’d sort of wiggle like a sapling in a mild breeze, but it surely’s very easy to remain upright and it makes the highest of your head – the very best spot in your head – sort of lift up, your chin tucks slightly bit.
Your shoulders and arms are totally relaxed, totally relaxed. Often we’re gonna allow them to rest in our lap like this [demonstrates Dhyana mudra] but you may even have them in your knees – resting in your thighs either palms down or palms up [demonstrates palms up and down with thumb and index finger touching to form circle] but they’re resting on the thighs.
You’ll see in clip art where individuals are meditating with their elbows on their knees and their fingers up within the air and it looks really cool for a photograph but it surely’s a very dumb option to meditate, so never meditate like that!
Have your hands resting in your thighs, and so from there I need you to simply tune in to what it’s wish to be you right away. Just check in with yourself, every little thing that’s happening, every little thing you’re feeling, every little thing you’re pondering, how your body feels, how your emotions feel, just what’s the overall weather report? And, regardless of the weather report is, I need you to . You already know, like, “okay, that is the weather report right away, we’re not likely going to vary that.” So just tune in for a minute, try this for me.
Okay. Good, now what I need you to do is just sit and breathe, you possibly can breathe naturally and normally, don’t change your breath this week but I need you to meditate now like an ocean. Okay, it’s an enormous, big ocean, very deep. There could also be a number of waves on the surface but in comparison with how deep that ocean is the waves don’t even hassle it. And so that you’re just this enormous vast ocean, all fluidity, it’s very comfortable being the ocean. Remember last week once we did the five element meditation? Water is , it’s ‘flowey’, it’s fluid, it feels good, it doesn’t resist, right? So feel that actually fluid, yummy aspect of being this vast, vast, vast ocean but additionally notice that thoughts going by, emotions going by – all are only rippling waves on the surface of the ocean within the deep, deep, deep water of the ocean. It’s just very still and really calm and feels great, okay?
So tune into being an ocean and then you definately’re just noticing the passing on the surface of the ocean and the ocean is just noticing that breath-wave moving through it, okay? And that’s how I’m going to have you ever meditate for the subsequent couple of minutes here, so let’s get going with that.
Remember, you’re just an unlimited ocean. It’s so big, the ocean is so wide and so deep you possibly can’t even find the underside, you possibly can’t find the shore. It’s just an infinite ocean and the waves are moving on the very surface of the ocean however the ocean itself is so deep and so wide that the waves don’t disturb it in any way. And one among these waves is just the breath-wave coming and going, coming and going and we’re with that breath-wave, we’re noticing it coming and going and I need you to particularly notice when the in-breath involves an end, when the out-breath involves an end. Put slightly extra attention on that and just allow these waves to come back and go without interference, but really noticing them.
Good, in order that’s just slightly little bit of shamatha to sort of gather our energies, to sort of collect the mind right into a more stable place, a rather more stable place. Just sort of like shifting from the regular day into our meditation slightly bit.
And so now continuing to meditate like an ocean, your vast, vast, vast ocean. There aren’t even any shores anywhere, there’s no bottom, it’s just an unlimited ocean; incredibly vast ocean of And now what I need you to meditate on are only the ripples, not only the breath but ripples of thought moving across the ocean, ripples of emotion moving across the ocean; the moving across the ocean. And any body sensations moving, rippling across the ocean – notice that these are truly happening – they’re moving across the surface, they’re rippling, possibly in several directions and all that., but in comparison with the vastness of this infinite ocean of awareness they’re There’s a lot room for all
this thought, there’s a lot room for all this emotion, there’s all a lot room for all these body sensations, there’s a lot room for the sound or images which might be happening on this planet that actually these ripples don’t hassle this vast ocean in any respect. It’s like a drop in a bucket, it just doesn’t disturb the deep peace of this ocean of awareness.
Okay, so I need you to simply actually give attention to the ripples, give attention to the pondering without trying to vary it, without getting involved in it but really noticing it happening. Deal with the emotions which might be moving through the body, give attention to the sensations. In other words, every little thing that’s arising, you’re listening to it, you’re not ignoring it or pretending it’s not there. You’re not trying to vary it, you’re not trying to regulate it but neither are you uninvolved – you’re actually being attentive. This ocean of awareness is so it’s aware of those ripples but I need you to note that they’re similar to wind within the sky, they’re just ripples moving through an unlimited infinite ocean and so they don’t disturb the deep peace of the deep ocean .
So tune into that now.
These thoughts, these emotions, these body sensations, the sounds and sights of the world and every little thing else – smells, whatever, tastes – they’re all just these ripples on the surface of this and so they don’t hassle it in any way. They don’t should be modified, they don’t should be controlled, they’re utterly beautiful that omit the surface of the ocean and don’t disturb the deep ocean in any way.
What sort of practice is that this? That is emptiness practice, right? It’s just one other way of doing it. So that is emptiness practice, we’re not the waves, we’re fully aware of the thoughts, fully aware of the emotions, fully aware of the arising of every little thing and yet at the identical time we notice that it’s utterly, utterly not disturbing the deep peace of awareness and at the identical time it’s not different than awareness, right? So just let these ripples move across the ocean of awareness and we’re very aware of every ripple and yet noticing that it doesn’t disturb the peace in any way.
Okay good, now remaining as a , boundless ocean of awareness. There’s no shore, there’s no bottom, it’s just an infinite ocean of awareness; ‘flowey’, comfortable, comfortable, undisturbed by anything.
Now let go of the vipashyana practice, the emptiness practice, and as a substitute just rest because the ocean. The waves are still there, there’s still thoughts, there’s still feelings. There’s still – the entire world is arising in awareness – in fact, but we’re not engaging with any of it.
Just show the notice to itself, let awareness concentrate on awareness – that’s it – and see that it’s effortless because awareness is already aware.
So, in other words, we’re doing dropping the ball. So anytime you get entangled with one among the ripples on the surface of the ocean you simply let go and sink back into the deep ocean which is utterly awake, utterly aware, utterly relaxed; boundless, vast awakeness with none effort. Every time you get entangled just let go and are available back to resting because the ocean of awareness with none effort.
If there’s any sense that something, , goes to occur here otherwise you’re waiting for something to occur, let go of that entirely. That is wonderful, that is awareness resting as awareness, that is resting within the true state, right? Just awareness aware of itself, utterly undisturbed and uninvolved. With any ripples, any thoughts which might be arising, you’re just not engaging them in any respect. Any feelings which might be arising, not engaging them in any respect. They’re still there, they’re ripples on the ocean, but that is the deep ocean just aware of itself.
Now you would possibly notice your thoughts getting really confused or chances are you’ll even feel like ripples or waves of confusion are on the ocean, that’s okay. The water of the deep ocean of awareness is all the time perfectly clear. If the thoughts get jumbled or confused, that’s wonderful, it doesn’t make awareness confused. Or you would possibly feel waves of, like, fatigue. You would possibly suddenly feel such as you’re drifting or falling asleep, those are only waves on the ocean. Awareness itself, the notice of the deep ocean is brilliant and clear and wide awake; brilliant and clear and wide awake. So the ripples of fatigue are only… again, those are body sensations and so forth, they’re nothing we’re involved with. So you would possibly feel confusion or you would possibly feel fatigued, you would possibly feel like waves of boredom, , like “when’s this going to finish?” Again, that’s all just ripples. The vast ocean of awareness is evident and brilliant and undisturbed and it feels to simply rest in itself. It just rests in itself, aware of itself, by itself. Anytime it starts to get entangled with thoughts or feelings it just relaxes back into being this vast, boundless ocean.
Notice that even the sense of doing a meditation is only a ripple on the surface of this infinite ocean of awareness that will not be disturbed by anything. Even the sense of being any person is only a ripple on the ocean that doesn’t disturb the ocean in any way. Even the sense that something’s purported to occur, or anything like that, it’s all just vanishing ripples on the surface of the ocean. The deep, deep boundless waters of the ocean of awareness will not be disturbed by that in any way. They’re perfectly still, perfectly clear, perfectly brilliant and wide awake with none disturbance of any kind. The waves come and go and the ocean will not be disturbed.
The vast ocean of awareness doesn’t come and go. The vast ocean of awareness will not be something you possibly can create or reinforce or larger or clearer, it’s all the time been there, it’ll all the time be there. The vast ocean of awareness is brilliant and clear under all conditions and it will not be bothered by anything. That is the the vast notion of awareness is peace, is stillness, is equanimity. Even with all of the ripples on the surface it will not be disturbed.
For therefore long you’ve thought you’re the thoughts and feelings of the ripples on the surface, but in case you’re anything in any respect you’re this deep ocean of awareness that may concentrate on those ripples sometimes but right away is just aware of its nature as peace and stillness and wakefulness, undisturbed by anything.
Now, this vast ocean of awareness simply resting in itself, aware of itself. From this place we’re going to shift, and we’re going to shift into feeling joy for all beings in all places, feeling love for all beings in all places, feeling tremendous kindness towards all beings in all places and this ocean goes in all places.
So huge waves of affection and joy and needs for health and strength, all rippling out, rippling out, rippling out, rippling out to all beings in all places! A sense of tremendous vitality and energy rippling out towards all beings in all places. A sense of friendliness and togetherness and belonging and sibling-hood, brotherhood and sisterhood and being-hood rippling out to all beings in all places.
Tremendous joy, tremendous kindness, tremendous health and healing. Tremendous sense of belonging and friendliness and friendship and together-hood, rippling out towards all beings in all places. Really feel that actually strongly, spreading out in all directions, reaching all beings in all places within the multiverse.
Okay? Good now let’s end this session of meditation.
Dharma Talk
Allowing your body to maneuver eventually after an hour. Allowing yourself to maneuver and stretch and permit your body to feel good. You’ll be able to wiggle your fingers and toes, wiggle your ears, whatever is fun and amusing so that you can get that body moving again. Allowing your body to feel good, have a drink of water or whatever.
But in fact, the vast ocean of awareness doesn’t change, it was not something you were creating with the meditation, it’s not something that you just cultivate, it’s not something that you just make occur. It’s all the time there, it’s what you’re, it’s your nature. And so even once we stop the meditation practice, it’s still there. The vast ocean of awareness that’s undisturbed by anything is all the time there. Now, once we’re highly identified as thoughts and feelings, as emotions, my precious emotions, my essential emotions, how I react to every little thing is so sensitive and so essential. After we’re highly, highly identified with that we get really caught up and we get tight and we get knocked around.
It’s like we’re slightly bobber, right? You already know what a bobber is? Like in case you’ve been fishing—a fishing bobber or like a cork—you’re only a cork being whipped around on the waves.
Same thing in case you’re all caught up in your thoughts, “oh, every little thing is just my mind, I’m just my thoughts. If I’m having bad thoughts I’m so identified with those and so they’re so real and concrete that I bad thoughts.”
From having great thoughts, “oh, that is the perfect thing on this planet, now I’m great thoughts. Oh, I would like to hold onto that.”
Again, you’re only a cork or a bobber being whipped around on these waves. And you possibly can do that since the waves will not be separate from the ocean. Awareness is in some way not different than thought, different than emotion. Thoughts and emotions are product of awareness, right? So you possibly can zero in on those and pretend that that’s who or what you’re. And that’s what we’re trained to do throughout the course of our lives and so we’re sort of trained into being whipped around on these waves.
But for each minute of our life, every second you’re alive, what’s really there’s this which is, in fact, empty.
Similar to every little thing else, it’s not a thing, that is just a picture. But awareness, this vast ocean of awareness is all the time there and if you let go of being identified with those thoughts and tightly gripped onto them, and so they’re so real and so essential, and also you let go of being tightly gripped within the emotions and hanging on to them and also you’re trying to govern and control them, “I need to feel these good emotions and that i don’t wish to feel these bad emotions.” If you’re caught up like that, once we’re caught in these thoughts and feelings we get knocked around, right? It’s the other of equanimity, the ups and downs are super intense and really essential and we’re all the time struggling against them and it’s all the time an issue.
But the reality is, again, what – if we’re anything in any respect, right? We’re also this vast ocean of awareness that is rarely disturbed by anything. There’s no need to regulate or deny or suppress the pondering, and even make it There’s no need to regulate or deny or suppress the emotions or to attempt to only have good emotions. None of that’s crucial since the vast ocean of awareness is perfectly wonderful with whatever arises, it’s totally accepting with whatever arises, it’s totally undisturbed with whatever arises, it can’t be by anything that arises. It’s not like you possibly can have a thought that’s so bad it’ll just evaporate the ocean. It’s not like you possibly can have an emotion that’s so bad it could possibly freeze the entire ocean. Plainly way in case you’re really tightly hooked into these thoughts and feelings but that’s not what really happens; the vast ocean of awareness stays brilliant and clear and awake and undisturbed by anything regardless of what.
So again, even when the thoughts and feelings are super disturbed, so it’s not in some way like attempting to make it so – the kind of – I don’t know, I’ll just use this really ‘judgy’ word, okay? I’m gonna be really judgmental and say the really way of occupied with your spiritual practices, “oh, after I get good at this meditation I’ll be through every little thing and this by, , every little thing might be cool and nothing will disturb me.” But what we mean by that, in an immature way, is my thoughts and feelings will remain undisturbed, right? The thoughts and feelings that I feel I’m might be smooth sailing… But that’s not what it’s like in any respect. That’s not what’s and if it’s beginning to get that way – sure okay your thoughts and feelings are slightly smoother wonderful – but in case you need them to be smooth like that your practice goes backwards, you’re just getting more rigid and more caught in thought and feeling and trying to regulate it and make it smooth. “Oh yeah, when really bad things occur which might be terrible I’m just smooth, my thoughts and feelings are smooth. When really wonderful things occur, oh, my thoughts and feelings are only smooth.” That’s called being dead, right? Or being checked out, being numb, being dissociated. Being… You already know, that may occur, sometimes slightly bit, but when that’s your normal state – you’re utterly lost, okay? That’s, that’s not what we’re doing here. That may be a very immature view of practice. I’m using a ‘judgy’ word – cope with it.
The mature view is kind of different, it’s that thoughts and feelings might be as loud as they need, they might be as upset as they need, they might be as offended or stuffed with despair, so sad, or as fearful as they need or thoughts might be really dark or really awful. Or all of those things might be wonderful, you possibly can be stuffed with joy and happiness. And regardless of. That doesn’t affect this awareness through which all those things are happening, it doesn’t affect it in any respect.
Now that’s, that’s a really different view. That may be a very different view, okay? And also you say, “Well, how do I notice this awareness?” Well, how do you’re having a thought right away? Something’s – I mean it’s not a thing – but something’s aware of the pondering. Notice I said, . Something’s of the pondering, that awareness is the notice. How do you’re having an enormous emotion or any emotion? Well, you’re having an emotion since you’re aware of it, that’s the notice.
Awareness is going on on a regular basis, that’s how you’re alive, that’s how you’re having a thought, that’s how you’re having a sense. So get this, the thoughts are changing on a regular basis but you’re constantly aware of them, the notice is all the time there. The emotions are changing on a regular basis but you’re constantly aware of them. The notice is all the time there. You’re moving your head world wide, the vision of the world is changing on a regular basis but the notice is all the time there. Sounds are coming in your ears on a regular basis and so they’re all the time different, yet the notice is all the time there. It’s not possible to stop being aware.
Okay, the notice is all the time there. There may make sure special states through which awareness blips out for periods of time but even then I might contend that there’s a deep, deep, deep awareness of what’s happening.
The notice is all the time present, so in other words thoughts and feelings on this planet will all the time change, they might be big and small and we’re not trying to vary that. Relatively, we’re just resting on this brilliant, clear—I’m totally still—awareness that’s the premise of every little thing, right? It’s not separate than thoughts and feelings but slightly it’s the bottom out of which thoughts and feelings arise. Similar to thoughts come out of the waves, come out of the ocean. And it’s also the bottom to which thoughts and feelings return, similar to waves return into being the ocean, okay?
So the best way I’m talking about this you possibly can begin to feel like awareness is a thing and I’m calling it an ocean and an ocean is a thing. But, awareness itself will not be a thing and so don’t make it right into a thing, like “oh I’m over here taking a look at that thing called awareness.” Don’t try this. Awareness is aware of itself by itself, it doesn’t need someone to face outside it and pretend to take a look at it. Who’s doing the looking? Awareness is doing the looking. In order that whole move of standing outside it and feel such as you’re taking a look at awareness? That’s not it. Don’t make it right into a thing, it’s not a thing. It’s just aware, okay?
So that is the equanimity I’m talking about and this equanimity is already there – I’m going to sneeze hang on. Am I going to sneeze? It’s almost there, it’s almost there. Perhaps not, I’ll put the… oh possibly, oh I can’t tell. Well, that happens, it happens. I lost my train of thought… the train of thought is that – the notice, the equanimity is all the time there.
The equanimity is the premise of your being. And so we’re not in some way cultivating this stillness or constructing equanimity like we’re build up money in a checking account or something. The equanimity is infinite and it’s already there. And you simply chill out, you simply return, you simply recognize this awareness and this equanimity that’s already present. And when you recognize it, you simply That’s it. Recognize the notice that’s already there and rest. Recognize the equanimity that’s already there and rest and in case you get caught up within the waves, just the minute you notice that, recognize and just come back to being the ocean of equanimity that’s all the time there and just rest. The waves do themselves, thought and feelings do themselves, taking motion on this planet does itself. It does itself, awareness simply notices, with none effort.
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