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Chapter 1: What is the purpose of meditation according to Ajahn Chah?
To sit in meditation and make the mind peaceful, you don't have to think about too much.
Right now, Just focus on the mind and nothing else. Don't let the mind shoot off in different directions. Our only duty right now is to practice mindfulness of breathing.
Chapter 2: How do you practice mindfulness of breathing during meditation?
First, place your attention at the crown of the head and move it down through the body to the tips of the toes and then back up to the crown of the head. Pass your awareness down through the body like this, observing with awareness. We do this to gain an initial understanding of the way the body is right now. Now we can begin the meditation.
Note that at this time, your sole duty is to observe the breathing, the inhalations and exhalations.
Chapter 3: What techniques help maintain awareness during meditation?
Don't force the breath to be any longer or shorter than normal. Don't put any pressure on the breath at all. Just let it flow naturally. letting go with each in-breath and out-breath. Understand that you are letting go as you do this. But there should still be awareness. You must maintain this awareness as you allow the breath to enter and leave comfortably.
Maintain the resolve that at this time you have no other duties or responsibilities. Thoughts about what might happen in the meditation may arise from time to time. But if they arise, just let them cease by themselves.
Chapter 4: How should one deal with thoughts and distractions in meditation?
Don't be unduly concerned over them. There is no need to give attention to anything else that arises in the mind. Whenever the mind is affected by any thoughts or moods, wherever there is a feeling or sensation in the mind, just let it go. Whether those thoughts are good or bad is unimportant. Don't make anything out of them. Just let them pass away and return your attention to the breath.
Maintain the awareness of the breath entering and leaving the body in a relaxed way. Simply observe it without trying to control. In other words, don't attach to anything Allow the breath to continue as it is and the mind will become calm.
Chapter 5: What is the significance of mindfulness and clear comprehension?
As you continue like this, the mind will gradually lay things down and come to rest. The breath becoming lighter and lighter, until it becomes so faint that it seems like it's not there at all. Both the body and the mind will feel light and energized. All that will remain will be a one-pointed knowing. You could say that the mind has changed and reached a state of calm.
If the mind is agitated however, re-establish mindfulness and inhale deeply until your lungs are full. Then release the air completely until none remains. Follow this with another deep inhalation. Then release the air again. Do this two or three times.
Chapter 6: How does wisdom develop alongside mindfulness in meditation?
And re-establish your focus on the natural breath. The mind should be calmer. If any more sense impressions cause agitation in the mind, repeat this process. Sometimes doubts may arise. So you must have mindfulness. Be the one who knows. Continually following and examining the agitated mind in whatever form it takes. This is what it means to have mindfulness.
Mindfulness watches over and takes care of the mind. You should aim to maintain this knowing and not be careless or wander astray.
Chapter 7: What are the final insights on achieving a calm and unwavering mind?
no matter what state the mind takes on. The trick here is to have awareness overseeing the mind. Once the mind is unified with mindfulness, a new kind of awareness will emerge. The mind that has developed calm is held in check by that calm. Just like a chicken held in a coop. The chicken is unable to wander outside. but it can still move around within the coop.
It doesn't matter that it is walking to and fro, because it stays in the coop. Likewise, the awareness that takes place when the mind has mindfulness and calm keeps things in check. none of the thinking or sensations that take place within the calm mind will cause harm or disturbance. Some people don't want to experience any thoughts or feelings at all. But this is not right.
Feelings arise within the state of calm. The mind is both experiencing feelings and calm at the same time, without being disturbed. When there is calm like this there are no harmful consequences. Problems occur when the chicken gets out of the coop. For instance,
You may be watching the breath entering and leaving and then forget yourself, allowing the mind to wander away from the breath, wandering off to the shops or to any number of different places in your imagination. Maybe even half an hour may pass before you suddenly realize you're supposed to be practicing meditation. And you think, oh, what am I doing?
This is where you really have to be careful. Because this is where the chicken gets out of the coop. The mind leaves its base of calm. Maintain the awareness with mindfulness and pull the mind back when it wanders. Although I use the words, pull the mind back, in fact the mind doesn't really go anywhere. Only the object of awareness has changed. It seems that the mind goes here and there.
but in fact the change occurs right at the same spot. When mindfulness is re-established, it's back in a flash. Understand that it's right here and now. When there is full knowing, a continuous and unbroken awareness at each and every moment, this is called presence of mind. If your attention drifts from the breath to other places, then the continuity of knowing is broken.
Whenever there is awareness of the breath, the mind is right there. With just the breath and this even and continuous awareness, you have presence of mind. There must be both mindfulness, sati and clear comprehension, sampajanya. Mindfulness is recollection and clear comprehension is self-awareness. Right now, you are clearly aware of the breath.
This exercise of watching the breath helps mindfulness and clear comprehension develop together. They share the work. When there is mindfulness and clear comprehension together like this, then a third factor, wisdom, arises at the same place to help out. Then all three of them support each other. With wisdom, there will be an understanding of sense objects.
For instance, during the meditation, sense objects are experienced which give rise to feelings and moods. You may start to think of something, but then wisdom immediately counters that with, It doesn't matter. Stop. Or forget it. Or if there are thoughts about where you will go tomorrow, then the response would be, I'm not interested. I don't want to concern myself with such things.
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