April 4, 2017 Tuesday Class

Guided OM Chanting and Meditation, Dependent Origination

Aaron: My blessings and love to you. I am Aaron. Let us start simply here with a meditation. You use a variety of primary objects— the breath, luminosity, sound, energy. For now I'm going to bring us all together with an external rather than an inner sound. OMMM…… Join me. You can OM at any time, it doesn't have to be all together, any tone. But please offer this from the heart. OMMM… Hear the sound and feel the vibration of it in the body, too. OMMM…

(chanting)

Begin to bring attention to the arising of that sound in your own self, to others at different times in the room, but especially your own personal OM. Feel it arising, present and passing away. OMMM… As it dies out, rest for a moment in the space into which it has faded. I know others may be starting as yours ends. Try to focus on the feeling of that sound in your body, the sound of it, the vibration, arising. OMMM… Passing, space. Feel the intention.

It may be easier if we do it all together. Trying to do it together with each other, the arising of the OM, the sound, the passing away, the space, so there's no distraction of another's OM arising as yours fades. Let's try it that way. OMMM… Then the space, the intention to chant the OM. The gathering of energy, and then OMMM… Fading, fading, gone. Space.

And then the next one arising, OMMM… Together now, continuing for a minute or two. As it passes, rest briefly in the space into which it has passed, until you feel the next one ready to arise with the breath.

(chanting)

Can you feel how before the new OM arises there must be an intention and the in-breath? And then, with the out-breath, the OM. And then the space. So there are several distinct phases: the intention and inhale, the exhale with sound, and resting however long or short in the space. Then the subtle intention for the new inhale.

(chanting)

Feel the sound riding on the breath.

(chanting)

Now quieting the sound and letting the breath just flow out soundlessly. Again, resting in the space. Intention to inhale, and then the inhale of the breath. Exhale. Space.

(sitting)

We say the primary object is the breath, then, but there is not just one thing that is the breath but the whole flow of inhale, perhaps a small pause there, then the exhale, pause, space, inhale.

You are not trying to control the breath but stay out of its way, letting the body breathe itself.

(sitting)

Relaxing in this way into the primary object. If you are more accustomed to using a different sound, like nada, or luminosity or energy, let go of the breath and bring your attention to that more usual, for you, primary object.

(sitting)

No force anywhere, no contraction, just present with the primary object. If something else comes in and pulls your attention away from this primary object, becomes predominant, we let attention move to it. (rapping on table) Hearing, hearing. Since it's gone, come back to the primary object.

(sitting)

I wish to remind you here of the whole flow of dependent arising, upon which we focused earlier in the semester. An object becomes predominant in experience. Sense contact. Consciousness. It will always arrive with a feeling of either pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. If attention is strong, the mind will probably not move into a pattern of aversion or grasping but will simply note this is a pleasant experience, or an unpleasant or neutral experience. This is how a pleasant experience feels; this is how an unpleasant one feels. And then the object passes away.

But if the object does not pass away, if there is some unpleasant body sensation, for example, begin to watch the body hardening into any aversion to that unpleasantness. That which is aware of aversion is not feeling aversion. This is not dissociation from the object. It's presence with wisdom and an open heart that sees the object for what it is, arisen from conditions, impermanent, and empty of any separate self. There is the experience of it. But you are not offering it anything sticky to build upon.

(sitting)

Let the body be relaxed and open. Either in the present experience of the body or in some memory in the mind, allow mind to move to something which is a bit challenging; to the memory of some pain, physical sensation, the memory of some sadness, feeling of shame or fear, or other such discomfort… Pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. If unpleasant, feel whether the body is contracting at all against that object. Here is something that is not loved.

Last class, I gave the line several times: That which is not loved comes as teacher. When this unloved guest comes, see if there's any resistance, any hardening against it. See if there is any trying to fix it, to bargain with it, to do anything with it other than just be present. If it still remains, and is still unpleasant, bring your hands together, palms together, and say, “Thank you, teacher.” And just be present with it until it fades. There is nothing to do but bear witness to it with an open heart. I'll be quiet now for 5 or 10 minutes while you meditate.

(sitting)

Experiencing any tension of the presence of this teacher. Unpleasant. Experiencing the human that wants to get away from this unpleasant visitor. Stop and look around at where you stand. Are you far out into the nirmanakaya experience? Or perhaps there is a part of you that wants to run and hide from the nirmanakaya experience, moving into the light and dissolving into that light as respite from unpleasantness?

Find the light, and invite yourself into the sambhogakaya, entering toward the light, but resting in the place where the light and energy and love are strong and yet the unpleasant experience still exists. Body sensation, thought, sadness, shame, feelings of unworthiness or confusion, anger. Rest in the place where the light is strong and intense enough, the heart open enough, to truly say thank you and be present with this teacher, without losing yourself in the emotions and body sensations brought on by the teacher, and without hiding from it back into the light.

You can only affect that to which you allow yourself to stay connected. But if you become lost in it, you no longer can affect it. If you hide from it, you cannot affect it.

Again, I'm going to be quiet for a few minutes. See if you can find the place on the bridge that allows you to stay connected to light, to love, radiance, and yet still bear witness to that which is painful without fear of it. I'll be quiet.

(recording ends)

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