We haven’t seen Ajahn Santutthi at The Armadale Meditation Group for some time now so it was a welcome surprise. Ajahn began the evening by asking us to let go of the doer in our mind, so the mind can begin to relax. We constantly look for things to do in life and our mind isn’t much different. Our mind is constantly looking for things to make it happy, things to do. The doer in our mind doesn’t do relax. So to really relax, we need to let it go and just be in the present moment.
Ajahn led us in a longer than usual meditation this evening that is well suited to beginners and experienced alike. After the meditation, rather than talk on any specific subject, Ajahn opened to a Q&A to conclude the evening. Interspersed throughout Q&A are some funny stories to further relax us all.
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Ajahn spoke to us on the impermanence of thoughts in our meditation. Thoughts arise and then they pass. Just let them go. We know that, in life, nothing is permanent, things happen then they pass. So it is with our meditation. It doesn't matter if it's metta, breath, counting or a mantra the thoughts will arise and then pass. What matters is that we don't latch onto them, just let them go and return to our meditation.
Ajahn then asked the group which meditation they'd like to do. We chose body contemplation or body sweep and then moving to a breath meditation. Ajahn then reminded us that it isn't so much the method of meditation, it's more that our mind changes over time as we practice. The more we meditate the more relaxed we become.
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Ajahn Santutthi encouraged us to consider meditation as recharging the batteries of the mind. We are learning how to be passengers in our meditation practice, not dictators. So when random thoughts pop up, just observe, don't engage, let them go. Having present moment awareness isn't impossible, it just takes practice. The result is being right here, right now and gaining a stepping stone to inner peace. Be patient and gentle with yourself.
Ajahn guided us in a thirty minute meditation well suited to both experienced meditators and beginners. Ajahn suggested that we patiently observe our mind and see where it is in this moment. No heavy focus, just gentle observation and notice what we as individuals would like our meditation object to be, rather than making an arbitrary decision. By allowing our minds to be where they want to be as we start to meditate, we remove some of the rigidity. A softer approach. Once our minds are settled and we are just observers, we can then gently change direction and focus on an object such as our breath, as we would normally do.
After meditation Ajahn opened to Q&A.
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When it's done it's finished. Meditation allows us to leave the things that have happened in our busy lives and be peaceful, be calm. Forget about what's happened before and just be in this moment. Sit down, close your eyes and relax. Many of us don't give ourselves that opportunity to let it all go. We wake in the morning full of beans and by the end of the day we are mentally tired. We need to train our minds to let the day go. Meditation allows us to do this.
Ajahn guided us in a thirty minute meditation well suited to people learning to meditate.
After the meditation Ajahn related a story about the growth of a fire tree at Bodhinyana Monastery. He had watched the tree grow for many years and wondered why, given the care it received, that it hadn't seemed to grow. Ajahn continued his training in Wat Buddha Dhamma Buddhist Monastery in Wisemans Ferry, New South Wales for five years. On returning to Bodhinyana Monastery, he was quietly walking past the fire tree and wondered how it was faring. He was surprised to find that it was now an enormous mature tree. Just as Ajahn didn't notice the slight growth of the fire tree, when we begin to meditate, we often don't see or rather, notice any progress. Each time we meditate, be it for five minutes a day or half an hour each week, we are retraining our minds and this has a cumulative effect. One day we will sit down and realise that we can let it all go just as easily as sitting down.
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Ajahn Santutthi says that meditation is like marinating an olive. It takes time for the olives to become delicious. In the same way, it takes time and patience for our mind to settle down.
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Ajahn Santutthi talked to us about finding the calm in the storm of our minds through meditation. Over thinking can lead to us becoming anxious, we need to live in the moment, not dwell on the past, nor worry about our future.
When we over think, dwell in the past or worry about the future we don't live in the present. Our minds become tired and so do our bodies. Meditation can help us clear our mind, live just in this moment and recover some of our energies.
After his talk, Ajahn led us in a guided meditation for approximately 45 minutes.
Ajahn Santutthi teaches us how to prepare our mind for meditation practice and how to overcome mental negativity. Ajahn discusses how being content leads to a peaceful mind.
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Ajahn Santutthi teaches us how to calm the mind and encourages us to be patient and aware of how things unfold in the mind.
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Ajahn Santutthi shares his experience on how the Buddhist teachings have helped him in his many years as a monk. Ajahn points out that monks and laypeople both wish to overcome suffering and difficulties in life and that this is what the monks learn to do in the monastery and one of ways you do this is to change the way you see things, situations and people.
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Ajahn joined us again this week at The Armadale Meditation Group. He suggested that we spend much time in our busy daily lives collecting rubbish within our minds and meditation is the means to get rid of it, empty the garbage.
Ajahn then guided us through a meditation with relaxation of our bodies first. The focus of our meditation was our breath or breathing. Ajahn then opened the floor to questions. Following Q&A Ajahn told us of his recent visit to Thailand were he met with Ajahn Gunhah, the original happy monk.
Ajahn explains to us our compulsion to own everything. We see the news, read the newspaper and engage in discussion, we involve ourselves so much that we own it. We need to have the courage to say "this is not my business". We need to leave it all behind before we meditate.
Ajahn then guided us through a 30 minute meditation well suited to beginners, encouriging us to free ourselves from the compulsion to "own it" with the small mantra of "this is none of my business".
Ajahn then gave us a dharma talk on love and kindness followed by a Q&A.
