modified-Introduction to Meditation Practice with Bhante Suddhaso Day 3 of 3

The speaker guides listeners through a meditation, focusing on the different elements of the body - earth, water, fire, air, and space. They emphasize that these elements are not personal or unique to individuals, but rather part of the natural world. They also discuss how consciousness is a function of nature. The meditation concludes by encouraging listeners to rest in the awareness that everything in their experience is not personal, but rather an aspect of the natural world. So I'll be giving detailed guided meditation this evening, so please go ahead and get in a comfortable meditation posture, so taking a few moments to carefully establish the position of your legs, making sure that you're sitting properly on your cushion so that you're not cutting off the circulation to anything, the weight is distributed evenly on your sitting bones, pelvis tilted slightly forward so that the spine easily rests in an upright position, take a few long, slow, deep breaths, letting the body and mind relax with each breath, and once you're settled into position, make a determination to let the body be still. Someone once asked a monk, what's the secret to strong samadhi, and the monk answered, don't move. It's a very simple instruction, but it makes a huge difference, so let the body be still, as still as possible. Bring attention to your body, feeling the heaviness of the body, its solidity, its density, so feeling the body as a heavy, hard, solid object, like a large stone, or a pile of gravel, or dirt, or a tree, so feeling the body as heavy, solid, firm, dense, like the earth, so feeling the earth-like aspect of the bodily experience. As you feel the earth aspect of the body, the solid, heavy, hard component of the body, and recognize that the body is made up of exactly the same solid matter as the cushion it's sitting on, as the floor beneath the body, the walls and ceiling around it, the buildings, and trees, and stones, and dirt outside, the whole earth, and in fact all the solid matter in the universe. This body is made up of exactly the same solid matter as everything else in the whole universe, and in fact the body is constantly exchanging solid matter with the outside world, so even just as we're sitting here, the body is shedding skin cells, dropping off bits of skin everywhere. We're constantly leaving a trail of dust everywhere we go, and that dust is the body's own earth element flaking off, bits of hair falling off. From time to time we use the toilet and let go of substantial amounts of solid matter from the body, and from time to time we eat food and put substantial amounts of solid matter into the body, but it's all just the same solid matter. So outside the dirt grows plants, we eat the plants, the plants become the body, the body sheds that matter and it returns to the earth, becomes dirt again, which grows into plants and so on, but it's all just the same solid matter. So is the dust in your house, is that dust you? No, it's just the earth element. Is the feces in the toilet, is that you? No, it's just earth element. The dirt and the soil outside, is that you? It's just earth element. The plants, is that you? No, it's just earth element. When you eat the plants, is that you? Still just earth element, still not you. As the body processes the plants and turns it into muscles and bones, is that you? It's still just earth element, still not you. So every step in the cycle, it's just earth element, it's just the solid matter of the natural world, changing position, changing shape, but always not me, not mine, just a function of the natural world. So feel the earth element of the body in this way, not me, not mine, just an aspect of the natural world, no different from the soil, the trees, the stones, the buildings, just solid matter, just the natural world, that's all, not me, not mine, just nature. you you you I'm bringing attention to the water aspect of the body, the feeling of wetness, fluidity, liquid, so you can feel that the saliva in your mouth, tears in your eyes, fluid in your stomach, the blood rushing through the veins, moisture saturating all the flesh, the whole body is wet, water circulates through the whole body, so focusing on the liquid, wet, watery aspect of the body, as if the body was a container of water, swirling and circulating, or a dense cloud of fog, feeling its wetness, you can even feel the subtle film of moisture on your skin, feeling the water element of the body inside and out, you and recognizing that the water element in the body is the same as the water element in the rest of the world, the same as the water in the clouds, falls and rain and snow, dampness in the soil, the rivers and lakes and oceans, it's all just the same water element, same aspect of liquidity, the same experience of wetness, and the body is constantly taking in moisture, absorbing moisture from the air, taking in moisture through the mouth when we drink, and the body is giving off moisture when we sweat, when we cry, when we blow our nose, when we urinate, so water flows out of the body, and then we see it is not me, it is not mine, it's just the liquid aspect of the natural world, and that water soaks back into the earth or the soil or evaporates into the air, and eventually it turns up in our drinking water, and it goes back into the body. There's this cycle of water flowing in and out of the body, and at no point is it me or mine, at every point in the cycle it's just water element, it's just the liquid aspect of the natural world, not me, not mine, just nature, just nature doing what nature does, feeling the water aspect of your experience and knowing it in this way, not me, not mine, just nature, inseparable from the outside world, no insides, no outsides, just water elements. you and feeling the heat of the body, radiant warmth permeating the whole body, just the same as the radiant heat of a bonfire or of a blazing star, feel the heat of the body, the fire element. you and of course the heat element in the body is the same as the heat in the rest of the world, so the body gives off heat, constantly producing heat, radiating it into the world around it, and the body also absorbs heat, absorbs heat from whatever radiant objects are around it, whatever sources of warmth it comes in contact with, so heat energy is constantly flowing in and out of the body, it knows no boundaries and it knows no identity, it's just the heat element, just a function of the natural world, not me, not mine, just nature, just heat, so feel the heat element of the body in this way, knowing that heat is not limited to our concept of body, not limited to our concept of self, heat is just heat, just a function of the natural world, that's all. You can begin to let go of the idea that the body has edges and boundaries, letting go of the concept of a separate body altogether, just feeling the heat element with no concept of inside or outside. You're coming to the wind element, the air element, so feeling the air flowing through the body, feeling the body inflate with every breath, like a balloon expanding and contracting moment by moment, so the air flows in, filling the lungs, from the lungs filling the blood vessels, filling the whole body, so no part of the body is untouched by the air element. And with every breath, expelling the air element from the body, so it's just this cycle, the air around the body is not me, not mine, the air around the body is just part of the natural environment, and the air inside the body is inseparable from the air outside the body, there is no inside or outside, there is just air, just as the wind blows, distributing air throughout the atmosphere, in the same way air blows in and out of the body, but it's all just part of the natural world, not me, not mine, just nature. you bringing attention to the space occupied by the body, so not the body itself, but the body-shaped region of space that the body occupies, the space has no substance, it just holds whatever is present, it allows things to come and go within it, without obstruction, without resistance, so bring attention to the space occupied by the body. Noticing that we think of the space occupied by the body as my space, my personal space, and we even extend that a short distance around the body, my personal space, but actually it's just space, it's just the same space element that pervades the entire universe, and there are no lines or boundaries or edges in space, it's just one vast indivisible field of space, there are no bodies, there is no inside or outside, it's just space. So we can let the concept of personal space melt away, we can let the concept of the body's space melt away, and just feel the vast extent of space, unclaimed, unowned, unobstructing. The space element, just a natural part of the universe, not me, not mine, just nature. And all five of these elements are taking place within the vast field of consciousness. So just as space is a vast open field which physical objects move through, consciousness is a vast open field which all things move through. And just as space is simply a natural part of the world, just a function of nature, in the same way consciousness is just a function of nature, not me, not mine, just an aspect of the natural world. you you you And at this point one can recognize there's nothing left, there's nothing else. Every single part of our experience fits within these six elements. And every part of our experience is seen to be not me, not mine, just an aspect of the natural world. Just rest in that awareness for a few moments. you you