Méditation Guidée Debout et Assise

So make sure you're standing comfortably. Put energy into the spine. Lift up through the top of the head.

Now bring your attention down your face. Rest your eyes on the ground in front of you. Relax the jaw. If there's tension there, move it a little. Lips together, closed, but teeth separated. Shoulders relaxed. If there's tension there, give them a good shake.

Now bring your attention to the soles of your feet. Can you distinguish at least two types of sensations? One is pressure. Another is temperature. And there are also those subtle sensations that tell us we're standing on a mat or on wood. There are parts of the foot we can't feel or where there are very, very subtle sensations.

In our meditation, it's very important to rediscover the body. How do we experience the body in reality? Can we recognise how all sensations change perpetually? Can we recognise that this is what the body does? It doesn't need us. It's like when we cross a street, we don't think about our legs.

So now, move up through the body. And simply look at what you can contact there, inside. Be aware of the open spaces, the spaces where there are no sensations. When you arrive at the abdomen, can you feel the breathing? Or perhaps you feel it more in the stomach area. Or perhaps you have a shy, small breathing, just in the chest. Do you feel the heartbeat?

Shoulders still relaxed. You can move them if needed, if they need it. Jaw still relaxed. Hands joined, teeth separated.

When you arrive at the top of the head, feel the sensations on the skull, the scalp. Now, without moving your eyes, become aware of what's outside of you. Shapes and colours. Sounds. The presence of other people. The atmosphere of the room.

Put your attention completely outside. At the same time, be aware, become aware of what's inside. Both inside and outside. A global awareness. This is the world in which we currently live.

Without this global awareness, attention is drawn here and then there. By one thing and then another. And relax. Simply relax, relaxing in the present moment. Relaxing in the present moment, completely awake.

In this mode, we have nothing to achieve. When we're in the mode of achieving something, we're always doing something now for future results. When we're in the mode of accomplishing something, we're always doing something now for a result later. Simply being here is the result. There's no reason for being.

Relaxing, dwelling in the present moment, fully awake. In this mode, there's no future. There's just the present moment forever. So we don't need to plan. We don't need to make plans, to plan things. We're going nowhere, we've already arrived.

Relaxing, dwelling in the present moment, fully awake. In this mode, we only receive. We don't respond, we don't react. So in this sense, we don't have to present someone. To be someone.

Dwelling in the present moment, fully awake. Accomplishing nothing, achieving nothing, going nowhere.

There are seven factors that lead to liberation. Here, we practice five. This awareness, this attention, this stability of attention - this is a phrase I prefer to concentration. This is a phrase I prefer to concentration: stability of attention. The word concentration, I think, can make us a bit tense. And the energy necessary for maintaining the stability, the solidity of attention. Calm and the quality of equanimity.

This is the most important quality in the Buddha's teachings. This means not experiencing anything with aversion, fear, or prejudice. It's a position without preference. With a completely open heart and a completely open mind.

When these factors are developed, then we can begin to investigate the Buddha's teachings. It's this investigation that leads to liberation from our illusions, from our erroneous thoughts.

This way of being, you can carry it with you into daily life. It's so important to stop after each activity. After a conversation, after a phone call, after a meal. Just stop like this.

The importance of this is that when we're in this mode, we can see an intention arising. In the Buddha's teachings, all our conditioning begins with an intention. If we see that an intention isn't beneficial, then we can remain quiet and let it go away. In this way, we decondition non-beneficial conditioning. And in the same way, if we see an intention that's beneficial, we can reinforce it.

Just in this very simple way, we can change ourselves. But we have to be at this level of consciousness.

Our next intention will be to sit down. So really, take your time. And be aware of all the actions this requires. And make each action deliberate. Intention to sit.

So ideally, your knees should be lower than your hips. If this isn't the case, you're going to have back pain. And if you're not used to sitting on the ground, it's much better to sit on a chair.

Make sure your spine has its natural curve. As in the standing posture, you must stretch through the top of your head. This is actually the only energy you need to become completely liberated. We'll simply be sitting here for a very long period.

Eyes gently closed. Jaw relaxed. Lips together, teeth separated. Shoulders relaxed.

Some of you already have an established technique. So for a retreat of only one day, it's probably better to stay with that. Those of you who are new can follow these instructions.

Bring your attention to the sensations caused by breathing. In this type of method, we prefer the abdomen or belly, the belly in the body. In this particular method, we prefer the abdomen, the stomach, breathing in the body or in the chest. So you must choose.

Put your attention simply on these sensations caused by breathing. And to stop the thinking mind, we use a simple word. Like the abdomen, at the moment when the abdomen or chest rises, we say "rising." A little word, "rising," no? And when the abdomen or chest lowers, we say "falling."

The noting takes place at the same time as the breathing. Don't say it and then breathe afterward. This will give you the impression of controlling the breathing. Simply let the body breathe. And gently bring your attention to the sensations caused by breathing. So it's rising, falling.

If the mind wanders, note what it's doing. So two notations. The first to recognise and the second to truly recognise. Worrying, worrying. Thinking, thinking. Planning, planning. And then, just turn gently away and bring yourself back to the breath.

And when you come back to the breath, take the determination to stay here with the breath. Rising, falling.

If the mind is wandering, truly recognise what it's doing. Thinking, thinking. And then gently bring your attention back to the breath and take the determination to stay there.

If you begin to feel lethargic or tired, put energy into the spine. Lift up through the head. You can open your eyes slightly or even completely to let light in. But keep the attention inside on the breath. And if the sensation of fatigue becomes very heavy, then you can stand up and practice standing again.

Rising, falling.

If the mind is wandering, be patient. If you judge the mind - you shouldn't be doing that - then note the judgment. And continue to bring attention back to the breath. If we did this for the whole session, it would be good practice.

If we feel sleepy, tired, continue to make the effort. Bringing attention to the neutral feelings, to the neutral sensations of breathing. Perhaps we can see how this makes the mind silent. How this calms the heart. Brings calm and stability to the body.

Good. If the mind wanders, be quick to note and recognise what it's doing. And continue to bring attention back to your breath.

You feel tired or sleepy. Continue to make the effort. Remember that you can stand up.

I hope that now, you feel a little more stable in your attention. Try to see if you can get closer to the breath. Catch the very beginning of the inhalation and stay with it until the end. The very beginning of the exhalation and stay with it until the end.

So now, remember for the rest of this period. Each time the mind wanders, you note and truly recognise what it's doing and you come back to the breath. And if you feel tired or sleepy, continue to make an effort.

Now, we can open and observe whatever comes into this global awareness. But it has to be something that draws our attention. We're not going to search for anything.

So we're observing the breath and then perhaps we hear something. All our attention goes to the hearing. We're not interested in what's causing the sound. We're interested in the process of hearing.

Or perhaps there's a sensation in the body, pleasant or unpleasant. If this draws my attention, then I leave the breath. And I put all my attention on these sensations. And it also helps to find a little noting word, simply so the intellect is happy. Pain, pain. Aching, aching.

This can be a pleasant or unpleasant sensation in the body caused by the mind. An emotion. So if this captures our attention, we go there and leave the breath. And we feel it intimately. Its texture. We're not interested in the story at all. And when it goes away, then we return to the breath.

It's possible that a sensation in the body or a feeling in the body that comes from the heart stays with us for the whole session. Sometimes it's like that. So the breath is only our reference point. It's what we go to when nothing else draws our attention.

And this is where we develop this equanimity. But we also observe the impermanent nature of breathing. Always start with the breath. Rising. Falling.

As we experience pleasant or unpleasant experiences, sensations, feelings in the body, can we be aware of how we react to them? How we're drawn, how we wish to indulge in what's pleasant. How we wish to resist and ignore what's unpleasant. Be aware of these reactions. Do nothing. Just watch, observe, experience intimately.

Whatever draws your attention in the field of awareness, can we see that each of the things we experience appears and disappears? Nothing lasts. Nothing is reliable.

When we're at this level of consciousness, we don't interfere with the body, heart, and mind. We do nothing. We simply feel, look, experience what draws our attention. So we find an observation post inside ourselves, like here.

The body offers what it wishes to offer, whatever that is. Simply sensations. The heart feels. It's the mind that always wants to think and imagine. Nothing is directly under our control.

Setting aside all instructions. Just watch, feel, experience intimately. Whatever draws the attention within the field of awareness. Do nothing.

When we come to the end of a sitting, it's good to reflect for a moment. How diligent were we in bringing ourselves back to the present moment? If we were diligent, we should congratulate ourselves. If we could have been more diligent, then we must encourage ourselves.

How did we approach the different physical and mental states that arose? Were we skillful? Did we know what to do? If we were skillful, then let's congratulate ourselves. If we could have been more skillful, we need to encourage ourselves.

Which of the three characteristics was most prominent, most visible to us? Was it the sense of impermanence? Or was it the way we realise - wanting, not wanting, indulging, resisting? This is what the Buddha designated as the psychological causes of suffering. Or was it this sense of no control, no self, not-self?

And it's good to make a determination. This can be something specific. Next time, even if I feel only a little tired, I will stand up. Or it can be very general. Maintain this level of awareness.

Very good. So now, we're going to practice a little walking meditation. Those of you who would like instructions, stay here.

For walking meditation, it's possible to walk outside. We have the whole park at our disposal.