Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas

by Leigh Brasington

current neuroscience research has shown that gratitude practice begins the process of shutting down the so-called default-mode network, which is ...

second preliminary is to get in touch with y...

Then work up some determination—not determination to get anything, just determination to do your very best to use this time as wisely as possible.

If mettā meditation is not something you like doing, it is still required that you do at least a little at the beginning of every sitting. You don’t have to feel anything; you just have to remind yourself that it really is OK to be well and happy, and that it would be nice if others that you know are also well and happy.

The five things to do at the end of a meditation period begin with recapitulation—what did you do, and how did you get there?

The second thing to do at the end of a sitting is reflect on impermanence—all those high, but mundane, concentration states are now gone; they too are impermanent.

The third reflection is insight: Did you get any insights? What were they? Insights are understood experiences.

just before you get up from your seat, resolve to be mindful as you arise and go about your activities. Continuous mindfulness is very difficult—you need all the help you can get. So make it a habit to remind yourself to be mindful as the last thing at the end of every period of formal meditation.

Although mettā is usually translated as “loving-kindness,” it really is “unconditional love.” “Deserving” has no part in something unconditional.

When you are using mettā as an access method, begin your mettā practice with at least five minutes of wishing yourself well.

Then move on to the other categories of beings. You can pick one individual per category, or you can think of multiple beings in each category.

The usual categories recommended for mettā practice can be summarized as follows: yourself people you admire—your benefactors for example people you are close to—your family and friends neutral people—your acquaintances, such as neighbors, coworkers, people you see in stores and restaurants you frequent difficult people—ones who have harmed you or those you care about or who have caused harm to society or the environment all beings—you can start with those in your physical proximity and work outward in expanding areas until you cover the whole planet; then expand your mettā to all the beings in the entire universe

I suggest using something like the following: May (I/you/all beings) be happy. May (I/you/all beings) be healthy. May (I/you/all beings) be safe. May (I/you/all beings) be at peace.

You also don’t need to wonder if your practice is having an effect on the other person—that doesn’t really matter. It is definitely having an effect on you, and that effect will carry over to the next time you encounter that person.

There are MP3s of Ayya Khema doing a guided body scan, which she refers to as “part-by-part,” at http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/334/talk/8001/19960705-Ayya_Khema-GGZ-guided_sweeping_meditation_part_by_part.mp3 and http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/334/talk/7819/19950706-Ayya_Khema-NTG-sweeping_technique_part_by_part.mp3.

There is an MP3 of me doing a guided body scan at http://www.audiodharma.org/mp3files/2007-02-03_LeighBrasington_GuidedMeditationBodySweep.mp3.

To detect the nada sound, turn your attention toward your hearing. If you listen carefully to the sounds around you, you’re likely to hear a continuous, high-pitched inner sound like white noise in the background.

It is a sound that is beginningless and endless. There’s no need to theorize about this inner vibration in an effort to figure out exactly what it might be. Just turn your attention to it.

you can use the simple act of listening to it as another form of meditation practice, in the same way one uses the ...

begin saying your mantra silently. Eventually instead of it feeling like you are doing the mantra, it will feel as though the mantra is doing you. Now you are likely to have arrived at access concentration—provided of course that you are not becoming distracted. Stay with the mantra doing you for five to ten minutes; then drop the mantra, and switch your attention to a pleasant sensation.