Winter Retreat Dhamma Reflection 21 March 2021
In meditation we rest into what’s always here. Like dropping a net into the river and seeing what we catch, we simply take note with awareness, deep listening and open presence. Use structures and qualities as a skillful tetherings, to turn citta away from the complexity of stimulation, activity and abstraction. When energies are no longer running out, citta settles in itself. This is samādhi.
Being affected by hindrances is a natural hurdle in Dhamma practice. Meet them by cultivating and suffusing wholesome heart qualities through the body. Application of integrity and resolution as we practice encourages citta to grow up and learn from the difficulties.
In Ajahn Chah, we commemorate and honor what’s possible in a human form. A seemingly ordinary person who applied all he had for noble purposes, training in what was difficult and cultivating pāramī. With this comes the severing of the outflows and the liberation of heart, a practice that many people can cultivate while engaging in life.
Place attention on themes that hold the mind and heart steady, using body to anchor the tangle of reactivity. Heart (citta) can then step back from phenomena and return to its own center that is knowing, equanimous, open. Investigation and handling of the somatic and emotional effects, rather than the topics, lead out of the tangle.
When citta is collected in itself, it can begin to review the aspects of its experience that overwhelm and bind it, aspects not sensed or felt before. Train attention to go lightly, slow down, and open awareness to these unknown places. Fortify the citta with the rich energy of goodwill and recollections that warm the heart.
We are encouraged to investigate the region of feeling, perception and reaction. By creating space before the reactivity, citta has the choice to go down the same path of agitation or settle back into itself. Develop citta’s capacity for this through seasoning the heart to be contented in itself.