typefile
{
"audio": "https://replicate.delivery/pbxt/KKM18zCi8SBMUw8tsp26yvyqlDGAQogfqRFsHe8oTwyrtaWp/resampled.wav",
"batch_size": 24
}npm install replicate
REPLICATE_API_TOKEN environment variable:export REPLICATE_API_TOKEN=r8_1eF**********************************
This is your API token. Keep it to yourself.
import Replicate from "replicate";
const replicate = new Replicate({
auth: process.env.REPLICATE_API_TOKEN,
});
Run mattsegal/incredibly-fast-whisper-distil-medium-en using Replicate’s API. Check out the model's schema for an overview of inputs and outputs.
const output = await replicate.run(
"mattsegal/incredibly-fast-whisper-distil-medium-en:5c981bbac61ebf554a001c88688e951efe046f702e1b964322b6dea812c4398c",
{
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audio: "https://replicate.delivery/pbxt/KKM18zCi8SBMUw8tsp26yvyqlDGAQogfqRFsHe8oTwyrtaWp/resampled.wav",
batch_size: 24
}
}
);
console.log(output);
To learn more, take a look at the guide on getting started with Node.js.
pip install replicate
REPLICATE_API_TOKEN environment variable:export REPLICATE_API_TOKEN=r8_1eF**********************************
This is your API token. Keep it to yourself.
import replicate
Run mattsegal/incredibly-fast-whisper-distil-medium-en using Replicate’s API. Check out the model's schema for an overview of inputs and outputs.
output = replicate.run(
"mattsegal/incredibly-fast-whisper-distil-medium-en:5c981bbac61ebf554a001c88688e951efe046f702e1b964322b6dea812c4398c",
input={
"audio": "https://replicate.delivery/pbxt/KKM18zCi8SBMUw8tsp26yvyqlDGAQogfqRFsHe8oTwyrtaWp/resampled.wav",
"batch_size": 24
}
)
print(output)
To learn more, take a look at the guide on getting started with Python.
REPLICATE_API_TOKEN environment variable:export REPLICATE_API_TOKEN=r8_1eF**********************************
This is your API token. Keep it to yourself.
Run mattsegal/incredibly-fast-whisper-distil-medium-en using Replicate’s API. Check out the model's schema for an overview of inputs and outputs.
curl -s -X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $REPLICATE_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Prefer: wait" \
-d $'{
"version": "mattsegal/incredibly-fast-whisper-distil-medium-en:5c981bbac61ebf554a001c88688e951efe046f702e1b964322b6dea812c4398c",
"input": {
"audio": "https://replicate.delivery/pbxt/KKM18zCi8SBMUw8tsp26yvyqlDGAQogfqRFsHe8oTwyrtaWp/resampled.wav",
"batch_size": 24
}
}' \
https://api.replicate.com/v1/predictions
To learn more, take a look at Replicate’s HTTP API reference docs.
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"model": "mattsegal/incredibly-fast-whisper-distil-medium-en",
"version": "5c981bbac61ebf554a001c88688e951efe046f702e1b964322b6dea812c4398c",
"input": {
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{
"text": " So teaching this retreat is a big stretch for me just because of everything that's going on with",
"timestamp": [
0,
14.28
]
},
{
"text": " my health and what that needs what that requires.",
"timestamp": [
14.28,
17.12
]
},
{
"text": " I said a meeting with a nurse this morning etc etc and as I said at the",
"timestamp": [
17.12,
25
]
},
{
"text": " at the beginning, in a way that kind of impacts the unfolding of the teaching.",
"timestamp": [
25,
34
]
},
{
"text": " I have to be at the hospital at this time and all that stuff.",
"timestamp": [
34,
36
]
},
{
"text": " So things are getting squashed together in one in one session one long session that otherwise would",
"timestamp": [
36,
46.64
]
},
{
"text": " you know I would otherwise have had a choice I would pace them over over you know morning",
"timestamp": [
47.36,
51.76
]
},
{
"text": " evening afternoon sort of thing so that's just part of the deal which it's you know it's not perfect but it is what it is and in my experience doing sitting lots of retreats and you know it's not perfect but it is what it is. And in my experience,",
"timestamp": [
51.76,
68.36
]
},
{
"text": " sitting lots of retreats is often when the conditions aren't perfect,",
"timestamp": [
68.36,
72.2
]
},
{
"text": " that's often for some weird reason",
"timestamp": [
72.2,
73.88
]
},
{
"text": " when the retreat is most fruitful.",
"timestamp": [
73.88,
75.76
]
},
{
"text": " So,",
"timestamp": [
75.76,
77.76
]
},
{
"text": " the other thing about the teachings, and I said this again at the the beginning is that everyone needs different things at different times and so I feel quite sort of concern or anxious even just to make sure you will have what you need but it's actually an impossible situation. So we're just unfolding things and for some person",
"timestamp": [
77.76,
105
]
},
{
"text": " something that said on day five it would be like",
"timestamp": [
105,
108
]
},
{
"text": " well I wish I'd heard that on day one you know",
"timestamp": [
108,
110
]
},
{
"text": " etc so I don't quite know how else to do a group retreat that's part",
"timestamp": [
111,
117
]
},
{
"text": " of the territory here it's part of the challenge here so um hopefully still you know it works here.",
"timestamp": [
117,
125
]
},
{
"text": " Hopefully still, it works and it's helpful. And I want to try, I want to divide the teaching today into three sections,",
"timestamp": [
129,
137
]
},
{
"text": " and maybe four depending on how we do for time.",
"timestamp": [
137,
140
]
},
{
"text": " So two kinds of, well, I want to divide the teaching today into three sections, and maybe four depending on how we do for time.",
"timestamp": [
140,
143
]
},
{
"text": " So two kinds of, well, an instructions, a guide of meditation,",
"timestamp": [
143,
148
]
},
{
"text": " and a shortish talk, shorter talk.",
"timestamp": [
148,
152
]
},
{
"text": " So let's start with a bit of instructions actually.",
"timestamp": [
152,
157
]
},
{
"text": " So, again, a bit of a context, just slight context.",
"timestamp": [
157,
162
]
},
{
"text": " So, I was going to say this this later but I'll say it now.",
"timestamp": [
162,
167
]
},
{
"text": " Janas by definition you could say all the Janas but certainly we can say the first four Janas",
"timestamp": [
170,
177
]
},
{
"text": " by definition they include or even I would say what's really primary in them is that the whole body, as I said",
"timestamp": [
177,
188.28
]
},
{
"text": " when I ran through those descriptions of the Buddha gave, the whole body really feels",
"timestamp": [
188.28,
192.8
]
},
{
"text": " very, very nice and different kinds of nice, and in a way that's what characterizes each Jana is the kind of nice that the whole body space feels.",
"timestamp": [
192.8,
205
]
},
{
"text": " So that by definition, axiomatically,",
"timestamp": [
205,
209
]
},
{
"text": " a really pleasant feeling, nice, lovely energy body experience",
"timestamp": [
209,
215
]
},
{
"text": " is part of where we're going.",
"timestamp": [
215,
217
]
},
{
"text": " And actually you could say any of the genres or eight, in a way, because the absence of any sensation at all,",
"timestamp": [
217,
224
]
},
{
"text": " in the formless genres is actually very",
"timestamp": [
224,
228.08
]
},
{
"text": " in its kind of acquired taste kind of way extremely pleasant.",
"timestamp": [
228.08,
233.36
]
},
{
"text": " But anyway the first four genres all involve a really nice energy body experience.",
"timestamp": [
233.36,
241.44
]
},
{
"text": " So all the practices that we're doing are kind of going towards that.",
"timestamp": [
241.44,
248
]
},
{
"text": " That's what they're kind of aiming for, just by virtue.",
"timestamp": [
248,
251
]
},
{
"text": " We're aiming for Janus.",
"timestamp": [
251,
253
]
},
{
"text": " As I said, which base practice, or which springboard practice, whether it's working with the breath like that, whether it's meta, whether it's something else, whatever it is. They're all intended in that direction.",
"timestamp": [
253,
267.28
]
},
{
"text": " That's what we're trying to get them to do.",
"timestamp": [
267.28,
271.72
]
},
{
"text": " I don't know, most people, that the first sort of poor of call in the niceness will be what we call",
"timestamp": [
271.72,
277.28
]
},
{
"text": " Piti and this pleasantness that I'll talk about as we go on. But basically what you want at this point is to be narrowing down into one practice, one",
"timestamp": [
277.28,
288.08
]
},
{
"text": " base or springboard practice that you feel is the one that feels best for you and the most reliable or easiest that well-being arises from that physical well-being, mental well-being. And we keep that practice all through, even after you've got eight Janas,",
"timestamp": [
288.08,
308.28
]
},
{
"text": " because even when you know 8 Janas,",
"timestamp": [
308.28,
310.44
]
},
{
"text": " there's going to be times when you need to go right back",
"timestamp": [
310.44,
312.6
]
},
{
"text": " to your base practice and use that.",
"timestamp": [
312.6,
315.8
]
},
{
"text": " Yeah?",
"timestamp": [
315.8,
315.84
]
},
{
"text": " So that's your thing for in terms of Jana practice.",
"timestamp": [
315.84,
321.36
]
},
{
"text": " Later, we can add to it and have others but basically at this point a lot of you unless you",
"timestamp": [
321.36,
327
]
},
{
"text": " already well into the Janas and know what works like I said and you already know it and you just",
"timestamp": [
327,
331.12
]
},
{
"text": " that's my base practice I know that's what works best basically you're still trying to find that and narrow it down so okay that's the one for me. Now within that because as I said Janas are kind of by definition different kinds of really lovely states of the energy body",
"timestamp": [
331.12,
351.92
]
},
{
"text": " different flavors of really lovely states the energy body we can kind of again think backwards from where are we going we're going to some kind of lovely state in the energy body. I can get there in kind of two ways. We're back to the whole Newton",
"timestamp": [
351.92,
367.08
]
},
{
"text": " Abbott thing kind of. Either, I say, oh if that's part of where I'm going, why don't I start with that anyway? And start with the energy body experience and just help it in creative, responsive, sensitive ways to become nice, nicer and nicer.",
"timestamp": [
367.08,
385.6
]
},
{
"text": " I'm starting with something that's very close",
"timestamp": [
385.6,
388.76
]
},
{
"text": " to where I'm headed anyway, right?",
"timestamp": [
388.76,
391.64
]
},
{
"text": " That's one way of going about things.",
"timestamp": [
391.64,
393.16
]
},
{
"text": " Another way of going about things",
"timestamp": [
393.16,
395.36
]
},
{
"text": " is, for instance, taking one spot, like at the upper lip or the tip of the nose,",
"timestamp": [
395.36,
400.8
]
},
{
"text": " or the abdomen, and just paying attention to the sensations there and really",
"timestamp": [
400.8,
406.84
]
},
{
"text": " really paying attention and in time other factors develop one of which",
"timestamp": [
406.84,
413.68
]
},
{
"text": " it sort of comes out of that is the PT which can then be spread into the whole body",
"timestamp": [
413.68,
418.76
]
},
{
"text": " so not better not worse they're just different one is starting with something much similar to where you're going,",
"timestamp": [
418.76,
425.28
]
},
{
"text": " one is starting with something that actually doesn't look that much like where we're going",
"timestamp": [
425.28,
430.56
]
},
{
"text": " at all, okay? Because at some point this, as I'll explain, we'll expand to a whole energy body experience. Not better, not worse, just different people find different things work better, but that's kind of what we're doing, either sort of the direct route or the kind of more indirect",
"timestamp": [
430.56,
451.36
]
},
{
"text": " route.",
"timestamp": [
451.36,
452.36
]
},
{
"text": " More indirect route is more common, but why that is, you know, just how it is.",
"timestamp": [
452.36,
459.44
]
},
{
"text": " So everyone's different.",
"timestamp": [
459.44,
461.44
]
},
{
"text": " And why do I spend so proportionately more time teaching about the energy body and all",
"timestamp": [
461.44,
471.12
]
},
{
"text": " that?",
"timestamp": [
471.12,
473.12
]
},
{
"text": " It's probably because there are more possibilities there.",
"timestamp": [
473.12,
477.76
]
},
{
"text": " There's, it's more unusual so people need to hear most, most of you have probably spent a long time paying attention",
"timestamp": [
477.76,
485.68
]
},
{
"text": " to the breath at the nose or the upper lip or the abdomen or something.",
"timestamp": [
485.68,
489.44
]
},
{
"text": " Enri-body is more unusual and there are more possibilities there.",
"timestamp": [
489.44,
493.24
]
},
{
"text": " There's probably an infinite amount of possibilities in terms of how creative it becomes, how playful it becomes, how sort of imaginative it becomes.",
"timestamp": [
493.24,
501.76
]
},
{
"text": " And I find over many years of teaching that for a lot of people who have had kind of very little",
"timestamp": [
501.76,
509
]
},
{
"text": " sort of development or opening or joy from paying attention at one point,",
"timestamp": [
509,
514
]
},
{
"text": " opening up to the whole body is often a revelation and things really start to move then.",
"timestamp": [
514,
519
]
},
{
"text": " As I said though, it's not the case with everyone at all.",
"timestamp": [
519,
522
]
},
{
"text": " So we really want to find what works for you.",
"timestamp": [
522,
524
]
},
{
"text": " This is so so important",
"timestamp": [
524,
528.54
]
},
{
"text": " okay so if we talk now the first section of today's teaching I want to talk",
"timestamp": [
528.54,
533.22
]
},
{
"text": " about taking a narrower spot and classic spots rather than the whole body the classic spots are as I said that upper lip somewhere between the sort of top of the",
"timestamp": [
533.22,
545.28
]
},
{
"text": " lip and the beginning of the nose so that whole area there or the sort of tip of",
"timestamp": [
545.28,
551.08
]
},
{
"text": " the nose just inside the nostrils anywhere around there or that whole area it really doesn't matter the question is when I pay attention that sort of location where can I most clearly feel the sensations of the breath as they come in and out?",
"timestamp": [
551.08,
566
]
},
{
"text": " And there'll be sensations of the breath, you know, the friction really of the breath moving",
"timestamp": [
566,
572.56
]
},
{
"text": " across the skin or the tiny hairs of the skin there.",
"timestamp": [
572.56,
577
]
},
{
"text": " Or there'll be sensations of, for example, the in-breath is slightly cooler because of the temperature than the out-breath the body has",
"timestamp": [
577,
586.68
]
},
{
"text": " warm the out-breath.",
"timestamp": [
586.68,
588.12
]
},
{
"text": " So temperature, sensation, this is, you must have heard this a million times.",
"timestamp": [
588.12,
593.36
]
},
{
"text": " So that's one classic spot.",
"timestamp": [
593.36,
596.4
]
},
{
"text": " Another classic spot is somewhere down in the abdomen.",
"timestamp": [
596.4,
599.36
]
},
{
"text": " And what you're paying attention to then is, is naturally when we breathe in there's the expansion really the",
"timestamp": [
599.36,
607.48
]
},
{
"text": " rising of the abdomen as you as you inhale and the falling back of the",
"timestamp": [
607.48,
614
]
},
{
"text": " abdomen as you breathe out and it's that sensation of the movement of the abdomen those sensations that goes with that double movement rising and falling and that's what you're paying attention to.",
"timestamp": [
614,
626
]
},
{
"text": " And people feel it in different places or it could be a slightly larger area, it doesn't matter.",
"timestamp": [
626,
630
]
},
{
"text": " But what you're really paying attention to in there is more gross physical sensations at first",
"timestamp": [
630,
635
]
},
{
"text": " than what we're talking about in the energy body. But those are the two classic places. Instead of primarily having this wider space of the whole energy body, we've got a narrower space.",
"timestamp": [
635,
645.32
]
},
{
"text": " It's a narrower spot.",
"timestamp": [
645.32,
647.12
]
},
{
"text": " Okay.",
"timestamp": [
647.12,
648.12
]
},
{
"text": " If I think of the word concentration and I automatically think of a narrow focus, this is just a prejudice",
"timestamp": [
648.12,
656.8
]
},
{
"text": " and an indoctrination. It does not necessarily mean that at all. It cannot possibly mean that in Buddha Darma. It cannot possibly mean that.",
"timestamp": [
656.8,
665.52
]
},
{
"text": " So I'm fifth Jana, infinite space. I'm concentrating on infinite space. That's the exact opposite of a precise point. So it cannot mean that. It might be helpful to choose, for some people that's sometimes to choose a small point, and then, as I said, then a whole process but that's not what concentration can mean it's not like concentrated laundry",
"timestamp": [
672.72,
691.12
]
},
{
"text": " detergent I've got this much in or a concentrated sulfuric acid I've got this much in this amount",
"timestamp": [
691.12,
696.8
]
},
{
"text": " of space you know that's a complete misconstrual so maybe helpful to do it that way, maybe not helpful, but it does not what Somadi means at all. So there's a small focus and it may be very helpful, but I would, I'm going to say, you've heard so much about working with the breath this way, I just want to throw out three or four things. One is, even though we have a small, a narrow spatial focus, I would suggest it will be very helpful to have a background awareness of the whole body. Okay, so if I say, in some of you far away, can you see my hand? Can you focus on my hand? Can you focus on my hand? Can you focus on my hand and even if it's not that clear? Can you focus on it? Can you",
"timestamp": [
696.8,
746.84
]
},
{
"text": " focus on my hand and still have a background awareness of the whole room behind me, what's",
"timestamp": [
746.84,
752.28
]
},
{
"text": " also in your visual field? Yeah? Can you switch those visual fields? So the background is kind of, what's in the background is more in your foreground psychologically, yeah? That's all I'm talking about. So when there's a small focus",
"timestamp": [
752.28,
766.8
]
},
{
"text": " is really helpful to have the whole body sense just lightly in the background. Not 50-50, maybe 10% or 5% or something like that. So primarily I'm really getting into this one spot wherever it is, But I'm always maintaining this whole body background awareness.",
"timestamp": [
766.8,
786.8
]
},
{
"text": " Why?",
"timestamp": [
786.8,
788.48
]
},
{
"text": " Partly was, partly because when I have a bigger space that way,",
"timestamp": [
788.48,
792.32
]
},
{
"text": " it's a bit like a table, a table has one leg, and it's a narrow leg, it's hard for it to balance.",
"timestamp": [
792.32,
793.8
]
},
{
"text": " If a table has two legs, it's still,",
"timestamp": [
793.8,
809.12
]
},
{
"text": " if it's three or four and they're spread out,",
"timestamp": [
809.12,
811.4
]
},
{
"text": " it's much easier.",
"timestamp": [
811.4,
812.52
]
},
{
"text": " So something spread out helps to balance the concentration.",
"timestamp": [
812.52,
815.6
]
},
{
"text": " That's one of the reasons why sometimes the energy body works, but we'll revisit this in different ways.",
"timestamp": [
815.6,
823.72
]
},
{
"text": " So it can stabilize really well. Does that make sense?",
"timestamp": [
823.72,
827.32
]
},
{
"text": " Yes.",
"timestamp": [
827.32,
828.32
]
},
{
"text": " Second reason is that what we want to become, and I'll talk more about this probably starting",
"timestamp": [
828.32,
834.04
]
},
{
"text": " tomorrow. As we go on with all this, the factor of effort and balanced effort and right effort becomes more and",
"timestamp": [
834.04,
842.52
]
},
{
"text": " more crucial actually. It becomes more and more of a real investigation.",
"timestamp": [
842.52,
849.52
]
},
{
"text": " And it's not the sort of investigation that we sort of nail it. Ah, day four, I got the effort",
"timestamp": [
849.52,
854.68
]
},
{
"text": " thing right and then I can forget about it. It will stay with you for the rest of your practice life. It's just part of the art of practice. What's the effort level now? What's the subtle effort level?",
"timestamp": [
854.68,
865.16
]
},
{
"text": " What's involved in that?",
"timestamp": [
865.16,
866.16
]
},
{
"text": " Where am I with that?",
"timestamp": [
866.16,
867.64
]
},
{
"text": " Is it a bit too much?",
"timestamp": [
867.64,
869.16
]
},
{
"text": " The whole thing just develops and gets more and more subtle,",
"timestamp": [
869.16,
872.24
]
},
{
"text": " rather than something I've done now.",
"timestamp": [
872.24,
875.16
]
},
{
"text": " So if we talk about developing the art of Somadi, we must include this kind of opening up the exploration, the subtlety of the exploration, the subtlety of the",
"timestamp": [
875.16,
886.04
]
},
{
"text": " experimentation with effort levels.",
"timestamp": [
886.04,
889.52
]
},
{
"text": " It's not going to be something you're ever going to get beyond, okay?",
"timestamp": [
889.52,
894.52
]
},
{
"text": " It's part of the art of it.",
"timestamp": [
894.52,
896.76
]
},
{
"text": " And we'll return to this a lot.",
"timestamp": [
896.76,
898.72
]
},
{
"text": " The thing about keeping the whole body in the background is that thankfully, the whole body will, awareness of the whole body will enable",
"timestamp": [
898.72,
909.84
]
},
{
"text": " us to be aware when we're over-effeting because I mean if I'm really over-effeting, I'm going to cram up my muscles and I'm going to get headache right between the eyes and that sort of thing. Even as the effort becomes a little more subtle,",
"timestamp": [
909.84,
925
]
},
{
"text": " it will be reflected, maybe not in the musculature,",
"timestamp": [
925,
928
]
},
{
"text": " but maybe just in the tone and the contraction of the energy body.",
"timestamp": [
928,
933
]
},
{
"text": " But basically, as an instrument,",
"timestamp": [
933,
935
]
},
{
"text": " as an instrument of sensitivity to effort levels, this whole body space is really, really useful.",
"timestamp": [
935,
941
]
},
{
"text": " So it's going to tell me, oh, I can feel just there's a bit of tension creeping",
"timestamp": [
941,
945.4
]
},
{
"text": " into the energy body. It's telling me a bit too much pressure. Just relax a little bit.",
"timestamp": [
945.4,
950
]
},
{
"text": " If I don't have that background awareness, it's much harder to be sensitive. You understand? So that's one thing. Then I would say let's talk about",
"timestamp": [
950,
971.56
]
},
{
"text": " You know again we can think of developing concentration samadie whatever word we're gonna use",
"timestamp": [
974,
978
]
},
{
"text": " jana as as okay what it really is is staring really hard",
"timestamp": [
978,
984
]
},
{
"text": " and really unwaveringly at something and if I can do that",
"timestamp": [
984,
988
]
},
{
"text": " with enough intensity and enough unwaveringness I will get into Jana.",
"timestamp": [
988,
993.36
]
},
{
"text": " It's just not true, okay? If I'm doing that and there is an openness of heart, it's not going to take me in Jana. If I'm doing that and there is an openness of heart, it's not going to take me into Jana. I might get very good at staying with an object and that's helpful. You know, that's not going to take me into Jana. Okay. So rather than think about it that way,",
"timestamp": [
993.36,
1010
]
},
{
"text": " we've talked about openness heart a little bit, we'll talk about it some more, but let me emphasize three things rather than just hanging on to something. Three things you can think about. And in a way, you could sum this up up as saying let's emphasize quality of attention in any moment over quantity.",
"timestamp": [
1026.28,
1031.68
]
},
{
"text": " In other words quantity meaning how long have I stayed with the breath without losing, you know, going off in a thought or a sound or whatever it is. So very often what happens is we get into this quantity thing and one part of our mind is just",
"timestamp": [
1031.68,
1047.84
]
},
{
"text": " kind of is really checking. Have I had a thought yeah? How long has it been? Have I been distracted yet? And counting breaths and etc. So it's not that that's unimportant again but let's can we kind of re-hire archives our priorities and I would say quality of attention is much more important.",
"timestamp": [
1047.84,
1066.92
]
},
{
"text": " That means in this moment, with this part of this breath, what's the quality of my attention?",
"timestamp": [
1066.92,
1074.12
]
},
{
"text": " And what's meant in that, what's meant by quality?",
"timestamp": [
1074.12,
1076.8
]
},
{
"text": " A lot of things, I'm only going to say, I'm going to point to three things today.",
"timestamp": [
1076.8,
1080.36
]
},
{
"text": " Um, intensity, directionality, I'm not sure if that's the right word, but let's say that.",
"timestamp": [
1080.36,
1093.84
]
},
{
"text": " Intensity, directionality, and subtlety.",
"timestamp": [
1093.84,
1098.28
]
},
{
"text": " So, let's do that in the reverse order.",
"timestamp": [
1098.28,
1104.12
]
},
{
"text": " As I said yesterday, again, we tend to think of, we tend to think of, Let's do that in the reverse order.",
"timestamp": [
1104.12,
1105
]
},
{
"text": " As I said yesterday, again, we tend to think of Janas and Samadi and we tend to think of",
"timestamp": [
1105,
1113
]
},
{
"text": " them in certain ways.",
"timestamp": [
1113,
1114
]
},
{
"text": " And undeniably, I would say it's the case that deepening in Samadi and certainly deepening",
"timestamp": [
1114,
1125.36
]
},
{
"text": " through the eight Janas is a movement of increasing subtle. I cannot get",
"timestamp": [
1125.36,
1132.6
]
},
{
"text": " away from that. Each Jana is more subtle than the last one. Each Jana is more refined than the last one. The whole deepening of Samadi even before you reach Jan, needs to be a deepening into more and more subtlety.",
"timestamp": [
1132.6,
1148
]
},
{
"text": " Okay? It's not the case, or you might sometimes hear it, that each Jana, the mind is more unwavering",
"timestamp": [
1148,
1154.36
]
},
{
"text": " than the last one, as if that was the primary thing that's happening. It's not the case. You could have fifth Jana, you're not quite used to it yet, and you're wobbling out of it, and second jana that's much more stable for you or whatever or breath's much more stable and you're",
"timestamp": [
1154.36,
1168.8
]
},
{
"text": " just learning the second jana and it wobbles that you know so don't",
"timestamp": [
1168.8,
1171.84
]
},
{
"text": " don't again it's like let's get our sense of conceptual framework what's actually to emphasize work with and pay attention to and actually bother about. So subtlety is a key element.",
"timestamp": [
1171.84,
1190
]
},
{
"text": " As you practice with the breath, whatever way of working with the breath",
"timestamp": [
1190,
1194
]
},
{
"text": " or place you're paying attention, as it goes on and the mind settles down and the body settles down, the breath becomes more subtle.",
"timestamp": [
1194,
1204
]
},
{
"text": " It should become more subtle.",
"timestamp": [
1204,
1205.4
]
},
{
"text": " I mentioned this yesterday, I think.",
"timestamp": [
1205.4,
1207.6
]
},
{
"text": " Also if you're practicing meta or compassion,",
"timestamp": [
1207.6,
1212.4
]
},
{
"text": " and sometimes compassion,",
"timestamp": [
1212.4,
1213.36
]
},
{
"text": " and you start practicing compassion,",
"timestamp": [
1213.36,
1214.68
]
},
{
"text": " there's all these tears and it's up and down,",
"timestamp": [
1214.68,
1218.04
]
},
{
"text": " and the world's suffering, and it's great.",
"timestamp": [
1218.04,
1220.16
]
},
{
"text": " And we need to expand the heart that way and have it go through all that. But as it settles down and deepens, actually the compassion gets more subtle.",
"timestamp": [
1220.16,
1230
]
},
{
"text": " And the meta gets more subtle.",
"timestamp": [
1231,
1233
]
},
{
"text": " It's less kind of, I don't know what you'd call it, like certainly fiery emotions or intense emotions. The whole thing gets more subtle. Likewise, the breath, or whatever object.",
"timestamp": [
1233,
1244
]
},
{
"text": " So there's this",
"timestamp": [
1244,
1245.12
]
},
{
"text": " movement into subtlety, the object is actually perceived more and more subtly. As I said, we can",
"timestamp": [
1245.12,
1252.24
]
},
{
"text": " get in the way of that either by having a certain idea or by doing something physically, like repeatedly doing that, what was it called,",
"timestamp": [
1252.24,
1260
]
},
{
"text": " weja, which I am breathing or whatever it is. There's many ways we can block that process,",
"timestamp": [
1260,
1266.16
]
},
{
"text": " that natural process of subtelizing.",
"timestamp": [
1266.16,
1268.56
]
},
{
"text": " So when the object becomes naturally more subtle,",
"timestamp": [
1270.36,
1273.32
]
},
{
"text": " for the Samadi to develop, I mean already that means there's some",
"timestamp": [
1274.84,
1278.08
]
},
{
"text": " Samadi developing, that's a natural, it cannot happen without that.",
"timestamp": [
1278.08,
1281.24
]
},
{
"text": " But for Samadi then to really keep developing, then the attention,",
"timestamp": [
1281.24,
1285.52
]
},
{
"text": " the quality of the attention has to get correspondingly subtle. It has to, if my left hand here is going down to have subtle the object, whatever is breath and method, then my attention has to match it in subtle. And that process, subtlety, and that process, subtlety, and that process of matching, following the subtlety. And that process, to that process of matching, following, subtlety, in a way the attention needs to get more delicate there.",
"timestamp": [
1285.52,
1306.88
]
},
{
"text": " And that process of matching, following the subtlety down, the attention quality matches",
"timestamp": [
1306.88,
1312.76
]
},
{
"text": " the object quality.",
"timestamp": [
1312.76,
1315.12
]
},
{
"text": " That process is, you could say one of the most central things that's happening, one of the most central processes that's happening as Samadi develops.",
"timestamp": [
1315.12,
1325
]
},
{
"text": " And as I said, the Janas themselves are spectrum, or the eight Janus are a spectrum of increasing subtlety and increasing refinement.",
"timestamp": [
1325,
1334
]
},
{
"text": " So, let me say these other things.",
"timestamp": [
1334,
1335
]
},
{
"text": " I said, directionality.",
"timestamp": [
1335,
1336
]
},
{
"text": " So, um, let me say these other things, what did I say? I said, directionality. What do I mean by that? I'm not sure if it's the right word, but something like this. So let's say you have the breath at the upper lip nose. Very easily as human beings we can, well I'm not sure how universal this is, but it's very easy one way to construe the attention.",
"timestamp": [
1336,
1365.84
]
},
{
"text": " In other words, to have a sense of the attention here, somewhere, oftentimes in the head,",
"timestamp": [
1365.84,
1371.44
]
},
{
"text": " and it's going towards the object, if the object is a visual object, certainly, or it's going towards these sensations.",
"timestamp": [
1371.44,
1379.08
]
},
{
"text": " Here's the attention and it goes towards the sensations. And that's great. It's probing them and, you know, not attacking them, but going towards the sensations and that's great it's probing them and you know not",
"timestamp": [
1379.08,
1387.04
]
},
{
"text": " attacking them but but going towards them kind of in this more you know probing",
"timestamp": [
1387.04,
1392.48
]
},
{
"text": " way let's put it that way but we can also and I know many of you know this we can also construe and by construe I don't mean just an idea I mean a sense an actual sense of perception of receiving the breath, which in a way of",
"timestamp": [
1392.48,
1406.68
]
},
{
"text": " course the body is, the breath as air comes in and it's received.",
"timestamp": [
1406.68,
1410.96
]
},
{
"text": " But the mind can also feel like the sensations are being received.",
"timestamp": [
1410.96,
1414.72
]
},
{
"text": " So this is something we can play with, the directionality, if you like, of attention.",
"timestamp": [
1414.72,
1420.36
]
},
{
"text": " And this is something you can actually play with.",
"timestamp": [
1420.36,
1422.64
]
},
{
"text": " All this boils down to, what's helpful right now.",
"timestamp": [
1422.64,
1426
]
},
{
"text": " It's not the case that one of these directions is always going to be for you better than another.",
"timestamp": [
1426,
1431
]
},
{
"text": " The whole thing is a dance, the whole thing is like riding a bicycle.",
"timestamp": [
1431,
1435
]
},
{
"text": " Oh, it's always good to lean to the left on a bicycle.",
"timestamp": [
1435,
1439
]
},
{
"text": " No, it's good in certain situations to lean on to the left.",
"timestamp": [
1439,
1443
]
},
{
"text": " In other way,",
"timestamp": [
1443,
1445.2
]
},
{
"text": " or right in the middle, or whatever it is. So all this, again, it's stuff for you to play with",
"timestamp": [
1445.2,
1452.32
]
},
{
"text": " moment to moment, to have this sense of you're the artist, you're the improviser, you're the person with your hands on the",
"timestamp": [
1452.32,
1459.6
]
},
{
"text": " clay, on the wheel, you understand? So subtlety, subtlety,, the other one is, what did I say, intensity.",
"timestamp": [
1459.6,
1468
]
},
{
"text": " So this is kind of hard one, but I think it's really important, it's like, can you get a sense,",
"timestamp": [
1468,
1476
]
},
{
"text": " to pay attention to X, but can you get a sense of actually dialing up or down the intensity, the energy of your attention.",
"timestamp": [
1476,
1485
]
},
{
"text": " What is it?",
"timestamp": [
1485,
1488
]
},
{
"text": " So you might, again, you might think of it like that probing gets more,",
"timestamp": [
1488,
1492
]
},
{
"text": " that's one way of thinking about it.",
"timestamp": [
1492,
1494
]
},
{
"text": " But it might also be like just like a lamp going up, or a sense of energy, you know, it's dialing up.",
"timestamp": [
1494,
1499
]
},
{
"text": " There's more energy, there's more, I'm really present, I'm really alive there.",
"timestamp": [
1499,
1503
]
},
{
"text": " But this again, you think, oh well more is better not always it's",
"timestamp": [
1503,
1509.92
]
},
{
"text": " an interesting thing so if we if we take all these factors together and you",
"timestamp": [
1509.92,
1513.92
]
},
{
"text": " think about okay well subtlety what allows a subtle intention",
"timestamp": [
1513.92,
1517
]
},
{
"text": " sometimes it's a delicacy of attention that allows to go into subtlety and not so much intensity.",
"timestamp": [
1517,
1527
]
},
{
"text": " So if you think about maybe some, I know there are some fantastic chefs in the room in fact,",
"timestamp": [
1527,
1535
]
},
{
"text": " but let's say someone's cooked this amazing meal, exquisite and you're tasting it. And each mouthful kind of reveals, you know,",
"timestamp": [
1535,
1549.28
]
},
{
"text": " sometimes when you put food into your mouth,",
"timestamp": [
1549.28,
1551.32
]
},
{
"text": " the flavors reveal themselves kind of not all at the same time,",
"timestamp": [
1551.32,
1554.84
]
},
{
"text": " if you had that, yeah?",
"timestamp": [
1554.84,
1556.56
]
},
{
"text": " So, and sometimes some of them are mixed at the same time. What kind of mode of attention do you go into if it's really exquisite and especially the chefs",
"timestamp": [
1556.56,
1566.44
]
},
{
"text": " there and they want to know what you think?",
"timestamp": [
1566.44,
1569.04
]
},
{
"text": " So there's a kind of delicate poise in relation to the taste attention.",
"timestamp": [
1569.04,
1577.12
]
},
{
"text": " The gustatory attention.",
"timestamp": [
1577.12,
1580.52
]
},
{
"text": " So this is delicacy.",
"timestamp": [
1580.52,
1582.12
]
},
{
"text": " I can't kind of go in there, you know, ramming in there a right was like,",
"timestamp": [
1582.12,
1588
]
},
{
"text": " and you understand it's not the right kind of attention that will reveal those kind of subtle exquisite qualities,",
"timestamp": [
1588,
1597
]
},
{
"text": " it's one of those really subtle dishes, you know.",
"timestamp": [
1597,
1600
]
},
{
"text": " Or listening, when you listen for something a sound that's faint amid background noise.",
"timestamp": [
1600,
1609
]
},
{
"text": " There's a quality there of, you know, you're not squeezing something, you're not squinting, you're not pressuring something.",
"timestamp": [
1610,
1620
]
},
{
"text": " It's more like there's a kind of poise and you're attentive in a way that your antenna pick up something.",
"timestamp": [
1620,
1629.2
]
},
{
"text": " Yeah? So if you just, in a way, pay attention to how you pay attention in these kinds of situations,",
"timestamp": [
1629.2,
1635.2
]
},
{
"text": " you might learn something about what I'm talking about here. Now what's also interesting is that when the breath become, for example, if the breath is the object or the matter is the object,",
"timestamp": [
1635.2,
1638
]
},
{
"text": " about what I'm talking about here, um, here. Now what's also interesting is that when the breath become, for example, if the breath",
"timestamp": [
1638,
1647.12
]
},
{
"text": " is the object or the matter is the object, the delicacy of the object, as the object",
"timestamp": [
1647.12,
1652.88
]
},
{
"text": " becomes more delicate and subtle, actually it can, not always a case, but it can become more delightful. So the",
"timestamp": [
1652.88,
1661.28
]
},
{
"text": " The delightfulness of the object often goes with the delicacy. But I would certainly say that",
"timestamp": [
1661.28,
1667
]
},
{
"text": " the delightfulness of the attention increases with the delicacy of the attention. So in other words, I think as human beings, we like paying attention in a delicate way.",
"timestamp": [
1667,
1685
]
},
{
"text": " We actually like that.",
"timestamp": [
1685,
1687
]
},
{
"text": " It feels good.",
"timestamp": [
1687,
1689
]
},
{
"text": " When that, as that begins to happen more,",
"timestamp": [
1689,
1695
]
},
{
"text": " one, part of the job here is to enjoy that.",
"timestamp": [
1695,
1697
]
},
{
"text": " It might be very, very not a big deal, but that's part of, can I get intimate also with this delight?",
"timestamp": [
1697,
1703
]
},
{
"text": " Can I include it?",
"timestamp": [
1703,
1704
]
},
{
"text": " Can I enjoy it can I enjoy",
"timestamp": [
1704,
1705
]
},
{
"text": " it which is again a very different thing that am I still thinking how long",
"timestamp": [
1705,
1710.08
]
},
{
"text": " have I gone since my last distraction",
"timestamp": [
1710.08,
1713.52
]
},
{
"text": " so okay that's the first block of today's teachings.",
"timestamp": [
1713.52,
1725
]
},
{
"text": " A smaller point, and when you're using a smaller point like that, there's a few things to bear",
"timestamp": [
1725,
1732.24
]
},
{
"text": " in mind, there's a few things you can play with.",
"timestamp": [
1732.24,
1734.24
]
},
{
"text": " I mean, there's more, but that's okay for now.",
"timestamp": [
1734.24,
1736.76
]
},
{
"text": " And I said, where we're going is for this whole body space to be very pleasant in different ways.",
"timestamp": [
1736.76,
1745
]
},
{
"text": " But we can still use something that doesn't look that much like that.",
"timestamp": [
1745,
1749
]
},
{
"text": " We use a small point and for some people that's what works best.",
"timestamp": [
1749,
1752
]
},
{
"text": " As you get into this one small point, it will tend to grow.",
"timestamp": [
1752,
1756
]
},
{
"text": " That's also one of the signs that it's getting deeper is that it's almost like, well this upper lip area kind of feels like it's about as big as my head now. That's very normal. It's part of the...",
"timestamp": [
1756,
1766
]
},
{
"text": " So it will grow anyway. In a way that's part of the whole thing moving towards the whole energy body thing.",
"timestamp": [
1766,
1772
]
},
{
"text": " So I'm just mentioning that.",
"timestamp": [
1772,
1773
]
},
{
"text": " Okay, I think that's all I wanted to say about that piece.",
"timestamp": [
1773,
1779
]
},
{
"text": " Let me pause there and do another one, yeah.",
"timestamp": [
1779,
1784
]
}
],
"text": " So teaching this retreat is a big stretch for me just because of everything that's going on with my health and what that needs what that requires. I said a meeting with a nurse this morning etc etc and as I said at the at the beginning, in a way that kind of impacts the unfolding of the teaching. I have to be at the hospital at this time and all that stuff. So things are getting squashed together in one in one session one long session that otherwise would you know I would otherwise have had a choice I would pace them over over you know morning evening afternoon sort of thing so that's just part of the deal which it's you know it's not perfect but it is what it is and in my experience doing sitting lots of retreats and you know it's not perfect but it is what it is. And in my experience, sitting lots of retreats is often when the conditions aren't perfect, that's often for some weird reason when the retreat is most fruitful. So, the other thing about the teachings, and I said this again at the the beginning is that everyone needs different things at different times and so I feel quite sort of concern or anxious even just to make sure you will have what you need but it's actually an impossible situation. So we're just unfolding things and for some person something that said on day five it would be like well I wish I'd heard that on day one you know etc so I don't quite know how else to do a group retreat that's part of the territory here it's part of the challenge here so um hopefully still you know it works here. Hopefully still, it works and it's helpful. And I want to try, I want to divide the teaching today into three sections, and maybe four depending on how we do for time. So two kinds of, well, I want to divide the teaching today into three sections, and maybe four depending on how we do for time. So two kinds of, well, an instructions, a guide of meditation, and a shortish talk, shorter talk. So let's start with a bit of instructions actually. So, again, a bit of a context, just slight context. So, I was going to say this this later but I'll say it now. Janas by definition you could say all the Janas but certainly we can say the first four Janas by definition they include or even I would say what's really primary in them is that the whole body, as I said when I ran through those descriptions of the Buddha gave, the whole body really feels very, very nice and different kinds of nice, and in a way that's what characterizes each Jana is the kind of nice that the whole body space feels. So that by definition, axiomatically, a really pleasant feeling, nice, lovely energy body experience is part of where we're going. And actually you could say any of the genres or eight, in a way, because the absence of any sensation at all, in the formless genres is actually very in its kind of acquired taste kind of way extremely pleasant. But anyway the first four genres all involve a really nice energy body experience. So all the practices that we're doing are kind of going towards that. That's what they're kind of aiming for, just by virtue. We're aiming for Janus. As I said, which base practice, or which springboard practice, whether it's working with the breath like that, whether it's meta, whether it's something else, whatever it is. They're all intended in that direction. That's what we're trying to get them to do. I don't know, most people, that the first sort of poor of call in the niceness will be what we call Piti and this pleasantness that I'll talk about as we go on. But basically what you want at this point is to be narrowing down into one practice, one base or springboard practice that you feel is the one that feels best for you and the most reliable or easiest that well-being arises from that physical well-being, mental well-being. And we keep that practice all through, even after you've got eight Janas, because even when you know 8 Janas, there's going to be times when you need to go right back to your base practice and use that. Yeah? So that's your thing for in terms of Jana practice. Later, we can add to it and have others but basically at this point a lot of you unless you already well into the Janas and know what works like I said and you already know it and you just that's my base practice I know that's what works best basically you're still trying to find that and narrow it down so okay that's the one for me. Now within that because as I said Janas are kind of by definition different kinds of really lovely states of the energy body different flavors of really lovely states the energy body we can kind of again think backwards from where are we going we're going to some kind of lovely state in the energy body. I can get there in kind of two ways. We're back to the whole Newton Abbott thing kind of. Either, I say, oh if that's part of where I'm going, why don't I start with that anyway? And start with the energy body experience and just help it in creative, responsive, sensitive ways to become nice, nicer and nicer. I'm starting with something that's very close to where I'm headed anyway, right? That's one way of going about things. Another way of going about things is, for instance, taking one spot, like at the upper lip or the tip of the nose, or the abdomen, and just paying attention to the sensations there and really really paying attention and in time other factors develop one of which it sort of comes out of that is the PT which can then be spread into the whole body so not better not worse they're just different one is starting with something much similar to where you're going, one is starting with something that actually doesn't look that much like where we're going at all, okay? Because at some point this, as I'll explain, we'll expand to a whole energy body experience. Not better, not worse, just different people find different things work better, but that's kind of what we're doing, either sort of the direct route or the kind of more indirect route. More indirect route is more common, but why that is, you know, just how it is. So everyone's different. And why do I spend so proportionately more time teaching about the energy body and all that? It's probably because there are more possibilities there. There's, it's more unusual so people need to hear most, most of you have probably spent a long time paying attention to the breath at the nose or the upper lip or the abdomen or something. Enri-body is more unusual and there are more possibilities there. There's probably an infinite amount of possibilities in terms of how creative it becomes, how playful it becomes, how sort of imaginative it becomes. And I find over many years of teaching that for a lot of people who have had kind of very little sort of development or opening or joy from paying attention at one point, opening up to the whole body is often a revelation and things really start to move then. As I said though, it's not the case with everyone at all. So we really want to find what works for you. This is so so important okay so if we talk now the first section of today's teaching I want to talk about taking a narrower spot and classic spots rather than the whole body the classic spots are as I said that upper lip somewhere between the sort of top of the lip and the beginning of the nose so that whole area there or the sort of tip of the nose just inside the nostrils anywhere around there or that whole area it really doesn't matter the question is when I pay attention that sort of location where can I most clearly feel the sensations of the breath as they come in and out? And there'll be sensations of the breath, you know, the friction really of the breath moving across the skin or the tiny hairs of the skin there. Or there'll be sensations of, for example, the in-breath is slightly cooler because of the temperature than the out-breath the body has warm the out-breath. So temperature, sensation, this is, you must have heard this a million times. So that's one classic spot. Another classic spot is somewhere down in the abdomen. And what you're paying attention to then is, is naturally when we breathe in there's the expansion really the rising of the abdomen as you as you inhale and the falling back of the abdomen as you breathe out and it's that sensation of the movement of the abdomen those sensations that goes with that double movement rising and falling and that's what you're paying attention to. And people feel it in different places or it could be a slightly larger area, it doesn't matter. But what you're really paying attention to in there is more gross physical sensations at first than what we're talking about in the energy body. But those are the two classic places. Instead of primarily having this wider space of the whole energy body, we've got a narrower space. It's a narrower spot. Okay. If I think of the word concentration and I automatically think of a narrow focus, this is just a prejudice and an indoctrination. It does not necessarily mean that at all. It cannot possibly mean that in Buddha Darma. It cannot possibly mean that. So I'm fifth Jana, infinite space. I'm concentrating on infinite space. That's the exact opposite of a precise point. So it cannot mean that. It might be helpful to choose, for some people that's sometimes to choose a small point, and then, as I said, then a whole process but that's not what concentration can mean it's not like concentrated laundry detergent I've got this much in or a concentrated sulfuric acid I've got this much in this amount of space you know that's a complete misconstrual so maybe helpful to do it that way, maybe not helpful, but it does not what Somadi means at all. So there's a small focus and it may be very helpful, but I would, I'm going to say, you've heard so much about working with the breath this way, I just want to throw out three or four things. One is, even though we have a small, a narrow spatial focus, I would suggest it will be very helpful to have a background awareness of the whole body. Okay, so if I say, in some of you far away, can you see my hand? Can you focus on my hand? Can you focus on my hand? Can you focus on my hand and even if it's not that clear? Can you focus on it? Can you focus on my hand and still have a background awareness of the whole room behind me, what's also in your visual field? Yeah? Can you switch those visual fields? So the background is kind of, what's in the background is more in your foreground psychologically, yeah? That's all I'm talking about. So when there's a small focus is really helpful to have the whole body sense just lightly in the background. Not 50-50, maybe 10% or 5% or something like that. So primarily I'm really getting into this one spot wherever it is, But I'm always maintaining this whole body background awareness. Why? Partly was, partly because when I have a bigger space that way, it's a bit like a table, a table has one leg, and it's a narrow leg, it's hard for it to balance. If a table has two legs, it's still, if it's three or four and they're spread out, it's much easier. So something spread out helps to balance the concentration. That's one of the reasons why sometimes the energy body works, but we'll revisit this in different ways. So it can stabilize really well. Does that make sense? Yes. Second reason is that what we want to become, and I'll talk more about this probably starting tomorrow. As we go on with all this, the factor of effort and balanced effort and right effort becomes more and more crucial actually. It becomes more and more of a real investigation. And it's not the sort of investigation that we sort of nail it. Ah, day four, I got the effort thing right and then I can forget about it. It will stay with you for the rest of your practice life. It's just part of the art of practice. What's the effort level now? What's the subtle effort level? What's involved in that? Where am I with that? Is it a bit too much? The whole thing just develops and gets more and more subtle, rather than something I've done now. So if we talk about developing the art of Somadi, we must include this kind of opening up the exploration, the subtlety of the exploration, the subtlety of the experimentation with effort levels. It's not going to be something you're ever going to get beyond, okay? It's part of the art of it. And we'll return to this a lot. The thing about keeping the whole body in the background is that thankfully, the whole body will, awareness of the whole body will enable us to be aware when we're over-effeting because I mean if I'm really over-effeting, I'm going to cram up my muscles and I'm going to get headache right between the eyes and that sort of thing. Even as the effort becomes a little more subtle, it will be reflected, maybe not in the musculature, but maybe just in the tone and the contraction of the energy body. But basically, as an instrument, as an instrument of sensitivity to effort levels, this whole body space is really, really useful. So it's going to tell me, oh, I can feel just there's a bit of tension creeping into the energy body. It's telling me a bit too much pressure. Just relax a little bit. If I don't have that background awareness, it's much harder to be sensitive. You understand? So that's one thing. Then I would say let's talk about You know again we can think of developing concentration samadie whatever word we're gonna use jana as as okay what it really is is staring really hard and really unwaveringly at something and if I can do that with enough intensity and enough unwaveringness I will get into Jana. It's just not true, okay? If I'm doing that and there is an openness of heart, it's not going to take me in Jana. If I'm doing that and there is an openness of heart, it's not going to take me into Jana. I might get very good at staying with an object and that's helpful. You know, that's not going to take me into Jana. Okay. So rather than think about it that way, we've talked about openness heart a little bit, we'll talk about it some more, but let me emphasize three things rather than just hanging on to something. Three things you can think about. And in a way, you could sum this up up as saying let's emphasize quality of attention in any moment over quantity. In other words quantity meaning how long have I stayed with the breath without losing, you know, going off in a thought or a sound or whatever it is. So very often what happens is we get into this quantity thing and one part of our mind is just kind of is really checking. Have I had a thought yeah? How long has it been? Have I been distracted yet? And counting breaths and etc. So it's not that that's unimportant again but let's can we kind of re-hire archives our priorities and I would say quality of attention is much more important. That means in this moment, with this part of this breath, what's the quality of my attention? And what's meant in that, what's meant by quality? A lot of things, I'm only going to say, I'm going to point to three things today. Um, intensity, directionality, I'm not sure if that's the right word, but let's say that. Intensity, directionality, and subtlety. So, let's do that in the reverse order. As I said yesterday, again, we tend to think of, we tend to think of, Let's do that in the reverse order. As I said yesterday, again, we tend to think of Janas and Samadi and we tend to think of them in certain ways. And undeniably, I would say it's the case that deepening in Samadi and certainly deepening through the eight Janas is a movement of increasing subtle. I cannot get away from that. Each Jana is more subtle than the last one. Each Jana is more refined than the last one. The whole deepening of Samadi even before you reach Jan, needs to be a deepening into more and more subtlety. Okay? It's not the case, or you might sometimes hear it, that each Jana, the mind is more unwavering than the last one, as if that was the primary thing that's happening. It's not the case. You could have fifth Jana, you're not quite used to it yet, and you're wobbling out of it, and second jana that's much more stable for you or whatever or breath's much more stable and you're just learning the second jana and it wobbles that you know so don't don't again it's like let's get our sense of conceptual framework what's actually to emphasize work with and pay attention to and actually bother about. So subtlety is a key element. As you practice with the breath, whatever way of working with the breath or place you're paying attention, as it goes on and the mind settles down and the body settles down, the breath becomes more subtle. It should become more subtle. I mentioned this yesterday, I think. Also if you're practicing meta or compassion, and sometimes compassion, and you start practicing compassion, there's all these tears and it's up and down, and the world's suffering, and it's great. And we need to expand the heart that way and have it go through all that. But as it settles down and deepens, actually the compassion gets more subtle. And the meta gets more subtle. It's less kind of, I don't know what you'd call it, like certainly fiery emotions or intense emotions. The whole thing gets more subtle. Likewise, the breath, or whatever object. So there's this movement into subtlety, the object is actually perceived more and more subtly. As I said, we can get in the way of that either by having a certain idea or by doing something physically, like repeatedly doing that, what was it called, weja, which I am breathing or whatever it is. There's many ways we can block that process, that natural process of subtelizing. So when the object becomes naturally more subtle, for the Samadi to develop, I mean already that means there's some Samadi developing, that's a natural, it cannot happen without that. But for Samadi then to really keep developing, then the attention, the quality of the attention has to get correspondingly subtle. It has to, if my left hand here is going down to have subtle the object, whatever is breath and method, then my attention has to match it in subtle. And that process, subtlety, and that process, subtlety, and that process of matching, following the subtlety. And that process, to that process of matching, following, subtlety, in a way the attention needs to get more delicate there. And that process of matching, following the subtlety down, the attention quality matches the object quality. That process is, you could say one of the most central things that's happening, one of the most central processes that's happening as Samadi develops. And as I said, the Janas themselves are spectrum, or the eight Janus are a spectrum of increasing subtlety and increasing refinement. So, let me say these other things. I said, directionality. So, um, let me say these other things, what did I say? I said, directionality. What do I mean by that? I'm not sure if it's the right word, but something like this. So let's say you have the breath at the upper lip nose. Very easily as human beings we can, well I'm not sure how universal this is, but it's very easy one way to construe the attention. In other words, to have a sense of the attention here, somewhere, oftentimes in the head, and it's going towards the object, if the object is a visual object, certainly, or it's going towards these sensations. Here's the attention and it goes towards the sensations. And that's great. It's probing them and, you know, not attacking them, but going towards the sensations and that's great it's probing them and you know not attacking them but but going towards them kind of in this more you know probing way let's put it that way but we can also and I know many of you know this we can also construe and by construe I don't mean just an idea I mean a sense an actual sense of perception of receiving the breath, which in a way of course the body is, the breath as air comes in and it's received. But the mind can also feel like the sensations are being received. So this is something we can play with, the directionality, if you like, of attention. And this is something you can actually play with. All this boils down to, what's helpful right now. It's not the case that one of these directions is always going to be for you better than another. The whole thing is a dance, the whole thing is like riding a bicycle. Oh, it's always good to lean to the left on a bicycle. No, it's good in certain situations to lean on to the left. In other way, or right in the middle, or whatever it is. So all this, again, it's stuff for you to play with moment to moment, to have this sense of you're the artist, you're the improviser, you're the person with your hands on the clay, on the wheel, you understand? So subtlety, subtlety,, the other one is, what did I say, intensity. So this is kind of hard one, but I think it's really important, it's like, can you get a sense, to pay attention to X, but can you get a sense of actually dialing up or down the intensity, the energy of your attention. What is it? So you might, again, you might think of it like that probing gets more, that's one way of thinking about it. But it might also be like just like a lamp going up, or a sense of energy, you know, it's dialing up. There's more energy, there's more, I'm really present, I'm really alive there. But this again, you think, oh well more is better not always it's an interesting thing so if we if we take all these factors together and you think about okay well subtlety what allows a subtle intention sometimes it's a delicacy of attention that allows to go into subtlety and not so much intensity. So if you think about maybe some, I know there are some fantastic chefs in the room in fact, but let's say someone's cooked this amazing meal, exquisite and you're tasting it. And each mouthful kind of reveals, you know, sometimes when you put food into your mouth, the flavors reveal themselves kind of not all at the same time, if you had that, yeah? So, and sometimes some of them are mixed at the same time. What kind of mode of attention do you go into if it's really exquisite and especially the chefs there and they want to know what you think? So there's a kind of delicate poise in relation to the taste attention. The gustatory attention. So this is delicacy. I can't kind of go in there, you know, ramming in there a right was like, and you understand it's not the right kind of attention that will reveal those kind of subtle exquisite qualities, it's one of those really subtle dishes, you know. Or listening, when you listen for something a sound that's faint amid background noise. There's a quality there of, you know, you're not squeezing something, you're not squinting, you're not pressuring something. It's more like there's a kind of poise and you're attentive in a way that your antenna pick up something. Yeah? So if you just, in a way, pay attention to how you pay attention in these kinds of situations, you might learn something about what I'm talking about here. Now what's also interesting is that when the breath become, for example, if the breath is the object or the matter is the object, about what I'm talking about here, um, here. Now what's also interesting is that when the breath become, for example, if the breath is the object or the matter is the object, the delicacy of the object, as the object becomes more delicate and subtle, actually it can, not always a case, but it can become more delightful. So the The delightfulness of the object often goes with the delicacy. But I would certainly say that the delightfulness of the attention increases with the delicacy of the attention. So in other words, I think as human beings, we like paying attention in a delicate way. We actually like that. It feels good. When that, as that begins to happen more, one, part of the job here is to enjoy that. It might be very, very not a big deal, but that's part of, can I get intimate also with this delight? Can I include it? Can I enjoy it can I enjoy it which is again a very different thing that am I still thinking how long have I gone since my last distraction so okay that's the first block of today's teachings. A smaller point, and when you're using a smaller point like that, there's a few things to bear in mind, there's a few things you can play with. I mean, there's more, but that's okay for now. And I said, where we're going is for this whole body space to be very pleasant in different ways. But we can still use something that doesn't look that much like that. We use a small point and for some people that's what works best. As you get into this one small point, it will tend to grow. That's also one of the signs that it's getting deeper is that it's almost like, well this upper lip area kind of feels like it's about as big as my head now. That's very normal. It's part of the... So it will grow anyway. In a way that's part of the whole thing moving towards the whole energy body thing. So I'm just mentioning that. Okay, I think that's all I wanted to say about that piece. Let me pause there and do another one, yeah."
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