A guided meditation on death & dying

Reflecting on asubha (the non-beautiful) aspects of the body we can find greater peace and acceptance with things as they are. Through this understanding, the mind is released from desire and aversion

This practice, one of the Four Protective Meditations, leads us to directly understand the true nature of the body. Through this understanding, the mind is released from desire and aversion and we can accept this body as part of nature, rather than "me" and "mine".

Those who are familiar with the practice of mettā, or lovingkindness, know that it is one of four divine abidings of the heart according to the Buddha’s teachings. One way that this quality can be cultivated—as traditionally and so frequently taught—is through the recitation of phrases. However, without a deeper understanding or familiarity with the subtle expressions of mettā, or the alternate doorways into cultivating this profound and limitless quality, lovingkindness meditation can mislead us to binary thinking, as in: "I am loving and kind” or “I am not loving and kind." In our daylong together, we will explore the various doorways into cultivating mettā, as well as the spectrum in which it can come alive in our daily lives. All levels and experiences welcome.

We briefly review the main themes of our practice in the last sessions: The importance of "doing" and skillful effort in our formal practice and in our daily lives; the parallel importance of "not-doing" (particularly receptivity) in these areas; some ways to inquire into the nature of our identities as "doers"; some ways of bringing these practices into daily life; the experience of "flow" and being an "expert" in a given area as pointing to a kind of "doing" coming out of a deep not-doing; and the theme of not-doing in Taoist tradition (emphasizing the work of Chuang Tzu) and Buddhist tradition. We suggest that all of practice points toward this deep non-doing as an expression of awakening. We then explore this territory in a 20-minute guided meditation, followed by discussion.