BDW 2 «Пять домов: Мудрость во времена хаоса», занятие 1

(0:00 - 1:12)
Welcome Geshe Michael Roach, and please enjoy this meditation. See you later. Hi. 

When we do translation classes, we always wear a suit, because we broadcast those classes into countries where it's a little bit touchy. So far, it worked. Can you reply? Good. 

Thanks. All right. Okay, so every Saturday morning, we do a meditation class.

(1:12 - 2:36)
Then we do a translator class. Then we have group discussion for a short time. Then we have Juan Hasso with the news for the week. 

Somewhere in there we have a... yeah, and then after that, what happens? We're going to take a break, and then we'll have another class. I'll have another class this evening, okay? On the translator-leads [?] of discussion, okay? These Saturday morning translations, and meditations, I'm trying to record 101 meditations for future generations. So, with Tim and the Five Houses Project, we have a plan to record 101 meditations.

(2:37 - 4:05)
And then future generations can use them. And I think Tim bribes people, if you donate a small, small poquín money every month, you get the meditation earlier. Something like that. 

And it's working very well. So, this is just one more in that group of meditations, okay? This meditation is called Finding Your Heart Teacher. It's based on the class we had last night. 

So, we'll do the traditional meditation warm-up. There's a seven-step warm-up, which is, I don't know, maybe 500 years old, something like that. And then we'll start the meditation, okay? And that warm-up is called, in the ancient language, it's called sak jang.

(4:05 - 4:26)
Say sak jang. Sak jang. Yeah, sak means during 15 minutes before your meditation, you do some instant coffee good karma.

(4:30 - 12:07)
Like very fast good karma. Jang means you clean out some of your worst bad karma. So, it's a very quick shot of ... it's like an espresso of good karma, okay? And clean out some bad karma. 

Then you meditate fast before you can make new bad karma. Most of our karma is mental, like 90% is mental. Nobody sees it except us. 

So, it is possible to finish the preparation and you still have a few minutes to make bad karma and then start your meditation. Okay, so we're going to go through the traditional warm-up. This will be about a thirty-five minutes, something like that, meditation. 

When you meditate in a group, you have to be more tough than by yourself, because you might disturb the person next to you. So, if you feel uncomfortable and you want to move, you have to sneeze, you have to check your phone to see what's the news in the last three minutes. In public meditations, you have to control yourself, okay? Alright, so get comfortable in your seat. 

I enjoy ... I don't always sit with my legs crossed. Sometimes I meditate on my couch at home, and it's comfortable and it's fun. I was in Japan recently, and we walked by a statue shop, and they had a statue of Maitreya, wooden statue, and it's the next Buddha, coming soon. 

I always say sooner than you think, and because of that, he's always like this. He's got his one leg crossed and the other one's out like that. And it means he's coming soon. 

So, he's not in a lotus posture. And I kind of like that one. I bought this statue. 

I keep it in my desk. Okay, so get comfortable. You're going to try not to move for about half an hour or something. 

So, get very comfortable. And every person's body is different, okay? So, what's comfortable for you is not comfortable for the person next to you. Just be ... the main thing is be comfortable. 

Park the car, and get out of the car, and leave the car there. Okay, this is the car. Park it, and your mind will take a trip. 

Then come back and get in the car, and you can go. Okay, close your eyes softly if that's good for you. If you didn't get a good sleep yesterday, you can open your eyes slightly, but don't look through them. 

And if you get sleepy during the meditation, you can open your eyes slightly. Your mouth should be a smile. If your meditation is good, you will smile most of your life, even in your sleep. 

So, it's good habit to smile. That also takes pressure off of the chakra in your forehead. Then tighten your stomach a little bit. 

Don't too much, but just a little bit. Shoulders are open like wings, and head is ... try not to let your head come down, but don't raise the chin up too high. And if you know about yoga, you can maintain drishti, a special way of holding your eyes. 

So, even with your eyelids closed, you can look to the horizon, and very slightly up. So, if you open your eyes, you'll be looking ahead and up a little bit. And that's a good habit for when you do your yoga asanas, your exercises. 

Okay, and then please start to watch your breath. Keep your small smile, okay? Forehead is relaxed, and start to notice your breath. We're watching the out-breath first, and then the in-breath.

(12:12 - 26:08)
And we're going to count those breaths. And it's traditional to start with the out-breath is the first half, and the in-breath is the second half. It's the goal to be able to have ten complete breaths without thinking about anything else. 

Then I've been trying to meditate for almost exactly 50 years, and I personally enjoy doing 100 breaths. So, I will try to sit without moving, and I will count 100 breaths. Then maybe ten of them are really focused. 

So, we're going to count to 100 breaths. Exhale, then inhale is one breath. If your mind wanders to something else, don't go crazy, just come back. 

Estimate what number you're on, and continue without making a big deal about it. Okay, here we go, 100 breaths. Now I'll do the first of the preliminaries. 

Try to think of someone that you really admire. Could be a living person, could be someone who's already in the past, and ask them to come sit with you, facing you, and we're going to meditate together. After many years of trying this meditation, I feel like it's more important to feel their presence, actual presence, and don't worry so much about the details of their face and things like that. 

So, imagine that someone you really admire is agreed to come and sit in meditation with you. And I like to stay there about ten breaths, and then move on to the next step. Okay, here we go.

(27:35 - 35:45)
Now think of offering this person a small gift, to celebrate their good qualities. The person I'm thinking of is always very organized and gets things done on time. So, I like to maybe offer just a single very beautiful flower from my garden to thank them for their example. 

We'll stay here for ten breaths. The next preliminary is to think of something negative we did in the last few days. Maybe we hurt someone, or maybe we had some bad thoughts, and the important thing is to recognize them, and to recognize that we have this capacity to do this bad thing. 

And then that thought, to admit that you have this capacity, is called cleaning the bad deed. So, let's clean a recent bad deed. We do too many to count all of them. 

Just think of one and then that will represent all the other ones. And clean it from your heart. Okay, ten breaths here. 

And then think of something good you've done in the last few days. I find that most people have trouble doing this step. So, take it very seriously, and try to find some good thing that you are doing usually, and enjoy. 

This is a big big part of each person here, or you wouldn't be here. So, you must be a special person to be here. So, enjoy. 

We'll spend ten breaths here. The next preliminary is to request teachings. I hope that in the next day, I will receive teachings.

(35:48 - 42:43)
Maybe they will be formal teachings, but maybe they will be just things that my friends are saying, that shows they are really special people. And it's kind of a prayer. May I listen carefully today to what people say to me, and may I see the teaching inside of what people say to me. 

Okay, here we go. Ten breaths. And then the last preparation here, we will request those good people in our life to stay with us. 

Okay, so think of the special people in your life, and ask them to stay. Okay, ten breaths here. That finishes the warm-up, and I will start the meditation. 

This meditation is called Searching for Your Heart Teacher, and we're going to go through a bunch of candidates, and think about, maybe they're my heart teacher. I asked my lama what was the definition of a heart teacher, and he said the person who helped you the most in your whole life. So, I'll go through some choices. 

We'll spend just a few minutes thinking about each choice, and then we'll bring up the next choice. Okay, we're looking for the person who helped us the most in our life, and all of these candidates helped us. So, you don't have to reject the ones who didn't help you the most. 

Okay, first and foremost is your mom, who risked her life to give you your life, and gave you the heavy, heavy first years of education, of how to live in this world. Okay, so think about your mom and some of the things she gave to you. Just appreciating your mom is a powerful good karma. 

And the word meditation means mental habits. So, we're trying to make a mental habit of thinking about our mom, and thanking her for all the things she gave to us. That attitude of thanking is a very powerful meditation.

(42:45 - 54:22)
So, think of just a few things that your mom gave to you, and then we'll go on. Personally, as you noticed, I like to spend about ten breaths on each topic. That way, I don't lose my focus during that part of the meditation. 

Okay, here we go. Okay, now your father. We'll be meditating for about five more minutes. 

Now your teachers in your school, think of one of the teachers who helped you the most. And now today, finally, your friends, classmates in school, people you work with, who helped you in your life, and appreciate them. Think about what they have taught you. 

This search for your heart teacher, you can continue it for several weeks. And we spoke about many of the options last night, but we're going to finish today with friends and schoolmates, who are good examples for our life. Okay, ten breaths here. 

Then lastly, it's a good way to end the meditation with the last preliminary which actually comes after the meditation. Just trying to train your mind in a certain thought, one by one, one by one. It's a very powerful good karma, at the source of all good karma, which is inside your mind. 

Then it's a nice ending to the meditation. Offer that good karma to other people. It's a lot of fun to give away money, but if you get used to it, it's a lot of fun to give away your good karma. 

So ten breaths about golden light coming from your heart, and spreading throughout the world, and sharing this good karma. Just trying to decide who is your heart teacher, and doing that meditation day after day for several weeks, is an extremely powerful good karma, maybe the best. So let's share the good karma. 

Ten breaths here, then slowly open your eyes. Oh, sorry. That's to wake you up. 

I think we are all busy people, and sometimes we feel a little bit stupid to sit for half an hour and do nothing, but actually meditation is the most powerful thing it's the most powerful way to spend your time. It's not a break, and it's not being lazy. It's a powerful good action. 

Take a stretch. My Chinese friends do this thing. And thank you for coming. 

Some people came from around the world. Thank you. And we'll see you, what time Mr. Tim? We'll see you in 20 minutes for a translation class. 

I don't care if you like the translation class. It's a deep, deep drill into your heart, and it will change you very deeply. So just come and have fun. 

Okay, 20 minutes pee pee break. Okay, bye. Thank you Flavia for translating.

(54:23 - 55:20)
Nice translation. Hi. Hi. 

If any questions have arisen after this beautiful meditation, I'm going to put in the chat this form here. And please, I don't know if I can put it. Yes, here it is. 

So you can send them your questions, and we'll try to use them in the Q&A sessions that we're going to have during the retreat. Sorry, during the event. And that's all. 

Thank you for being here. Thank you for participating in this beautiful session. And see you soon. 

20 minutes. So bye bye.