A Meditation for Daily Life

Relax

Relax and Be Aware

An Excerpt from Relax and Be Aware

Relax and be aware.

Many meditators think that being aware means focusing on an object with a great deal of energy. In fact, exertion like this causes tension because it’s the result of trying hard to create a positive or happy state of mind, which actually is the unwholesome root of greed at work.

Instead, as you maintain continuous awareness of whatever is happening, strike a balance between being relaxed and being interested.

When you are relaxed, it is easier to be aware, and it becomes an enjoyable, pleasant, and interesting experience.

Cultivate your interest in being aware by noticing when interest is present and when it is not. Bring in some interest if it’s missing.

Interest brings energy to the mind naturally, without straining, focusing, or exertion. It requires no individual effort, and so we can bring interest continuously without getting tired. In fact, observing like this gives us energy and joy.

If you look for a result or want something to happen, you will only tire yourself out. It’s important to conserve energy so you can practice continuously. So stay relaxed.

The meditating mind is naturally relaxed, calm, and peaceful. So when you stay with the meditating mind, you naturally learn to not focus, control, create, constrict, or restrict.

Meditation is accepting whatever arises, pleasant or unpleasant, “good” or “bad,” and observing it in a relaxed way.

So practice in a relaxed way, but don’t stop practicing.

Check yourself often: Are you tense or relaxed?

Check the mind and the body.

Any tension in the mind or body indicates you are likely wanting something, disliking something and wanting it to go away, or feeling confused about something.

You will notice that tension never takes hold in the mind alone. If there is tension in the mind as the result of the unwholesome roots, then it will be reflected in tension somewhere in the body.

Consciously relaxing those physical tensions is a kind of meditation.

The awareness we are seeking is unprompted. We are not digging for it.

We are simply residing in the ebb and flow of nature itself.

See if you can notice this.

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Sayadaw U TejaniyaSayadaw U Tejaniya teaches insight or “vipassana” meditation at Shwe Oo Min Dhamma Sukha Forest Meditation Center in Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar. His teaching emphasizes the application of awareness to every aspect of life, de-emphasizing the centrality of practice forms even as he teaches them rigorously—and his style is relaxed, funny, and informed by his intimate knowledge of the workaday world.

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