Venerable Dr. Yifa on stilling the mind with meditation

In the following video, one of my wonderful teachers, Ven. Yifa, discusses the Buddha’s teaching on the effect of meditation on the mind.

The mind is like a pool of water. Quite often it is filled with mud that is constantly stirred up. If we look at the reflection of the moon in such water, the image is distorted. So too when we look out at the world with a muddied mind.

Similarly, the pond might have surface ripples and agitations that distort the moon. And again, our mind is like this: agitations on the surface of our perceptions distort our understanding of the world.

With meditation, the water becomes clear and still, developing a mirror-like quality that can “reflect things as they are.”

Ven. Yifa goes on to break down the aspects of meditation into three parts:

1. the body (practicing yoga or tai chi or doing walking meditation)
2. the breath (coming to the breath to calm down, doing this any time)
3. the thoughts (not getting rid of thoughts but letting spaciousness develop around them)

Read more from Ven. Yifa at her Woodenfish page or check out one of her books:

• Authenticity: Clearing the Junk
• The Tender Heart: A Buddhist Response to Suffering
• Discernment: Educating the Mind and Spirit

And for some meditation music, or music for your autumn walks, autumn cleaning, autumn cooking, autumn everything, George Winston: Autumn: