Centered Within

　　August 13, 1956

　　When you sit and meditate, you should keep in mind the factors that make it a worthwhile activity:

　　(1) The right object for the mind — i.e., the breath, which is the theme of your meditation.

　　(2) The right intention. This means that you focus your mind steadily on what you”re doing and nothing else, with the purpose of making it settle down firmly in stillness.

　　(3) The right quality — inner worth — i.e., the calm and ease you gain from your practice of concentration.

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　　To have the right object while you sit and meditate, you should have your mind set on giving your heart solely to the qualities of the Buddha. What this means is that you focus on your in-and-out breathing together with the word buddho, without thinking of anything else. This is your object or foundation for the mind. The mental side of the object is the word buddho, but if you just think, buddho, buddho, without joining it up with your breathing, you won”t get the results you want, because simply thinking on its own is too weak to have a hold on the mind, and as a result it doesn”t fulfill all the factors of meditation. The mind won”t be snug enough with its object to stay firmly put in its stillness, and so will show signs of wavering.

　　Since this is the case, you have to find something to give it some resistance, something for it to hold onto, in the same way that a nail you drive into a board will hold it firmly to a post and not let it move. A mind without something to hold onto is bound not to be snug and firm with its object. This is why we”re taught to think also of the breath, which is the physical side of our object, together with buddho, thinking bud in with the in-breath, and dho out with the out.

　　As for the factor of intention in your meditation, you have to be intent on your breathing. Don”t leave it to the breath to happen on its own as you normally do. You have to be intent on synchronizing your thought of the in-breath with the in-breath, and your thought of the out-breath with the out. If your thinking is faster or slower than your breathing, it won”t work. You have to be intent on keeping your thinking in tandem with the breath. If you breathe in this way, this is the intention that forms the act (kamma) of your meditation (kammatthana). If you simply let the breath happen on its own, it”s no longer a theme of meditation. It”s simply the breath. So you have to be careful and intent at all times to keep the mind in place when you breathe in, and in place when you breathe out. When you breathe in, the mind has to think bud. When you breathe out, it has to think dho. This is the way your meditation has to be.

　　The quality of inner worth in centering the mind comes when you make the body and mind feel soothed and relaxed. Don”t let yourself feel tense or constricted. Let the breath have its freedom. Don”t block it or hold it, force it or squeeze it. You have to let it flow smoothly and easily. Like washing a shirt and hanging it out to dry: Let the sun shine and the wind blow, and the water will drip away by itself. In no time at all the shirt will be clean and dry. When you meditate, it”s as if you were washing your body and mind. If you want the body to feel clean and fresh inside, you have to put it at its ease. Put your eyes at ease, your ears at ease, your hands, feet, arms, and legs all at their ease. Put your body at ease in every way and at the same time don”t let your mind get involved in any outside thoughts. Let them all drop away.

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　　When you wash your mind so that it”s clean and pure, it”s bound to become bright within itself with knowledge and understanding. Things you never knew or thought of before will appear to you. The Buddha thus taught that the brightness of the mind is discernme…

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