"Putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world"- The first sitting of the Hi Five meditation group

First sitting of the Hi Five meditation was held in the above hall. It went very well and 16 people were present at the first sitting.  We collected a small voluntary donation to be given to a  Buddhist cause in the future (Dana). At first we all promised ourselves to abide by the five precepts (Sila). After following a guided meditation sitting (Bhavana) by Ajahn Brahm (we used a tape from the Toronto retreat) we discussed the first two chapters of the book "Mindfulness, bliss an beyond" by Ajahn Brahm. We also discussed the personal experiences of the post retreat meditation at home in the past two weeks.  We all agreed "the secret to meditation is so simple and so easy" as Ajahn Brahm says, and hopefully we all will have good results at the end.  We all agreed we just have to be patient. We also discussed how Ajahn Brahm's method of teaching very precisely reflects the original teaching of the Buddha as said in the Satipatthana Sutta.

The term "Putting aside greed and distress in reference to the world (six senses) should be taken very slowly and very seriously before starting on any body contemplation (i.e., contemplation of breath).  The group agreed this is why Ajahn Brahm stresses us to contemplate, "I am happy to be here, I am kind to myself and I am not looking for anything" at the start of his guided meditation.   We also discussed the importance of getting deeper into to the present moment awareness and staying there till we experience the silent present moment even before getting on to the breath. Ajahn Brahm said "it is not that you are going on to the next stage as an act of will, but you are getting in to the next stage.  Breath is naturally there and that is the only one that is remaining now and is moving when you are in the silent present moment awareness. This way you become very sensitive to the breath, it is easier to stay with it, it is beautiful and you enjoy it. We all agreed unlike other methods we have learnt before, here you are not forcing yourself to stay with the breath (as an act of will) form the start of meditation.  

Therefore at the beginning "Putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world" is the key to success. It is like the foundation of a house. This is  the most important structure of any house you want to build.  If the foundation is shaky and if we try to rush through building the house quickly perhaps one day the house may collapse.  We definitely don't want that. So we all decided to take as much as time we want and make the foundation strong. For this we all need to practice daily at home before the next sitting.  The time and date for the next meeting will be announced on this site soon.  All the members will get a personal email notification.

With much humbleness and gratitude.
The Hi Five group.