INTRODU C TIO N

TO
IN SIGHT
MEDITATIO N

AJAHN S UC I T TO
 Dedicated to Douglas and Margaret Jones
in acknowledgment of their long-term support and service.
Can you take 10-15 minutes to refresh
your heart and mind?

What’s offered below may help you with that …

We call it ‘meditation’, but bear in mind,

meditation is not about:

Trying to concentrate.
Stopping thinking.
Sitting cross-legged for hours.

Instead, meditation is about:

Calming and steadying the mind.

Restoring emotional balance.
Understanding where compulsive habits begin
and supporting a reset.
Discovering inner depths.
Although meditation is about cultivating mind (and
heart), it uses the body as a frame of reference. For this,
you place your attention on the felt experience of your
body and sense, or ‘listen to’ it. This is mindfulness, a
non-reactive attentiveness that can steady the energies,
moods and thought processes that arise in your
everyday life. Through this support, you can learn to
feel these and let them pass, rather than get tangled up
in them. This creates a ‘no-stress’ zone in your heart.
So, although normally we might follow, add to or
otherwise react to mental content, in meditation the
aim is to let that be, and instead open and clean the
mind’s operating system.
This system has three aspects:
Intention: The ‘do it, get it’ directive aspect that sends
the mind off in a particular direction.
Attention: The selective aspect. It’s what you place
when you form a focus on anything.
Awareness: The receptive aspect of heart. This begins
with ‘sensing’, an inner listening that, as it deepens,
offers a fresh open space from which responses (rather
than reactions) can arise.
The key feature in this meditative process is
mindfulness – the ability to bear feelings, moods and
appearances in mind without reacting to them. Because
of this, mindfulness steadies your attention so that the
‘do-it’ reflex calms down and awareness comes to the
fore. This allows you to notice and respond to what you
feel, and think more carefully.
Because this is rewarding, it encourages the mind to
firm up, get to the point and operate more clearly.
E STAB LI SH ING A FR A ME
OF R EFERENCE
Here are some practices that use the ordinary post-ures
of the body as themes for mindfulness. But first of all,
find a quiet time and place and …

PAU S E A N D R E F L EC T

Circumstances never end, but you will one day. Who

knows when? What do you regret or feel conflicted by?
What do you need in the here and now? In the cultivation
of the heart and mind, there is an opportunity to
resolve problems by resetting how you think and feel.

M I N D F U L N E S S O F B O DY

Get settled. Sit in an upright position, or stand in

a balanced way. Place your attention in a way that
includes your body within the space extending at about
an arm’s length around it. It’s as if you’re standing or
sitting under a tree, quietly taking in the atmosphere.
Be aware of how you can sense the overall impression
of your body within that frame of reference, without
focusing on any point in particular – just as you would
while balancing, showering, or running.

While sustaining that mode of attention, relax any

muscles you don’t need (such as in the face, shoulders
and hands). Let the weight of your body rest on your
bones. Be aware of the skin, the sensitive sheet that’s
wrapped around your form.

You can establish mindfulness of the body in this way

whether you’re sitting, standing, walking or reclining.
It will allow you to sense the body externally, (that
is, in terms of sensations and temperature) as well
as internally (that is, in terms of tension, relaxation,
and vitality). The internal is especially relevant, as
the internal state of the body is connected to your
moods and nervous energy. By holding this frame of
mindfulness steady, you let the internal sense open,
and this will help to bring your nervous system and
mind-states into balance.
This allows you to address what you’re feeling from a
level and calm perspective.
Sitting
Sit tall in a chair or in one of the cross-legged ‘lotus’
positions. (See the accompanying illustrations.) The
aim is to create a firm and broad support for the upper
body. Hence even when sitting in a chair, the legs
should be kept apart.

As you’re setting up your frame of reference, sense your

lumbar region, and firm up there. This will support the
curvature of the spine, and keep the abdomen open
and relaxed. Let your arms rest slightly away from the
sides of your body (enough that you can slide a hand
between your arm and your ribs). This will help your
shoulders to relax, and that allows your chest to open
and the breathing to become fuller and calmer. Your
hands can rest in your lap, or on your thighs.
Bring your head into alignment with your upright
body, so that it rests on the bones of your neck, like a
ball poised on a fountain of water. Being receptive to
how your face feels, relax the jaw, forehead and around
the eyes. Allow three breaths to flow in and out like
waves, descending deeply and rising again. Mindful
of the body as a whole, open your awareness to that
presence and how it feels.
Standing
This is much the same as sitting, except that your legs
can take the weight off your back and transfer it to the
ground beneath you. For this, you stand with the legs
body-width apart. With the knees slightly bent, relax
the leg muscles, including the buttocks. Feel all the way
down to the soles of the feet. Placing and sensing as
before, tune into the body in terms of balance.
Walking
Keeping the upright axis that standing has attuned you
to, soften your visual focus. Drop the idea of walking
to anywhere – your walking body will go somewhere
whether you define that or not. Then find some space
of ten paces (more would be ideal, if you have the room)
in which to walk.

Be aware of how walking happens. This is through the

muscles in the lower back and hip lifting the leg and
turning the waist. As they do so, the swing of the waist
(e.g. to the left) draws the (left) shoulder back a little
to act as a counterbalance to the (left) leg as it lifts.
This means you can walk slowly and fluidly without
lurching forward – or toppling over.
The balance that you could sense in standing is then
maintained within a moving form. Maintaining
whole-body awareness and a soft focus for your eyes,
tune in to that poise and let the world open around you
as you walk. You might pause at the end of your path
and stand for a while before turning around. Or you
might like to move up and down your path without a
break. Either way, enjoy the flow.
Reclining
You can meditate while lying down, but you do need
to maintain a formal posture with the body held quite
straight, otherwise you’re liable to fall asleep. Recline
on one side, supporting your head on a pillow and
hand; or lie on your back. Either way, widen your
attention over the form of your body; extend awareness
down through the soles of your feet and up through
the body and the crown of the head. Hands can rest on
your side, or (if you’re on your back) on your chest. Be
aware of your bodily form supported by firm ground
and shielded by a canopy of space.
In any of these forms, the basic exercise is to keep your
attention steady, your intention interested but not goal-
oriented, and your awareness quietly receptive. Then
you have a foundation to which the process of calm
and insight can unfold.
 P RO B L E M S A N D T I P S

1 Physical discomfort. Your posture has to be such

that your attention doesn’t shrink, get tense or keep
fidgeting. It’s OK to move and change posture while
sitting, or to go from sitting to standing. When walking,
do so in a natural, unhurried and easeful way. In
general, sustain awareness of the body as a connected
whole, rather than focus on local discomforts. Support
this by bringing a balanced attitude to the practice.

2 Thinking, emotions and mental states will arise. This

experience is the basis for insightful understanding, if
attended with mindfulness and inquiry.

For beginners, it’s a good idea to keep the eyes open,

or half-open, with that arm’s-length focus. Also, bring
your attention more fully to the spine while relaxing
 the face and hands. This will lessen the impact of
thoughts and moods, while warding off sleepiness.
Another tip is to choose a word (such as ‘peace’, or
’gently’), or a syllable (such as ‘aah’), and silently
interrupt the train of thoughts with it. Sustain
that ‘support word’ through the duration of a few
(5-10) exhalations, or a similar number of footsteps
if you’re walking.
3 You may from time to time find your intention
jumps to switch something on, or drink or nibble
on something. You might feel a need to attend to
business, or tidy or fix something. Allow any of these
to happen but make an effort to hold off on following
those impulses for the ten to fifteen minutes of the
meditation period. Anchor your attention in the body.
The overall advice is to not engage with or reject
the flow of mind; don’t think about it. Instead
contemplate it. This means stepping back from the
 details (imagine stepping back from a painting to get
a better perspective) while still bearing it in mind.

You could imagine the mind-flow to be a flock of

birds, or a river, or a downpour. The main point is to
experience it as a flow of changing energy.

This gives you the opportunity to contemplate

impulses and attitudes that may have acquired the
force of habit. They may be well-intentioned or non-
problematic – but do they have to be compulsive?
If you don’t get involved in them, they arise and
subside. Maybe you could look into your mind in
that light, and give yourself a chance to moderate or
reset some habits.

4 Through any and all of this, there’s an opportunity

to tune in to the qualities of spacious attention and
non-reactive awareness. These provide a peaceful
template within which to settle the heart.
C L A RIF Y TH E V I E W

THE BASIS FOR INSIGHT

The above practice of mindfulness helps you to step

out of circumstances for a while and let the mind and
heart settle so that you can get a clear view on them.
This view is called ‘insight’.
Insight offers a realization that releases the heart
from cramped frames of reference (my hair, my
job, my relatives), trapped emotions (I feel anxious,
overwhelmed, stressed) and compulsive reactions
(got to do it, make that better, get rid of those). Con-
templating these, with careful attention to how the
mind is operating, puts things in a perspective that
allows them to arise and pass. What remains is a non-
reactive awareness. Therefore, afflictive habits don’t get
fed by reactivity, and in time can fade out altogether. So
this change of view has a lasting transformative effect.
Shift the perspective
The first step in that change of view is the contemplative
shift of attention that I described previously. That is,
you lift your attention from the process that you’re in
to one of monitoring it. Notice that you can do that –
it’s like shifting your attention from cooking food to
assessing it in terms of outward appearance, texture
and flavour. In the case of the heart and mind, this
shift allows you to disengage from your thoughts and
feelings and contemplate them. There is ‘knowing’:
you’re aware and you’re conscious that you’re aware.
You can sustain that balanced knowing by first silently
asking ‘Who (or what) is aware of my mind?’ and then
lingering in the awareness that comes to the fore.
Explore and inquire
As this viewpoint gets established, explore the flow
of mental and emotional phenomena. What are the
underlying moods? Restless...? Anxious…? Eager…?
Irritated…? Can you be with them, rather than be
involved in them?
Notice any aversion and fascination; contemplate any
uncertainty, happiness, complaining, or exuberance as
it arises. By sustaining the frame of attention, you can
let these arise and pass.
Let go of what you don’t need: including the future, and
even of coming to a conclusion. Instead acknowledge
any underlying assumptions that get you engaged and
stressed, such as ‘I shouldn’t be this way’, or, ‘this
shouldn’t be happening’, or, ‘the event or the person
that I’m being affected by shouldn’t be the way it is.’
The same attitude brings ‘I should be, I have to do, I
should have.’ How do these assumptions affect your
mind and heart? How do they feel in your body?
How much of this process of interpretation supports a
balanced knowing? And what ideas tip you over into
complexity and agitation?
Without trying to get rid of them, consider the effects
of your attitudes and interpretations, and whether you
need to keep them running right now.
Imagine: what would it feel like if the ideas about what
you are and should be (and do) weren’t there? Let that
impression be felt and help to reset your perspectives.

Feel, steady and respond

By disengaging from assumptions and attitudes, a
response can arise from steady clear awareness. To
know just this is wisdom! In simple terms, wisdom is
about waiting for the reactions to pass and then finding
the most direct and whole-hearted way to relate to
yourself and your current situation.

This comes when you avoid all ‘shoulds’, ideologies

and assumptions and meet the flow of internal and
external phenomena without bias. Follow this with an
inquiry into what in all this drives or stresses you. Step
back from that push and attune to where you’re steady
(your body can provide that). Realizations that release
you from stress arise from that balanced openness.

Realization
One thing you realize when you put aside underlying
assumptions is that all things change. Neither the flow
of mind nor the stream of circumstances come to a
stable conclusion; they just change. A sight may trigger
a feeling and a response, and these initiate further
feelings and responses. One train of thought leads to
another; one emotion generates further emotions. It’s
the same for everyone. None of these really define you,
and they need not drive or restrict you.

From this point of view, the incomplete and unresolved

nature of what is experienced encourages us to handle
our doubts, hesitation, and impulsiveness with
sensitivity and clarity. Notice for example that whereas
trying to arrive at a conclusion causes stress, and
resisting the flow makes you stiff and unresponsive,
a contemplative relationship to experience keeps your
awareness steady.

Inquire into what arises: ‘How does this affect me?

What do I take a stand on? Where are my resistances or
compulsions? What are the results of getting stuck in
fixed views? What obstructs my being in harmony?’ In
this way, we encourage a sensitive and fresh approach,
one that feels fitting and brings internal flow and
external circumstances into harmony. For example,
you may realize that work never finishes – until you
stop. Then you reassess your workload. Or you may
realize that you have to accept your moods with a
kindly attitude but without adopting their narratives.
You fully realize that people are different: therefore, we
can’t always agree with or like each other – but we can
sustain an attitude of respect and non-judgement. And
if circumstances aren’t going the way we’d prefer right
now, maybe it’s time to bear with them and let things
unfold. Remember the next moment is an unknown,
and this means there’s an opportunity for change.
In ways like this, your personally-generated wisdom
can give you the space to see more clearly.
RESOURCES
This may all seem simple… and as a map it is. The
snag is that all meditation maps have to be used with
reference to the uneven territory of each individual’s
mind, body and heart. We all have to find the way that
works for us, and extra resources are valuable

G O O DW I L L

The first of these resources lifts our motivation

and attitude towards a friendly, or at least tolerant,
perspective. Especially in a society where competition,
worrying news and hard deadlines dominate our day,
we need to not create more stress through finding
fault with ourselves and others. Even more intimately,
coming to terms with physical discomfort, irritable
moods and an anxious or despondent heart requires a
steady attitude of goodwill – or at least, non-aversion.
So let’s trace the development of that.
1 As you did with pause and reflect, begin with rec-
ollection. Recollect that what your mind and heart
are experiencing arises due to causes and condi-
tions, such as the pressure of work or the lack of
fellow-feeling in your environment. The only way
to bring this to an end is by introducing a cause
for goodwill.

2 Bring to mind any occasion, far in the past or recent,

where someone has related to you with kindness or
sympathy. Whether it was just a few kind words or
an expression of concern, pick up the effect in your
heart and hold it there while you let three long breaths
move through.

3 This may create an opening to recollecting the acts of

service and care, or even of small courtesies, that are
common in the human world. Small or great, their ef-
fect, if lingered on, touches the heart. ‘They didn’t have
 to do that, that was a freewill gesture of kindness.’ This
helps dispel the gloom of cynicism. Again, let some
breaths move through the state of uplift; they help to
steady the impression and let its energies spread.

4 You can pick any number of these events until the

heart feels uplifted enough to not be weighed down,
defensive, or prickly. Then linger in the gentle energy
and perspective of a heart that has (even temporarily)
released the effects of ill-will. And if you feel the heart
movement to offer gratitude or goodwill to another
person, sustain that. (Yes, breathe it!)

5 As it brightens, the heart can in this way meet such

stuck impressions as ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I am to
blame’, I’m not welcome.’ Feel, don’t think about any
of these, and don’t try to dismiss them. Instead, keep-
ing your whole-body frame of reference, allow them
to speak; don’t go into their narrative, but feel the
 mind- (or heart-) state. It’s like holding your fingers
on a throbbing pulse.

The quality of steady presence will form you into a

compassionate listener. Recognizing that the psychol-
ogy of self-criticism is a common one in a competitive
world, bring others to mind and also offer them some
compassion. Stay with that state for a few breaths.

6 Spend some time quietly appreciating the skills of

others and of any time when others have express-
ed appreciation of yourself. Stay with that for a
few breaths.

7 In situations that you’d like to be different but feel

powerless to change, return to the steady presence of
your body, and, recognizing that all things change, let
your emotions arise and pass through. This shift from
gloom and despair towards equanimity is also a huge
support for the heart. Breathe that too!
B R E AT H I N G

It follows on that, if you want your mind to be firm

but not rigid, and if you want your heart to be
comfortable without sinking into daydreams or
media, then mindfulness of breathing is a good theme
to cultivate.
It’s a matter of using the whole-body reference and
sensing the energy associated with the rhythmic flow
of breathing.
Start by placing attention. Use the simple question:
‘How do I directly know I’m breathing?’ Then linger
and sense any impressions of breathing that arrive. If
you find you’re trying to control your breathing, widen
your attention and imagine breathing to be like a
breeze. You don’t have to ‘get it right’, or make it clearer
than it is.
As you get any sense of breathing, mindfully linger in
that impression. Be with it as it changes through the
process of a) an out-breath b) an in-breath and c) an
entire cycle of breathing out and in.

You may find this is easier if you a) find an area of

your body (such as the abdomen) that comfortably
experiences breathing and b) you firm up your
attention at the end of the inhalation, and the end of
the exhalation. Keep bringing your mindfulness to
those points when your attention goes elsewhere.

In this way, you pause from mentally drifting or driving

off somewhere and instead get your awareness to hover
over the bodily process of breathing. Notice that you
don’t have to do breathing, it happens independently of
your mind. However ... if you expand your awareness
of what breathing feels like, you will sense a gentle and
fluid vitality that calms the mind and lifts the heart.

The inhalation has a brightening effect and the

exhalation has a calming effect. And by generating
these effects, the vital energy of breathing attracts
the heart and encourages you to linger and savour
the experience more deeply. It’s like sitting by a fire
in the evening.

Use this meditation to break compulsive trains of

thought or surges of emotion without aversion or
struggle. It’s like popping soap bubbles by breathing
into them.

Over time, your heart’s interest and ability to stay with

the breathing will increase and give rise to a comfortable
firmness. This provides both the inner replenishment
that cancels the need for outgoing energies, and the
firmness to resist the push of mind-stuff. Then you can
review drives, habits, attitudes and assumptions with
insightful wisdom, rather than complicate matters
with judgement or fascination. Admittedly, this
meditative composure does take time to develop, but
if you get comfortable and settled in the practice, you
may find the occasion and the interest to extend your
meditation period.

F U RTHER
There’s more to learn, if you so choose, but if you can
follow this line of practice, you’re on your way….
However, meditation only works if you do it regularly.
Find a regular time in your day for 10-15 minutes of
meditation (or a couple of sessions if you can manage
it) and you’ll get results. It takes about the same time
as drinking a leisurely cup of coffee. But getting to
know and care for yourself will definitely take you to
a better place.
There’s plenty of guidance available in books and
videos, but I’d also recommend meditating with other
people. It supports the practice in real life terms – and
that’s where we’re at.
Meanwhile, you can follow this thread through
[Link]/teachings
Or, drop in to one of the monasteries mentioned on
that site.
 I N TRO D U C T ION TO IN SIGH T M EDITAT ION

AJ AHN SUCI T TO

CIT TAVIVEK A
CHITHUR ST • PE TER SFIELD • GU31 5EU • UK

CIT TAVIVEK A .ORG

THI S BOOK I S OFFERED FOR FREE DI STRIBUTION , PLE A SE DO NOT SELL THI S BOOK .

I SB N : 978-1-78432-210-6

2024 © AMARAVATI PUB LIC ATION S

AL SO AVAIL AB LE A S A FREE EBOOK AT FSBOOK S .ORG

COVER , DESIGN AND FORMAT TING:

NICHOL A S HALLIDAY • HALLIDAYBOOK S .COM

ANY TRAN SL ATION OF THI S TE X T MUST B E DERIVED FROM THE ORIGINAL ENGLI SH .
FOR PERMI SSION TO REPRINT, TRAN SL ATE OR PUB LI SH THI S CONTENT IN
ANY FORMAT OR MEDIA PLE A SE CONTAC T AMARAVATI PUB LIC ATION S AT
PUB LIC ATION S@AMARAVATI .ORG

THI S WORK I S LICEN SED UNDER THE CRE ATIVE COMMON S

AT TRIBUTION - NONCOMMERCIAL- NODERIVATIVES 4.0 INTERNATIONAL LICEN SE
TO VIE W A COPY OF THI S LICEN SE , VI SIT
HT TP://CRE ATIVECOMMON S .ORG/LICEN SES/BY- NC- ND/4.0/

FIR ST EDITION PRINTED IN THE UK , 2024