Entering the first Jhana is simply the result of letting go. Letting go of what? Letting go of sensual pleasures like seeing, hearing or tasting, as well as of unwholesome thoughts. When body and mind are thus aligned, our meditation experience can reach new depths.

Back to the basics: this week we revisit the Anapanasati Sutta to simplify the meditation technique that the Buddha taught: mindfulness of breathing.

This week we finish reading the Mahamalunkya Sutta. We’re diving into the jhanas. Jhanas are stages of the mind that we go through as we relax body and mind more and more, learn to sharpen our mindfulness bit by bit, and lovingly and effectively deal with distractions which naturally come up during our meditation.

This week we continue to read from a sutta in which the Buddha talks about the five lower fetters - tendencies of the mind which keep us from awakening - and how to let go of them: namely by practicing the jhanas, steps of deep meditation.