itslikethis-ajahn-chah

The Salt of MeditationGenerosity and virtue are like meat. Meditation is like salt. For the meat tokeep without spoiling, you have to salt it. Meditation is what makes yourgenerosity correct, makes your virtue correct. That’s why meditation issomething of very high value. It’s the ultimate perfection.Complete Food for the MindVirtue, concentration, and discernment are like our food. If virtue werefood, we’d say that it’s sweet but without any richness. If you addconcentration, that adds some richness. Now it’s both sweet and rich. It’s goodthat way. But if all you have is sweet and rich, it’s still not complete. It has tobe good-smelling, too. If you have all three, then the food is complete. Whetherit’s inner food or outer food, it’s complete: sweet, rich, and good-smelling. Itmakes you want to eat your fill. That’s what it’s like.Moving the GlassSamadhi means firm concentration. Bhavana, meditation, means makingthe mind have a single preoccupation. You don’t have to do a lot of things. It’skind of like taking this glass and setting it here for a minute, then lifting it andsetting it there for a minute. Lifting and setting it, back and forth like this,without doing anything else.When you meditate, contemplate the breath. When the breath comes in andout, know whether it’s short or long. Whatever it feels like, be mindful. Youdon’t have to force it. Whether the mind gets quiet or not, don’t worry about it.Just keep at it as much as you can.