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A woman in white, seen from behind, meditating on a mossy rock beside a forest stream in the Sri Lankan hills, morning mist among the trees

Step 3 of 3

Meditation

Sati, mindfulness, is the Buddha’s word for remembering to be present. The breath is where it starts because the breath is always available.

How to do it

In the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, mindfulness is taught in four fields: the body, feeling, the mind, and the patterns the mind falls into. You begin with the body and the breath, because they are the least abstract. Everything else on this site has been preparation for this.

This chapter is the quietest and the hardest. There is nothing to buy and nothing to do, and the mind finds that unbearable at first. The guided sits are short for that reason. Five minutes done daily teaches more than an hour done once.

The stone hands of an ancient Buddha statue in the meditation gesture, with fresh jasmine flowers placed in the palms

How to do it

Guided, short, and in order. Start with three minutes. The first recording is a demonstration voice; Jayani’s own recordings replace it as they are made.

Three minutes with the breath

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Demonstration voice, synthesised. Jayani’s own recording replaces this when it is made. The words are the practice; the voice is not.

01 Three minutes with the breath The whole of the practice in its smallest form. Sit, breathe, notice the mind wander, come back. 3 min Audio
  1. Sit so you can stay. Eyes closed or lowered.
  2. Let the breath find its own rhythm. Notice where you feel it most.
  3. When the mind wanders, and it will, coming back is the practice. Not staying.
Language
English
For
Anyone, no experience
02 The body, from the feet to the crown The first field of mindfulness. Attention moved slowly through the body, lying down. 12 min Being recorded
  1. Lying on the back, arms a little away from the sides.
  2. Attention rests on the feet, then moves upward, a few breaths in each place.
  3. Nothing is being relaxed on purpose. It is being noticed.
Language
සිංහල · English
For
Anyone, no experience
Recording
With Jayani, in Colombo. The notes are the session until then.
03 Mettā, for the body you care for Loving-kindness, starting with yourself and the body you have been tending, then widening. 15 min Being recorded
  1. Begin with a few minutes of the breath.
  2. The phrases: may I be well, may I be at ease, may I be free from harm. Then someone you love. Then someone neutral. Then everyone.
  3. If the phrases feel hollow, that is normal. Say them anyway. Warmth follows attention; it does not precede it.
Language
සිංහල · English
For
After the foundations
Recording
With Jayani, in Colombo. The notes are the session until then.

What you need

  • A cushion, or a chair

    Hips a little higher than the knees. Comfort is not a weakness here.

  • A timer

    So you are not the one deciding when it ends.

  • Five minutes

    To begin with. The length matters less than the daily return.

What the research shows

Real studies, in plain words, with what each one does not show. None of them is a claim about the scrub.

Practise it with Jayani, in person.

Small groups in Colombo. No experience needed.

Times and place are examples until the first schedule is confirmed.