Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Ven Jampa Gendun opens the 2008 Christmas Retreat not with a dharma talk but with practice from the very first minute — a full guided body scan that takes up the entire 49-minute session. After a brief settling with natural breath awareness, participants are led systematically through the whole body: left foot and leg, right foot and leg, the pelvic region, lower and upper back, abdomen, chest, both arms simultaneously, the neck and jaw, face, and finally deep into the skull. At each region the instruction is the same — open, curious, non-judgmental attention to whatever sensation is actually present. The session closes with breath imagined as suffusing the entire body before a slow return to room awareness. Suitable for complete beginners.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 CR.mp3
UUID: ba1dcee8-41d5-4def-8cfa-3463426db590
Teacher: Ven Jampa Gendun
Collection: Christmas Retreat (Ven Jampa Gendun)
Date: 2008 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 49.1 minutes
Words: ~2,847
You’ve created this time and this space. So you might want to just straighten your body should be fairly straight with your feet falling apart, your hands at your sides, perhaps palm upward, but whatever feels most comfortable for you. So, let’s initially, let’s just get in contact with the breath, the natural sensations associated with the breath. You may feel the, it might be most obvious at your abdomen, at the upper lip inside the nostril, But just bring your attention, focusing your awareness on the sensation of the breath, the rise and fall of the abdomen, the air rushing in and out of your nostrils, on your upper lip. So you’ve created this space and time for yourself.
There’s nowhere to go. There’s nothing that needs to be done. There’s nothing in particular that needs to be thought about. Whatever it is, you can take it up later. It’ll be there waiting for you.
This is just time for yourself just to be. And focusing on the the sensation associated with the natural breath. Just the rise and fall of the abdomen or the air rushing in and out of your nostrils. During the course of the practice, your mind’s going to wander. It’s going to be distracted.
That’s okay. That’s what minds do. There’s no problem. Just when you become aware of that, gently and patiently bring your mind back to experience of the present moment, whatever it may be. That’s all that’s important, is to be here now.
We’re not trying to do this particularly right. There’s no perfect way to do a body scan meditation. Whatever is there, that’s fine. Just aware of your the natural breath. Relax, comfortable at ease.
When your mind wanders distracted gently without any judgment, without any self criticism. Just bring it back to the present experience. Now the sensations associated with the natural breath. So now we’re going to begin the body scan meditation. We’re going to take a slightly deeper intentional breath.
And imagine that breath coming in through your nostrils and down through your throat and to your lungs. And now simply by way of imagination, it’s not actually occurring, but by way of imagination, however you can think of it. Imagine that air that breath moving down the left side of your body to the upper left leg, down the lower left leg, to your foot all the way down to your toes. The toes of your left foot. Breathing an intentional breath deeper than normal, bringing it all the way down along with your awareness to the toes of your left foot.
And we want to become aware of any and all sensations in the toes of the left foot, the right toe, the big toe, and the left the little toe, and all the toes between. There’s nothing that needs to be to be particularly experienced, whatever is there. There might be a warmth or a tingling or throbbing, or perhaps there’s no sensation at all. You can become aware of the absence of sensation. So there’s nothing particular that we have to feel.
We’re just getting in contact with what is actually there. What do you experience? What sensations can you become aware of in the toes of your left foot? So whatever is there, just be aware of that shifting the focus of our awareness to the bottom, the sole of your left foot, perhaps the pressure, if you’re sitting in a chair, the pressure on the floor, whatever sensation is at the experienced in the sole of your left foot. In the heel of your left foot, perhaps the pressure of it being pressed upon the rug, upon the floor.
There’s probably a feeling of pressure there. Can you become aware of that? Just the left foot. And the upper part of the left foot, the instep, the surface, and also working your way down, penetrating into the foot itself, the flesh, along with the ankle, the bones, feeling just whatever is there without trying to change anything. In the shin of the left lower leg.
What does that feel like? In the back of the lower left leg, the calf, the muscle, the flesh, and working all the down to the bone of the lower left leg. And the outside of the the down to the joint. Feeling the the knee of your left leg. And the upper left leg from the knee up to the groin, up to the hip.
First, the surface, feeling the skin. And then deeper into the flesh, the thigh. All the way down to the bone. Just being open to whatever is there without any judgment, without having to make it any different. Becoming aware of the entire of the the left leg from the toes up to the the groin.
And breathing in and down. Breathing down into the left leg. And just imagine as if you were breathing out from the left leg. Out from the left leg, upward through the lungs, through the throat, out through the nostrils. Breathing in through the nostrils and down through the throat and the lungs, the left side of your body into the left leg.
Breathing out from the left leg. Breathing into the left leg. And on the next out breath, just breathing out, letting go out, letting go of the left leg, allowing it to dissolve in your mind’s eye. And on your next in breath, taking a slightly deeper intentional breath and following the air as it moves in through the nostrils and throat, to your lungs and down the right side of your body, the upper right leg, the lower right leg, the foot all the way down to the toes of your right foot. Following that breath, bringing it all the way down with your awareness to the toes of your right foot.
And ex and experiencing whatever sensations are are there within the toes of your right foot. The little toe and the big toe and all the toes between. And the sole of your left foot, your right foot. The heel of the right foot, perhaps the pressure as it presses against the floor, does whatever sensation is there, is being open to that. Going into that sensation, curious, examining, investigating that sensation.
What is this sensation? The upper part of the right foot, the instep, along with the ankle joint, but also going deep into the bone, the flesh of the right foot. And the shin of your lower right leg. What’s this all about? What feelings are here?
What sensation? And the back of the lower right leg, the calf, the muscle, the surface, but all the way down to the flesh, all the way to the bone. Experiencing the lower right leg. Just bringing your awareness, whatever sensations are present, simply knowing that. On the outside of the right knee, the front of the right knee, and the sides, The back, all the way down to the joint.
Really penetrating, focusing your attention. And the upper right leg from the knee up to the groin, up to the hip, the surface as well. Moving beneath the surface to the flesh, the thigh, all the way down to the bone. Bring in the total of your focus, your attention, your curiosity, interest. What’s here?
What’s how am I experiencing the upper right leg? What’s going on here? Expanding the scope of your awareness to include the entirety of your right leg from tips of your toes up to the groin. And breathing down and in and down through the right side of your body to the right leg. And imagine as if breathing out from your right leg upward through the lungs, through the throat, out your nostrils.
Breathing in through the nostrils and throat, down your throat and lungs, the right side of your body, down into your right leg, breathing out from your right leg, breathing into your right leg. And on the next out breath, just letting go of your right leg and allowing it to dissolve in your mind’s eye. And taking a slightly slightly deeper breath than normal, bringing the breath down through your throat and lungs and all the way down to the lower pelvic area, all the way to the butt ocks. Perhaps there’s the pressure of it’s on the chair, on the floor, whatever sensations you might experience in your buttocks, Become aware of that. And your genitals, your hip hips, the right and left hip.
And the area between the area of the lower pelvic area, whatever is there. If images arise, if feelings arise, just simply acknowledge them, accepting, opening, and returning to the the sensations experienced in the lower pelvic area. Whatever it is, just feel that here. Just be open to that without any judgment, without any resistance, without trying to avoid. Bring your awareness to your lower back, a place where which is often associated with pain and discomfort.
Being open to that if it’s there without any avoidance, without any resistance. Just being open to whatever is there. Sensations at the lower back. Just feeling what is what is there is to feel. Let me feel it.
In the middle region of the back. The abdominal cavity, the stomach, and lower intestines, and the surface of the stomach. And then the chest first on the surface, the breast. Breast. And moving down to the upper chest, perhaps you feel the throbbing of your heart, the beating of your heart, the blood flowing, circulation moving through your heart.
Your upper back and shoulders. We oftentimes hold a great deal of tension in our upper back and shoulders without trying to avoid any particular feeling or sensation. Just being open to whatever is there, allowing it to be opening to just that. It’s already happening. It’s already there.
Simply being with that. Simply being with that. Becoming aware of the entire trunk of your body from your buttocks up to the base of your neck. Experiencing the entire trunk, whatever sensations, feelings are present. Just being aware and open to that.
And on your next in breath, bringing your breath down through your throat and into your chest, breathing into your chest. And on the exhalation, breathing out from the chest upward and out through your nose. Just feeling, imagining as if you were breathing into the chest and breathing out from the entire trunk of your body. Breathing into the trunk. Breathing out from entirety of the trunk of your body.
The trunk of your body is breathing in, out. This pervading, diffusing the breath in the entirety of the trunk of your body. And on the next out breath, breathing out and letting go of the trunk, allowing it to dissolve in your mind’s eye. And on the next in breath, just intentionally taking a slightly deeper breath, bringing it in and down. And we’ll do both arms at the same time, bringing the breath to the shoulders, to the upper arms of both arms, the lower arms, the hands all the way down to the fingers, the fingertips.
Becoming aware of whatever sensations, feelings are present in the fingertips of both hands. And maybe a tingling, and maybe a throbbing, a warmth. Whatever is there, just be open to that without any judgment. Just accepting. It’s there.
It’s already there. Let me feel it. Sensations in your fingers of both hands, including your thumbs. The bottom of your hands, the palms, the back of your hands, all the way down to the flesh, including the wrists, the bones. And now the forearms, the lower parts of your arms.
First on the surface, but then moving your awareness, penetrating deep into the flesh all the way down to the bone. Just becoming aware of whatever sensations are present. Just being open to that. Curious. The elbows.
Both sides of the elbows into the joint. And the upper arms, the muscles, the flesh, the surface, but all the way down to the bone. So extending the scope of your awareness to include the entirety of both arms from the fingertips up to the shoulders, becoming aware of the entirety of both arms. And on the next out breath, on the next in breath, breathing slightly deeper, bringing your awareness, following the breath down to both arms, breathing into both arms, and imagine as if you’re breathing out from both arms, following the breath up and out, breathing into both arms breathing out from both arms the arms are breathing And then on the next exhalation, breathing out, just letting go of both arms, allowing the arms to dissolve in your mind’s eye. And on your next in breath, taking a slightly deeper in breath than normal, breathing in and breathing in down to the area of the back of your neck.
Bring your awareness to the area of the back of your neck. It’s it’s an area which holds a great deal of tension. It’s quite often tight. We carry a burden there, not trying to avoid whatever is there, not resisting. Trying to avoid whatever is there, not resisting, wanting to feel whatever is there, opening a sense of goodwill, curiosity.
It’s already there. Let me feel it. The sensations in the back of your neck. Just be aware of that. Staying with the sensations of the back of the neck.
In the throat, perhaps the air rushing in and out, the sensation of saliva, swallowed. In front part of the neck. Bringing our attention to the jaw, the hinge, where it hinges into the upper part of the skull. Moving down the jawline to the chin. And the lower lip.
In the top. In the bottom of your mouth. The back of the mouth. In the hard palate, the upper part of your mouth. The gums.
Your upper lip. Nose, the cheekbone along with the cheeks. The ears. Just try registering whatever is there, perhaps the absence of any sensation, being aware of that as well. And the back of the head, the sides of the head.
And the eyes, the area around the eyes And the area between the eyebrows quite often we hold some tension there, being aware of whatever is there. The forehead. Moving deep inside the skull itself into the brain area. As well as the scalp, the top of the head. And becoming aware of the entirety of your head and all the various sensations from the base of your neck to the crown of your head.
And breathing into the entirety entirety of your head. And breathing out from the entirety of your head. The the breath suffusing the entirety of your head. And moving out from the entirety of your head. And on the next out breath, following the breath out, letting go of the head, allowing it to dissolve in your mind’s eye.
And on the next in breath, breathing in slightly deeper than you normally do. And following the breath, and we want to follow the breath throughout the body, following it down through the lower parts of your body, through your legs, through the tip of your toes, through your arms, the lower arms, the tips of your fingers, into your head, the crown of your head. The breath is being breathed into the entirety of the body from the tips of your toes, from the tips of your fingers, from the buttocks to the crown of your head. Breath is suffusing the entirety of your body, breathing into the body. And imagine entirety of the body is breathing out.
The breath is suffusing the entirety of your body. And the body is breathing breathing in and out. The body is the breath. The breath is the body. If the body is breathing itself.
The breath is bodying itself. If thoughts arise, if feelings arise, just like clouds moving through the sky, let them go. Just be the breath, the body as one. Experiencing the body, experiencing the breath, whatever is there. Just be being there.
Staying there. There. Don’t struggle. Just be. Just relax.
Just being the body, being the breath, being at one with body and breath. Just being. Just stay there. Just rest. Just give yourself a chance to rest deeply, thoroughly, completely.
Come back. Just be here now. Now get in touch with some sensation, some predominant sensation in the body, perhaps your back on the floor, your buttocks, your buttocks on the cushion. Some coarse predominant sensation in the body. And become aware of the sounds about us.
Maybe the cars rushing down Port Rush Road, or maybe just the absence of sound. Become aware of that. And very gently, very slowly, open your eyes and become aware aware of your position in the room where you’re at. You might want to wiggle your fingers and wiggle your toes. There’s no hurry.
Just take your time. Just slowly, slowly.