Cattāri Brahmavihārā

I woke up hesitantly this morning and feeling completely sapped of energy. After a week’s hiatus of fasting due to vacation I now find myself again into the full third day and I suspect that the long hours of fasting combined with work have conspired to bring me low. Yet, despite that and my fears that the meditation this morning would prove to be nothing less than a complete disaster there were some moments of calm and true sati in there so all is not yet lost.

That having been said, now that I’m off the cushion and working here in front of the computer, I can’t stop the mind from constantly running to thoughts of food or drink. There’s this and a dull but constant buzzing of what I can only describe as anxiety in my chest, arms and feet. I was prescient enough this morning to begin my day with a Dhamma talk by Ajahn Sucitto which I discovered by searching for the term “worry” (can you see the type of food that this mind enjoys feeding upon?) on http://www.dharmaseed.com. As is usually the case his presentation was poignant and penetrating and I highly recommend it (please find it here: http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/9/talk/2730/).

So, inspired by the talk I will experiment today with the perception of anatta today. Who is fasting? Who is worrying? Who is craving?

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