(Ai assist:) One of the biggest obstacles in meditation is overcomplicating it.

We often do the same thing with eating a meal at a restaurant — we lose sight of the simple purpose of just eating. Instead, the mind fills with worries: Will they show up on time? Is the service good? What should I order? Are the reviews positive? Is the atmosphere right?

The same distraction happens when we sit to meditate. We get lost in thoughts about doing it correctly, how long to sit, whether we’re progressing, or if the session feels “right.”

In this talk, I invite you to simply “eat the meal.” Using the example of samatha practice — mindfulness of breathing — can we let it be just that? Simply knowing the breath, moment by moment, without adding anything extra.

A short, practical teaching for returning to the essence of meditation

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(Ai cleaned up) transcript:

Eat the meal.

This goes along with the “just doing” practice that I’ve mentioned before. You go to a restaurant and sometimes completely lose sight of what the core purpose is — simply eating the meal — just like we can do with the exact meditation we set out to do.

Will whoever I’m going with show up on time? Will they like the place? Will we talk about the things we need to talk about? What kind of rating did this place get on Trustpilot or Yelp? Is the decor right? Will I get a good seat? Will I be able to arrive on time and leave on time? What kind of ingredients are they using? Will the waiter provide good service?

On and on and on. Looking at the menu: What should I order? What did I get last time?

All these extra things that make up “the whole experience” can sometimes water down or completely obscure the core intention — the simple purpose of eating the meal.

So when we sit down to meditate, can we just eat the meal?

For example, in samatha practice — mindfulness of breathing — can it be just that? Simply knowing the breath. Can that be enough? Can we do that?

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