Contemplation of Five Aggregates by Delson Armstrong (Audio only)

So we'll just start out with some loving kindness to ourselves. Bring up the loving kindness, allow that to percolate and just be there in the heart and let that come up. And then we're going to radiate it. So we'll just allow it to expand, send it out in different directions. So for a while after that's done, when the mind is very settled, then I will guide you through the contemplation practice through each of the five aggregates.

So I'll walk you through the form aggregate and you imagine the form aggregate in terms of your own body as you were when you were an infant and then when you grew up to become a toddler and then a child, and adolescent, your adult self, so to speak. And then beyond that, as you continue to age and grow and even beyond that, when you, your form basically dies and you're looking at the stages of decay in the body, in the corpse, and letting it go. Then I'll take you through feeling and that's essentially just listening to my voice, just listening to my voice, paying attention to my voice, paying attention to any internal feelings, paying attention to the thoughts, seeing how they arise and pass away, realizing that this is just arising through contact and then letting go through the insight of seeing them as impermanent, dukkha and not self.

Then the same with perceptions, the same with formations and finally with consciousness, because consciousness is that which sees the other four aggregates, is aware of the other aggregates in one way or the other. So you have to be able to let go of even consciousness. So we will begin. Are there any questions before we start?

So I want you all to find a comfortable sitting position. If it's in a chair or on a cushion, I want you all to find a comfortable sitting in one way or whatever works for you. Keep your body straight. Don't slouch. Close your eyes. Put a little smile on your face.

A little smile in your mind. And in your eyes and in your eyes. And in your heart. Pay attention to your breath as you inhale. And exhale. And relax. We're going to do a little body scan. So I want you all to see. Just let it go. Now we're going to bring up the feeling of loving kindness. Now we're going to bring up the feeling of loving kindness. You can say in your mind, may I be happy.

May I be well. May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be free of suffering. May I be free of suffering. And just notice, just imagine a little baby in your arms. Just smiling at you. Giggling, laughing. Just looking at you with innocent eyes. And feel the warmth that comes in your heart. Let the mind just stay there. Let the mind just stay there. If you notice any tension.

Just relax. Let it go. Soften. Feel the warmth in your heart. Throughout your heart. Just bask in that. Just bask in that. Just bask in that. Just pay attention to that feeling. Just pay attention to that feeling. If you notice the mind. If you notice the mind wandering. If you notice the mind wandering. Just recognize that. Just recognize that. Just recognize that. Let it go.

Come back to your body. Soften. Relax. Come back to your smile. And bring up that warmth again. Bring up that feeling. Bring up that feeling. Stay with the feeling. Stay with the feeling. Stay with the feeling. Stay with the feeling. If you find your mind. If you find your mind starting to tighten. If you find your mind starting to tighten.

Or push. Trying too hard. Just relax. Just relax. Let that go. Let the mind. Let the mind and heart expand. Let the mind and heart expand. Come back to the feeling. Come back to the feeling. Just rest in it. Allow it to pervade your heart center, like a candle flame. Just glowing. Just glowing. Let it go. Let your smile. Let the feeling. Let the feeling. Let the feeling grow.

Let the energy pervade your entire heart. Let the energy pervade your entire heart. Let it glow outward throughout your torso. Feel the warmth throughout the torso. Feel the warmth throughout the torso. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let the joy. Let the joy. Let it go. Let it go. Let the mind. Let the mind. Let the mind settle into it. Don't do anything. Let the mind settle into it.

Don't do anything. Just watch. Just watch the mind sink into that feeling. There's nowhere to go. There's nowhere to go. Nothing to do. No one to be. All is well. Let's go. Let's go. In this. We're going to send it to all beings. We're going to send it to all beings. Just in your mind. Look ahead of you. Look to the front of you. In your mind.

Come back to your smile. And just let the loving kindness flow again. That's it. Just feel the expansion. Now bring your attention behind you. Now bring your attention behind you. And let the feeling of loving kindness spread backwards. May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be safe. May all beings be free of suffering.

May all beings be filled with loving kindness. Don't push. Just let it flow in the backward direction. If you feel sloth and torpor, if you feel like the mind is wandering around, it's okay. Let it go. Let it go. Soften. Let the mind expand. Relax. Let the energy flow. Let the energy flow. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Now we're going to bring our attention. Now we're going to bring our attention. Now we're going to bring our attention to our right. Now we're going to bring our attention to our right. Let the feeling of loving kindness flow out of you towards the right direction. Let the feeling of loving kindness flow out of you towards the right direction.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Now bring your attention. Now bring your attention. Now bring your attention to your left. Let your loving kindness flow out to the left. Let your loving kindness flow out to the left. May all beings be full. May all beings be free of suffering.

Just let it flow. Let it shine out of you. Let it shine out of you in the left direction. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Don't push. Don't push. Just soften. Relax. Relax into it. Let's go. Let's go. Now. Now bring your attention to below you. Let your loving kindness flow. Let your loving kindness flow downward, to all beings in the ground.

In the water. To all beings. To all animals. To all birds and reptiles and insects. To hungry ghosts. To hungry ghosts. To hungry ghosts. To beings in the hell realms. May all beings be free of suffering. May all beings come out of their suffering. May all beings come out of their suffering. May all beings be happy. May all beings be happy and safe.

Let your loving kindness pervade all the lower realms below you. May all beings experience your loving kindness. Share it with them. Let them experience it. Let it go. Relax. Come back to the feeling. Going out to the lower realms. May they all be happy. I'm going to have to go. If the mind starts to slide away, it's okay.

Let the feeling go up to the realm of the four great kings. To the Deva realms. Let the feeling go up to the first Brahma Loka. Out into space. Out into infinity. Beyond space. Out into the second Brahma Loka. Out into the third. Into the fourth. To the pure abodes. To the Arupa Brahmas. Out into infinite space.

Infinite consciousness. Nothingness. And neither perception nor non-perception. May all beings in the higher realms be happy. May they be safe. May they be free of suffering. May all higher beings be filled with loving kindness. Let that feeling flow upward. Out into space. Out into infinity. If you notice the mind drifting, okay, that's fine. Let that go. Relax.

Soften. Keep the mind expanded. Clear and light. Let the mind be spacious. Let the feeling flow. Let the feeling flow. Let the feeling flow. Soften. If you notice the mind pushing, relax. Soften. Expand your awareness. Let it go. Let the feeling flow out. Let the feeling flow out. Remember, there's nothing to achieve here. There's nothing to achieve here. Nothing you have to be. Nothing you have to be.

Nothing you have to reach. Just let the mind be settled. That's it. It's a good idea. Now we're going to come to the awareness. Now we're going to come to the awareness of loving kindness around us. Now we're going to come to the awareness of loving kindness around us. Now we are surrounded in a radiant sphere of loving kindness, the aura of loving kindness.

Let that feeling expand in all directions. May the person in front of you. May the person in front of you. Behind you. To the right of you. To the right of you. And to the left feel your loving kindness. May all beings in this room. May all beings in this room. May all beings in this room, experience Nibbana. I have a heartfelt wish. I have a heartfelt wish. I have a heartfelt wish. I have a heartfelt wish. I have a heartfelt wish. I have a heartfelt wish. I have a heartfelt wish. I have a heartfelt wish. I have a heartfelt wish. All beings in this room.

Experience the cessation of suffering. And let that aura of loving kindness pervade through you. Within you. Outside of you. Throughout this room. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness in you. Now you have become one symbiotic aura of loving kindness.

Allow that feeling to expand. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the loving kindness. Feel the love. Feel the love. Feel the love. Feel the love. Feel the love. Feel the love. Feel the love. Feel the love. Feel the love. Let the feeling flow out throughout the city and keep expanding. Let it pervade all around you, in all directions, into the sky, throughout the country, throughout the world.

May all beings, all animals, all peoples, all nations, everyone feel loving-kindness. Pervade the entire globe with a powerful aura of loving-kindness. You are that source of loving-kindness expanding outward in all directions. Out into space. Out to all the planets in this system. Let the loving-kindness go beyond the solar system, outward, even further out. Out into space, pervading the entire galaxy.

Just keep it going. There is no limit. So drifting. Relax. Soften. Come back to the feeling. Allow the flow of the loving-kindness to soften, to relax, to become space itself. Let it all go. No expectations. No goals. Just the feeling. The feeling. Allow the mind to be suffused with it. To be quenched by it. To release into it.

To release into it. To relax into it. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. No one to become, as your mind settles into that. Let the feeling be. Now, to go. What does it look like? Notice how the infant moves. What does it look like? Notice how the infant moves. What it does. Notice how the infant moves. What it does. Notice how the infant moves. What it does. Notice how the infant moves.

What it does. Notice your body grow up as a toddler. Walking around. Notice how the structure of your body changes as it grows. Your nose, your hair, your skin. Are you that? Are you the infant? Are you the infant? Are you the toddler? Are you the child? Are you? Are you? Are you? Are you? Are you? Are you? in your structure.

The body continues. The body continues to grow up. Notice the wrinkles. Notice how your body ages. Notice how your body ages. Notice how your body ages. The body keep aging. That is the nature. That is the nature of the body. Do you want to age? Do you want to age? Do you want the body to have gray hair? Do you want the body to have gray hair?

And wrinkly skin? Broken teeth? No. That is the nature of reality. No. That is the nature of reality. Your body arose. Your body arose. And one day it will pass away. And that's okay. That is the reality of this existence. It's okay. I am not this body. I am not the hair. I am not the skin. I am not the muscles.

I'm not the eyes. I'm not the ears, the nose, the tongue, the brain. That keeps changing. That is not me. That is not mine. That is not myself. Let go. Notice how the body continues to change. And now, it is a corpse. Your body is decaying. It is a corpse. It becomes bloated and green and livid. That's not you.

That's just hair and skin and nails, muscles and bones. Nothing to do with me. And now, it decays further. Just a skeleton. Are you the skeleton? Are you the bones? Are you the joints? These are all just form. Let it go. Let it go. Look deep into the body. Into the hair. Into the skin. Into the nails. Into the bones.

Made up of trillions of cells. Are you those cells? Those cells keep going and passing away. Arising and passing away. Arising and passing away. Arising and passing away. Changing all the time. But you are observing it. That's not me. That's not mine. That's not myself. Just let it go. Be free of the body. Be free of the elements.

Now the body has disappeared. No more. Now the body has disappeared. No more. Bring your attention to feeling and sensation. Notice the sound of my voice. Pay attention. Pay attention. Pay attention. Pay attention. To the moment the sound makes impact. On to the ears. Notice it. I'm going to snap my fingers. I'm going to snap my fingers.

And I want you to notice the moment of contact. Notice that contact. And the sensation that arose. That is not me. That is not mine. That is not mine. That is not mine. Notice what's happening inside of you. Notice what's happening inside of you. The sensations that you're experiencing. Notice what's happening inside of you. The sensations that you're experiencing.

Notice how it feels sitting on the chair or on the cushion. The sensation of that. You can't change it. You can't change it. That's not you. That's not you. Notice the thoughts that arise. Notice the thoughts that arise. You are the observer. Not the thoughts. There's only observing going on. Did you call those thoughts up? Did you ask them? Did you ask them? Did you ask them to be there? Did you ask them to be there? Did you ask them to be there? Did you ask them to be there?

Let them flow? Just watch the traffic of thoughts? Just watch the stream? Don't enter it. Don't become part of it. Just let it go. Don't become the thought. Try to find the thought. Try to find the thought. Try to find the point when that happened. Try to find out what was the thought before that. Try to find out what was the thought before that.

And what was the thought before that. And what was the thought before that. And what was the thought before that. And what was the thought before that. Were you in that? Were you in that? Did you create that? Did you create that? Did you cause it? Did you cause it? Did you cause it? This is not me. This is not mine. This is not mine.

This is not myself. Let them go. Let all sensations be as they are. They are. Because that's how they are. Because that's how they are. There is no you in that. There is no you in that. There is no you in that. There is no you before it. There is no you after it. It is just feeling.

In the seeing, there is only the seeing. In the hearing, there is only the seeing. In the hearing, there is only the heard. In the sensing, there is only the sensed. In the cognizing, in the thinking, there is only the cognized and the thought. I am not in it. I am not it. It doesn't belong to me.

Let it go. Let all feelings vanish and disappear. Drop them. Let them go. Notice the relief from feelings. That relief also. Drop it. Let it go. Let the mind be free of all experience. Of all feeling. Now we are going to turn our attention to perceptions. Notice the ideas you have about the feelings. Notice how, when I speak, your mind recognizes my voice.

Notice the memories that come up. The concepts that arise. All concepts are dukkha. All proliferation is dukkha. Let it go. It's not worth holding on to. Whatever concepts you have about yourself, about your relationships, about your job, about your career, about your family, and friends, and enemies. Let them go. They're all concepts. They have nothing to do with you.

Relax. Relax all ideas. Relax all ideas. Come to that point where the mind is free of all concepts. That is relief. No thoughts. No mind also. Just relax. Soften. This is not me. This is not mine. This is not myself. Let it go. If you notice the mind wandering, that's okay. That's not you. Why be bothered by it? Just relax.

Come back to the stillness. Let it all go. Relax. Relax. Relax. Notice all of the decisions that you've made. Take one decision that you've made in your life. One intention. And notice how it came to be. Go back and see what caused you to make that decision. Go back to the source of that. Let it go. All decisions, all intentions are not me, not mine, not myself.

It's just a river flowing. That's it. Just watch the river. All these choices, all these ideas, all these formations. That's just a rising and passing away. Arising and passing away. Arising and passing away. Arising and passing away. That's it. Nothing else. Just a rising and passing away. There is no me in that. There is no me before that.

There is no me after that. It's just a rising and passing away. All these formations. Let it go. Relax. Let it go. Relax. Let it go. Relax. Be free of all choices. All intentions. Let it go. Let go. Let go of trying to meditate. Let go of trying to meditate. Let it be. Let it be. There is just meditation. There is just meditation. Nothing to do. Nothing to do.

Nothing to achieve. Nowhere to go. No one to be. Sink into just pure awareness. Sink into just pure awareness. Notice the awareness. Notice the awareness. Notice how the mind is aware. Just the observer. Just the observer. Silent witness. The background behind everything. Just the observer. Silent witness. The background behind everything. And just rest in that. Just rest in that. There is no one. What is the observer? What is the observer? What is that consciousness? What is that consciousness? That awareness. What is that consciousness? That awareness.

There is the mind. There is the mind. There is the meditation. And there is the mind watching the process. The meditation. Let the meditation. Let the meditation. Let the meditation go. Let the mind go. Let the mind go. Let the meditator go. This is not me. This is not mine. This is not mine. This is not myself.

Sink into that emptiness. Sink into that emptiness. Emptiness of self. Signless. Nothing worth holding on to. Emptiness of self. Signless. Nothing worth holding on to. Let go. Let go. Just rest. Just rest. Just rest. Soften. Whatever comes up. Let it be. Let them sink back in. No need to notice or pay attention. Just rest. Just rest. Just rest. There is nothing here. There is nothing here. There is nothing here.

No one here. There is no here. No there. No beyond. No beyond. No now. Nothing. Just let it all go. Soften and relax into it. Rest. Don't look at anything in particular. Whatever arises, let it be. Go beyond. No looking. No observing. No awareness. No attention. No signs. No direction. Just emptiness. Void of all things. Of all formations.

Void of the conditioned. Relax and let go. No. No. No. No. No. No awareness. No awareness. No awareness. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.