Daring: Trying a New Approach

As I waited by the gate
For someone who knows
How to open it,
I prepared to sit,

And as I did,
Tore up all the ladders
And from these parts
Constructed a new one:

Breathing in,
“Whatever is not yours. . .”
Breathing out,
“Let go of it, . . .”
And in the space between out and in,
“Your letting go of it will be
for your long-term happiness and benefit” (Majhima Nikaya 22).

Continuing until the last line of the passage,
“Your letting go of it will be
for your long-term happiness and benefit.”
Then let go of these words too
And staying with the breathing,
Observed it,

But whenever a thought, feeling or sensation
Began to pull the mind away:
Breathing in,
“This is not yours,”
Breathing out,
“Let go of it . . .”
And in the space between out and in,
“Your letting go of it will be
for your long-term happiness and benefit.”

Continued acknowledging these diverse processes
And yet resting in awareness
Of the breathing,
Until the end of the meditation.