Meditating on the Bahiya Sutta

In the Bahiya Sutta of the Udana we not only find an inspiring story of one person’s spiritual quest and awakening, but also a simple yet profound guide to meditation.

The Buddha instructs Bahiya: “…as regards things seen, heard, sensed or cognised, there will be in the seen only the seen, in the heard only the heard, in the sensed only the sensed, in the cognised only the cognised.”

In other words, the Buddha invited Bahiya to remain present with what is, without overlaying, projecting or reading anything whatsoever into his experience.

On this retreat we’ll cultivate clarity, metta and stability of mind before contemplating this simple yet profound teaching to Bahiya.

Meditating on the text in this way, perhaps we can follow in Bahiya’s footsteps, which led him, as the text tells us, into a mysterious and somewhat paradoxical realm where,
“neither earth nor water
nor fire nor wind find a footing,
[where] the stars do not glimmer,
nor does the sun spread its light;
[where] the moon does not shine
nor is darkness to be found.”