1.39 · The Chosen Flower

Or by meditating on whatever you hold dear.

Word by word

yathā-abhimata

as is wished, whatever is held dear

dhyānāt

by meditation

vā

or

Where it fits

The last 'or' closes the series begun at 1.33 by leaving the choice open. Vyāsa gives the reason any object will serve: once steady on one thing, the mind becomes steady elsewhere too (Woods p. 77). That claim leads straight to 1.40, the reach of a steadied mind.

Reading

The list of supports ends with striking openness: meditate on whatever you hold dear. Vyāsa explains why it works. Once the mind is steady on one thing, it can be steady elsewhere too. Vācaspati Miśra reads the sūtra as whatever deity one chooses, as in 2.44; others read it more widely, as any wholesome object. Either way the text trusts the practitioner. Affection naturally gathers attention, so you begin where the heart already rests.

Vyāsa

“One should meditate on whatever one holds dear. Once steady there, the mind becomes steady elsewhere too.”

Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 77.

Practice

Choose something you love that is wholesome to dwell on: a place, a sacred image, a flower, a line of verse. Rest your attention on it for five minutes. When the mind wanders, return to it gladly, as you would to a friend.

A question to sit with

What do you love enough to keep returning to?

Key ideas

citta (the mind-field)