CHAPTER 6: MINDFULNESS ON THE CUSHION • 107INSTRUCTIONAL STORy 6.1: THE BOy, THE MOON, AND THE CLOUDS
Approximate timing: 2 minutes for introduction; 5 minutes for practice
Find your comfortable seat [use Getting Seated for Meditation Script]. Once upon a time, there
was a little boy who loved the moon. His favorite part of the month was the day the moon was full, a
giant, big round circle in the sky. He loved the moon so much that his mom and dad cut a hole in the
roof and put in a window so he could watch the moon every night as he fell asleep. The little boy loved
the moon so much that they became friends. They supported each other. Every night the moon would
move up to its place in the sky and look down for the boy. As much as the moon inspired the boy to
rest, the boy inspired the moon to shine. And so it went. They helped each other every night.
Earlier today, the little boy and his family went to visit his grandmother. The little boy is not
going to be able to take care of the moon. I told him that you would help him take care of the moon. He
was so happy. He said that it was easy to take care of the moon. You simply have to relax, breathe, and
watch the moon. The moon loves to be seen. He said that if clouds pass by, you simply notice them and
keep your eyes right on the moon. He said to remember that the clouds will come and go, and your job
is to breathe and watch the moon so that it knows you are there, and it is inspired to shine. It is your
turn now to watch the moon.
You are resting comfortably right under the sky window. You are relaxed and feeling calm.
Looking up through your special window to the sky, you are breathing slowly: in—one, two, three,
and four, and out—one, two, three, four. You notice your breath is steady and calm as you look up
through your window at the moon. As you look at the moon, you notice how round it is, and how it is
white and gray with shaded areas and brighter areas across its surface. You look carefully at its color-
ing and wonder if it is slightly blue, red, or yellow. What is the color of the moon you see? It seems as
if the moon feels you watching and brightens just a bit. As you carefully look at the moon, you breathe
steadily in—one, two, three, and four, and out—one, two, three, four.
As you watch the moon, you notice some clouds coming in from one side of the sky and moving
toward the other side. You know it is your job to watch the moon, so you let the clouds float by. Some
of the clouds are big, and some are small. Some of the clouds move slowly, and some move quickly.
You keep watching the moon, and the moon is so happy. The clouds keep moving by. As you watch
the moon, you might see that a cloud or two gets stuck in front of the moon. You can breathe in deeply
for one, two, three, and four, then use your exhale to move the cloud out of the way of the moon, one,
two, three, and four. The moon can feel how hard you are working to take care of its shining and is
thankful. You notice that the clouds are coming by less often. You notice that eventually there are no
more clouds and all that you see is the beautiful moon. You breathe in—one, two, three, and four, and
out—one, two, three, and four. You are so happy you could help the little boy. He is on his way home
and will watch the moon tonight. He wants you to know that you can watch the moon with him any
time you want. All you need to do is close your eyes, imagine his moon window, and breathe.
Source: Informed by Willard (2016).
The Basic Meditation Practice
Hanh (1975) says that, as you begin practice, you should “Hold onto nothing but your breath
and the half smile” (p. 35). Hanh (1975) describes it as achieving total rest. He states that in
order to achieve total rest you must do two things: (a) watch your breath, and (b) let go of
everything else. It is a continual watching and letting go, watching, letting go, and watching