Hello and welcome to Meditations with Hanya.
Today we'll be focusing on one of the four immeasurables.
That's one of the four divine qualities.
Karuna is the word for compassion.
We often think of compassion as soft and somewhat weak,
But in reality,
Compassion is courage in action.
Let's explore.
Find a comfortable seat,
Allowing your body to settle.
Let your eyes close and start to bring the awareness inward.
Begin to notice what's here for you in this moment.
Compassion begins with understanding.
So start to notice in your body where you might be holding or gripping,
Where there might be contraction or tension.
Notice without judgments,
Without expectations,
Let all of that go.
And just simply explore what's here.
Just a few moments.
Now turning your awareness to your thoughts and your mind and your emotional body.
And you're noticing there,
Where are their struggles?
What's holding you back?
And as you notice,
You let go of the judgments and you simply observe what's here.
How do you begin to see and feel your own struggles and of those of others?
How do you face what's here?
It takes courage.
It takes courage to sit with difficulty,
To not push it away,
To not hide from it.
But that's where the power of compassion comes in.
As we are present,
As we sit with the difficulties,
Instead of judging,
We embrace what's here.
We sit with it.
We get curious.
This is where empathy comes in.
The idea of being with another's pain,
Your own pain,
But there's also a level of action that complements that understanding.
Because once we empathize,
We are moved to help.
Compassion is not just empathy.
It's not just being with the difficulties.
It's actually taking steps for change,
Steps for growth,
Steps in a loving way to move right through some of the hardest things.
Roshi Joan Halifax urges us to cultivate a strong back and a soft front.
A strong back signifies having the courage and the strength to stand up for what we believe and to advocate for ourselves,
To face whatever it is that's difficult within ourselves and even within others.
But there's a soft front.
We want to stay open,
Curious,
Keep the understanding going.
So as you sit with your strong,
Tall back and your power,
You're also open to experience.
You're open to whatever's arising.
And there's a softness here,
A welcoming.
Thich Nhat Hanh had a term for getting very active in the world,
For not ignoring the difficulties of the world,
The challenges.
He coined the phrase engaged Buddhism.
This idea that doesn't allow us to put our heads in the sand,
Ignore what's around us,
But to sit in our courage with our strong back open to all around us with our soft front.
So here in your own body,
Think about growing that tall spine.
And here in your body,
Think about softening around your heart space.
Turn your awareness to your breathing body and imagine that every inhale is bringing you new energy,
New courage,
New love,
New life.
And imagine that every exhale,
You are sharing your love,
Your courage,
Your light with all of those around you.
Inhaling love,
Light,
Courage.
Exhaling,
Sharing with all of those around you.
Inhale to receive and exhale to give away.
Let your breath be powerful.
Allow your breath to fill up your heart space.
And as you release,
You feel more grounded and rooted in your sits bones.
Inhaling to grow taller,
Longer spine,
Stronger back.
Exhaling to soften,
Ground,
Release and share.
Strong back,
Soft front.
Keep focusing on your breath.
Let it be steady.
Let it guide you along.
As you tune into your power,
Your light,
Your love.
And as you soften and ground yourself deeper into this moment,
Into your body.
The Buddha asked us to be a light onto others.
That light continues to shine within you.
Breathe into that light.
Allow it to radiate.
So that you can share it with all of the people in your life.
Now let's take one more deep breath together.
And just let it go.
Slowly bring awareness back to your body.
To the space around you.
And when it feels right for you to start to make some movements.
You might tilt your head from side to side.
Wiggle fingers,
Toes.
And then come back to the space.
Opening your eyes.
Thank you for your practice.
Blessings to you.
