Find a comfortable posture that is alert and upright,
But also relaxed and soft.
If it feels comfortable,
Allow your eyes to close and bring your full attention into your heart center.
Allow the breath to feel as though it is entering and exiting directly through the heart.
Begin to reflect on the greed,
Hatred,
And delusion that is in this world that we live in.
Acknowledge how all beings are suffering on some level or another.
Some are dying of starvation,
Some are dying of obesity.
Some are suffering from oppression and some are suffering so much that they're oppressing others.
Turn your heart and mind toward the truth of suffering in this world.
Now as you feel the capacity,
Begin to breathe in all the suffering in the world that you're aware of.
Allow your heart to be open,
Filled with the sorrow of the world.
Feel that pain,
Feel the grief,
Feel the sorrow.
Just let it all in.
And then let it all out.
Exhale waves of compassion in all directions.
Send mercy and forgiveness to all living beings to the whole world.
So we're going to do this over and over.
Breathing in suffering and breathing out compassion.
Begin to add a visual quality to the meditation.
As you breathe in,
Visualize the pain and suffering is heavy and hot.
Breathing the heat and the heaviness of the world's sorrows.
And as you exhale,
Visualize the mercy and compassion as light,
As coolness.
Breathe out the soothing,
Cool,
And refreshing intention of compassion.
So breathing in the hot heaviness,
Breathing out the cool compassion.
Continue this breathing for a few minutes.
Next we come to the personal aspect of the practice,
Bringing to mind the specific situations in our own lives that are painful.
Breathe into your heart,
The pain of the situation of your life,
Feeling it completely and breathe out mercy and compassion for yourself.
Over and over,
Inhale suffering,
Exhale compassion.
Now begin to expand again.
This time include the people in your life whom you love.
Breathe in the pain and sorrow of your loved ones.
See it as heavy and hot.
Breathe out compassion for their sufferings.
Experience the outbreath as lightness,
As cool.
For those we love,
We breathe in their sorrow.
We breathe out loving,
Caring compassion.
Now expand to include all the people that you do not already love.
Include the pain and sorrow of the masses,
Even of your enemies.
Anyone and everyone is suffering on one level or another,
Just like you.
So breathing in the suffering of humanity,
Breathe out compassion for humanity.
Breathe in the pain that closes the hearts of our enemies.
Breathe out the compassion that heals the wounds that create the unskillful actions of our enemies.
Work with this level for as long as it takes to begin to actually mean it.
Eventually you'll get to be sincere.
You will begin to care for the suffering of all living beings,
Including the most unskillful of your enemies.
So we breathe in the suffering of all humanity and breathe out compassion for all humanity.
Last we let go of the personal levels of our lives and of the human realms and expand the practice in all directions to include all forms of life.
So now including animals,
Insects,
Birds,
Fish,
Everything,
Amoebas.
We breathe in the pain and suffering of all living beings.
We breathe out compassion and love for all the world.
We breathe in the heaviness.
We breathe out the lightness.
As we breathe in and out,
Remember to include yourself in the section as part of the interconnected web of all existence.
We breathe in the pain and suffering of all living beings.
We breathe out compassion and love for all the world.
Now let go of the visualization and just breathe normally.
Feel your breath and your body.
Pay attention to your heart and mind.
And we will end this practice with a simple statement.
May I awaken the compassionate heart for the benefit of all living beings.
