Tonglen Meditation

Tonglen (“giving and taking” in Tibetan) is a mindfulness meditation to help you develop loving-kindness for yourself and all beings. This meditation is useful if you are facing challenging times or are seeking relief from suffering. It is also beneficial for developing compassion with people with whom you have disagreements, or simply to send out love to all living beings. Return to this meditation frequently to find a sense of interconnectedness with all living things.

Transcript

Welcome to your Tonglen meditation.

Go ahead and find a space where you can be comfortable and take a little time for yourself.

And begin to become aware of your breath.

There's no need to judge it or change it.

Just becoming aware.

Breathing in,

I am aware that I am breathing in.

And breathing out,

I am aware that I am breathing out.

Breathing in,

I am aware that I am breathing in.

And breathing out,

I am aware that I am breathing out.

And as you breathe,

Identify an obstacle that you would like to work on.

And the next time you take a breath in,

Breathe in a wish to take away your suffering.

And breathe out a wish to send comfort and compassion.

The next time you breathe in,

Think about somebody that you know that might also be facing an obstacle.

Maybe it's something similar or something different.

And begin to breathe in a wish to take away their suffering.

And breathe out a wish to send comfort and compassion.

Breathing in,

I am breathing a wish to take away their suffering.

And breathing out,

I am breathing out a wish to send comfort and compassion.

Breathing in,

I am aware that I am breathing in.

Breathing out,

I am aware that I am breathing out.

Breathing in,

I am aware that I am breathing in a wish to take away their suffering.

And breathing out,

I am aware that I am breathing out a wish to send comfort and compassion.

Then begin to bring your awareness to a stranger,

Also facing obstacles.

And breathe in a wish to take away their suffering.

And breathe out a wish to send comfort and compassion.

Breathing in,

I am aware that I am breathing in.

Breathing out,

I am aware that I am breathing out.

Breathing in,

I am aware that I am breathing in a wish to take away their suffering.

And breathing out,

I am aware that I am breathing out a wish to send comfort and compassion.

And then expand your awareness to the community in which you reside with the awareness that there are others facing obstacles.

And breathe in a wish to take away their suffering.

And breathe out a wish to send out comfort and compassion.

Breathing out,

I am aware that I am breathing in.

Breathing out,

I am aware that I am breathing out.

Breathing in,

I am aware that I am breathing in a wish to take away their suffering.

Breathing out,

I am aware that I am breathing out a wish and comfort and compassion.

And then expand your awareness to the country in which you reside.

Again acknowledging that there are people facing obstacles just like you.

Breathe in a wish to take away their suffering.

And breathe out a wish to send comfort and compassion.

Breathing in I am aware that I am breathing in.

Breathing out I am aware that I am breathing out.

Breathing in I am aware that I am breathing in a wish to take away their suffering.

And breathing out I am aware that I am breathing out a wish to send comfort and compassion.

And then allow your awareness to expand to the entire planet.

This beautiful globe on which we all reside.

Being aware that there are obstacles that all of us face.

And breathe in a wish to take away our suffering.

Breathing out a wish to send comfort and compassion.

Breathing in I am aware that I am breathing in.

Breathing out I am aware that I am breathing out.

Breathing in I am aware that I am breathing in a wish to take away our suffering.

Breathing out I am aware that I am breathing out a wish to send comfort and compassion.

And then bring your awareness back to yourself and the obstacle that you identified.

And breathe in a wish to take away your suffering.

And breathe out a wish to send your self-comfort and compassion.

Breathing in I am aware that I am breathing in.

Breathing out I am aware that I am breathing out.

Breathing in I am aware that I am breathing in a wish to take away my suffering.

And breathing out I am aware that I am breathing out a wish to send myself comfort and compassion.

And begin to be aware that there is someone out there right now breathing in a wish to take away your suffering.

And they are breathing out a wish to send you comfort and compassion.

Breathing in I am aware that I am breathing in.

Breathing out I am aware that I am breathing out.

Breathing in I am grateful to be breathing in.

And breathing out I am grateful to be breathing out.

I'mid you all for going through your nights for a���� s of relaxation and sleep trick If you take the first breath into the Book which you read at a time you can deal with things many times And you can continue with this breath awareness throughout your day or throughout your evening and know that you can return to this meditation for any obstacle that you might be facing.

And I wish you peace and I wish you wellness.

Reviews

A good start to my day. I like the way you guided me through this meditation with a practical approach: no whispery voice or background music. I liked being reminded that there was someone else out there doing the same as me, and that I could return to this meditation throughout my day. Thank you.

Thank you Amanda for this relaxing track✨Looking forward to your next class 🌸

I have been practicing Tonglen for years, this is one of the best guided practices Ive done. Thank you for recording this track. Love that gratitude is included. Going into favorites!

Simple. Straightforward. Calming voice and tempo. Centering.

Beautiful. I really enjoyed going full circle and the expansion outward. Thank you so much.

Beautiful. Your voice is so calm. I felt very connected.

I really liked this meditation even though it was a little fast for me.

Thank you Amanda🙏