Cultivating Loving Kindness For All

As always, we will use the teachings of the Buddha from the Suttas as a reference for the qualities we will build throughout the mediation. As we establish a relaxed attitude, we will bring in investigation, mindfulness, energy, joy, concentration and equanimity into our practice (the seven factors of awakening). Through our focused concentration, we will cultivate feelings of love and kindness, which we will learn to share indiscriminately to all beings.

Transcript

So welcome to Mitta Bhavna Meditation.

This is a guided meditation to cultivate Mitta for the self and to others.

So start by finding yourself in a comfortable position,

Seated position,

In a way that you can lift your spine up and maintain a straight posture.

You may need a cushion under your seat bones to tilt the pelvis in order to create an effortlessly tall spine.

You can place your hands on a cushion on your lap or on your thighs,

Whichever feels the most comfortable,

Aiding an effortless tall spine.

So in your seated posture,

Start to feel your seat bones on the seat.

Inhaling and as you inhale,

Lift up through the spine,

Rising,

Bringing buoyancy into the upper chest.

Let the shoulders roll back and relax.

Feel the head balanced on top of the spine,

The chin slightly tucked in.

Feel a lightness throughout the spine.

Take a deep breath in and exhale and as you exhale,

Relax,

Relax the body.

Feel it as though the exhalation is expelling any tension in the muscles.

Focus on the muscles around the eyes.

Soften the gaze or close the eyes.

Relax the muscles around the eyes,

The temples,

The brow.

Releasing any tension in the muscles.

See if you can feel the muscles all the way behind the eye sockets,

Around the eyeballs.

Soften the face,

Soften the muscles around the mouth,

The lips,

The chin,

The jaw,

The tongue.

Exhaling,

Releasing.

The scalp and the neck,

Feel the muscles soften.

Inhaling,

Maintaining buoyancy,

Lift,

Alertness,

Exhaling,

Relaxing and softening.

Feel the shoulders soften,

The back and the arms.

Noticing areas of tension and letting that go.

Feel the sides of the body relaxing and the back relaxing.

Feel the lungs expanding,

Contracting and feel the rib cage expanding,

Contracting,

Relaxing the diaphragm.

Feel it soften.

Place your attention to each part,

Exhaling,

Relaxing that part.

Dropping everything.

Going for the next while,

There is nothing for you to do but focus on the meditation.

Nowhere to be but right here.

Feel the body calming down,

Feel the mind calming down as you relax,

Bringing attention into your body.

Becoming more mindful of the body.

Making your awareness more subtle,

Become aware of the breath.

Moving in,

The nostrils,

The throat,

The lungs and out.

Feel the air,

How does it feel?

The temperature,

The movement,

The expansion of your lungs.

Notice,

Pay attention.

Still relaxing and softening.

Relaxing any effort and placing the attention gently on the breath.

Effortlessly as though you are watching just back a little.

Release your grip.

Good over exertion.

Just place your attention gently on the breath.

Without changing it.

Cultivating equanimity.

Just observing with an equanimous mind.

Preparing the foundation for metta bhavana to arise.

Without judgement.

Notice the qualities.

Focus your attention.

Bringing the mind continually back to the breath.

Relaxing.

Soften the face,

Soften the eyes,

The mouth,

The slight smile to bring lightness to your attention.

Lightness to the mind.

Now bring your attention to the heart area.

Feeling the breath still in that area.

Feel the chest expanding,

Contracting.

Feel the breath around the heart area.

You can make your area of attention as wide or as small as you need.

Notice the sensations that are arising and passing.

Again without judgement.

So watching,

Pleasurable sensations,

Painful sensations,

Neutral sensations.

Or no sensations with the same mind.

Equanimous.

From equanimity we can cultivate compassion.

From compassion we cultivate loving kindness.

Notice the feelings there.

Allow them to rise and pass,

Whatever they are.

Feeling the sensations.

Maybe there are thoughts or feelings in the background.

Allow them to be there.

Keep that mind gently placed on whatever is arising.

Without judgement,

Allow the thoughts if they need to be there.

But watch them.

As if you're standing back watching a scenery unfold.

Gentle,

Gentle attention but continuous in the heart area.

Now bring to your mind an element of care for your body.

See your body.

Generate a feeling of appreciation and care as you would a small child,

An innocent child.

An innocent child playing.

See this,

Cultivate this small flame in your heart of care and send that to your body.

An non-judgmental attitude of loving care to each limb,

The skin,

Each muscle and the bones,

The organs,

The hair.

Break down the body as if you're parts of a vehicle giving each part loving attention,

Care.

May this body be happy.

May this body be at ease.

May this body be well.

Generating a wish of loving kindness,

A genuine wish that this body be well,

This body be happy.

This body is free from suffering.

Still relaxed,

Still upright,

Still buoyant in the upper chest.

Gentle mind.

Relaxed but alert.

May this body be well.

May this body be happy.

May this body be full of ease.

Feeling tenderly for any painful sensations,

Any illnesses,

Any issues.

Care for those parts of you.

Care for them as you would a sick child or a sick loved one.

And be happy for the parts of you that are well.

Generating a wish.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

May this body be full of ease.

Now,

Thinking of yourself,

Your life,

Not too specific,

No details,

Just a general idea of how you've been recently and send your timeline,

Yourself,

Loving kindness.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

May my life be full of ease.

A genuine wish for your life to be full of peace.

You deserve complete and total happiness.

Allow yourself to fully,

Fully cultivate this wish for yourself.

Feel it.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

May my life be full of ease still.

Feeling the whole being,

The whole body,

The whole essence that is you.

The mind is steady,

The mind is still.

Focused on this one intention.

Grounded in the sensations in the heart area.

Moving with the inhalation and the exhalation.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

Imagine your being as if it's emanating from this area as is loving kindness.

Fanning this small flame in the heart area with a wish.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

Now we are to turn our attention to someone that we love,

Someone that we care for,

Someone we respect.

This person is alive.

Not a lover or a sexual partner or anyone we feel desire for,

But someone we have a wholesome care for.

Can be a pet.

So see this person in your mind's eye,

Or this animal.

See them happy,

See them smiling,

See them well.

Allow the feeling of metta,

Of loving kindness to grow in your heart as you see them.

And of course,

If you still need to give yourself loving kindness,

Then do so.

You can join at any point.

The practice must be effortless without strain.

And we must be patient and work carefully to cultivate genuine metta in the heart.

No rush.

So we're thinking of this person.

See them still with awareness of the sensations in your own heart,

Fanning the flame of loving kindness,

Feeling the breath expanding,

Contracting,

Visualising this person,

Sending them metta.

Contail the words to suit yourself in a meaningful way.

We'll use the words,

May you be well,

May you be happy,

May your life be full of ease.

Wish them happiness.

Wish them a life free of suffering.

Genuine care for their happiness.

Allow whatever feelings in the heart,

Yourself to be there.

Let them arise.

Let them pass without judgement.

Sending metta to this person.

If this is difficult,

Then send metta to yourself.

Imagine this metta moving out your heart like a fountain back in the front,

Spilling out,

Moving towards the object of your attention,

Which is the person you care for.

May you be well,

May you be happy,

May your life be full of ease.

Genuine wish.

Keep the body upright.

Keep the body light and buoyant.

The mind is relaxed.

Check areas of tension and relax them.

Being aware how the body is,

Being aware of the sensations in the heart.

Investigate the feelings in the heart.

As you send metta to this person you care for effortlessly,

Without trying or straining.

There is no expectation.

Just allow this feeling to arise gently.

And don't worry if it's not there.

Just the thought is a powerful seed,

A powerful intention to lay as a foundation for metta to grow from.

A wish for this person.

May they be loved,

May they be happy.

May their life be full of ease.

Now,

Thinking of a person who you neither feel strong affection or dislike for,

Someone you see regularly but you don't know them.

Maybe this could be a bus driver,

Your neighbour,

Someone from the shop you visit.

See them in your mind's eye.

Reconnect with your heart area.

Feel the breath.

Inhaling,

Exhaling.

Feel it as though you were filling up this centre and then relaxing from it.

Expressing metta.

Releasing,

Relaxing.

Metta to this person who we neither like nor dislike.

A neutral person.

May you be loved,

May you be happy.

May your life be full of ease.

Genuinely send this wish.

Imagine it like a blessing for them,

A gift,

A protection.

Protection that they may be happy.

Life will be easy for them,

Free of stress,

Free of worry,

Free of tension,

Fear and anger.

Wish this for them.

And of course,

If you feel you still need to give yourself metta,

Then do so.

No stress,

No pushing forward.

Just whatever feels good.

Strain can make the mind tired and stressed.

Sending metta,

May you be well,

May you be happy.

May you be free from worry,

Fear,

Doubt,

Suffering.

Keeping the mind steady.

Keeping the mind on your object of concentration.

Metta bhavana,

The breath,

The heart,

The neutral person or the self.

See them happy.

See this feeling growing inside you,

Spilling out like a fountain.

And even if the feeling isn't there,

Keep placing the thought there,

Feeling the heart area,

Accepting any sensation that arises in your body,

Compassionately.

A tone of care,

Acceptance,

Even without judgement.

Keep applying the mind back,

Even if it wanders,

Bring it back.

Cultivating mindfulness on where the mind goes to and applying your will to bring it to the object.

Metta,

The heart,

The breath,

The neutral person.

May you be well,

May you be happy,

May your life be full of ease.

Thinking of this person,

Bringing a balanced mind,

Knowing that we are cultivating metta for all beings indiscriminately.

Whoever they are,

Whatever they do,

Cultivating true metta,

Loving kindness for all beings,

All sentient life.

This is the training,

This is the practice.

Every being deserves happiness,

A life free of suffering.

Feel that,

Know that,

Allow metta to grow inside,

Feeling that small flame in the heart.

Now bring the attention back to yourself,

Back to your heart.

Checking in and giving yourself metta.

May I be well,

May I be happy,

May I be free from suffering.

Feel the body,

Relax the body,

Soften the eyes,

The face.

Keep the spirit lifted,

Keep the attention awake,

Keep the mind still and steady.

Lightly,

Gently place the mind on the heart,

The breath.

Now think of someone we are struggling with,

Have a maybe personal disagreement with.

We can start where this disagreement is minor and move on to someone where it's more of a struggle,

But start easy and then build up.

We want to cultivate genuine metta without strain,

Without difficulty.

So visualize this person.

Maybe you could think of how their life might be difficult.

How issues may have arisen as a result of their own suffering and yours.

Allow this idea to generate compassion in your heart,

Generate compassion so that you can send metta.

May you be well,

May you be happy,

See that person becoming free of suffering as you send them the blessing of metta.

May you be well,

May you be happy,

Everyone deserves metta.

See them coming happier,

More wholesome,

Just as yourself by generating metta.

May you be well,

May you be happy,

May your life be full of ease.

I wish that their life will be free of suffering.

If this is too hard or if this feeling doesn't arise,

Not to worry.

You can continue to practice metta bhavana on yourself and really try and get a genuine feeling in the heart or a steady concentrated mind on this notion,

Bhavana,

This attitude of metta.

Loving kindness of care of tenderness,

Gentle mind,

Poised,

Present,

Awake.

Face is soft,

The eyes are soft,

The jaw is soft,

The neck,

Shoulders.

Relaxing into metta.

May you be well,

May you be happy,

May your life be full of ease.

For all beings,

All beings deserve metta.

Let this cultivate the ability to give metta to anybody spontaneously.

Let's visualize this person,

Visualize their ease as you send them metta like a healing balm.

As you send metta,

You yourself receive this healing balm like a protection.

Protection from jealousy,

Protection from hate,

Protection from unwholesome ideas or unwholesome feelings such as fear,

Disruptive desire.

Now visualize people you live with and in the area surrounding your home,

Maybe that's your street,

Community,

Building,

Land.

Visualize all the people that live there,

People you love,

The neutral person,

Person you have difficulty,

All the people that live in your area.

See them all as if you are floating above this land,

This space,

Surveying,

Sending metta.

May you be well,

May you be happy,

May your life be full of ease to all these people,

May they be free of suffering,

May they be free of pain,

May their lives be full of ease.

Letting that flame of metta in your heart.

You can allow this feeling just to effortlessly move from you as you relax,

As your mind becomes soft,

More gentle,

More easeful,

But steady and alert with energy,

Awareness and presence.

If the body is slouch,

Lift up,

Open the chest,

Drop the shoulders,

Feel upright,

Relaxed.

Sending metta to the people who surround you.

May you all be happy,

May you all be well,

May you all be free of suffering,

May they be free of fear,

Of jealousy,

Of ill will,

Of sloth.

And desire.

And include yourself.

May we all be free of suffering,

May we be happy,

May we be well.

Feel that move through your own body to each limb.

Feel the metta spilling out through you,

Your arms,

Your hands,

Your legs,

Your body.

Feel this warm kindness,

This love,

Care.

Move through you.

Move outwards towards the people that surround you.

With a relaxed mind,

Just taking a step back so we're not trying too hard or straining the mind,

Gently placing the mind.

Now expand the area of your vision to include the town.

The town that you live in,

Or the village,

Or the area,

Wide in that field so it contains more people.

You can imagine you are seeing this plane or area from any angle.

Sometimes from above is easier to visualize a whole large area.

And again feel the metta,

Feel this gentle,

Tender care move through your body towards all these people.

And of course if you need to,

Send metta to the self.

Or feel it grow from you,

Feel it as if it were an energy,

As if it were a warmth moves from your body outwards.

To all the people,

All the people indiscriminately in your city,

Your town,

Your village.

May all these people and myself be free of suffering,

May they be well and happy.

May they be free from pain.

Make this a genuine wish,

Compassion and care.

Solving any ill will,

Cultivating mindfulness whenever ill will arises and generating metta instead.

Making this a natural state of mind.

May you be well,

May you be happy,

May your life be full of ease.

Now if you can extend your vision to the whole world.

Imagine seeing the whole entire globe of all nationalities,

Of all people young and old.

All jobs,

The nurse,

The doctor,

The teacher,

The road sweeper,

The movie star,

The shopkeeper,

The politician.

The children,

The babies,

The mothers,

The fathers,

All people of all walks of life.

Without judgment from an equanimous mind.

In all situations,

In war,

In peace.

Send metta,

Send loving kindness.

May all beings be happy,

May all beings be well.

May all beings be free from suffering.

Let it be a genuine wish.

Allow the metta to move through your own body with all the care,

The love.

You can generate for yourself and send it through you to the whole world,

All people.

May all beings be well,

May all beings be happy,

May all beings be full of ease.

In the heart,

Feel the heart,

Feel the breath to keep the mind steady,

Peaceful.

And you can continue to send metta to yourself,

To the world,

To the street,

The person you love,

The neutral person or the person you have difficulty with.

Or if you feel that you've had enough,

You can stop.

Remember not to strain or force.

Well done.

Reviews

Amazing💯

Wonderful meditation

Nice pace and exploration

Gentle guidance, grounding the body first helps a lot