Guided Metta Meditation | Ajahn Brahm

Ajahn Brahm guides us gently through a loving-kindness meditation. Loving-kindness (metta) helps us to cultivate a wholesome relationship to whatever experience we have in life. Whether it is our own body and mind, or other beings - we can always relate to experience with kindness, gentleness, and peacefulness and learn to open the door of our heart to life, to ourselves, and to others. Ajahn Brahm ends the meditation with a short blessing chant.

Transcript

So I just first of all close my eyes and relax to the max.

Feeling really peaceful in my body,

My poor old body.

I've done a lot of work today.

It's coming towards the end of the day for me.

So I thank you body.

I have shown gratitude towards it.

My body is 69 years and it's still pretty healthy and allows me to do what I want it to do.

It doesn't really get sick at all.

It's really been a good deal this body.

I've had a car for 69 years and it hardly ever needs to get a service.

Nothing goes wrong with it.

It doesn't break down,

It doesn't crash.

Now I don't think I've ever broken a bone in my body.

I always manage to sometimes I thought I've had falling off ladders and stuff but the body is just really good,

Strong.

Thank you body.

I'm going to give that gratitude to my body.

It's on my body.

It smiles back.

This is just a metaphor.

It feels thank you for looking after me.

I'll look after you.

And I ask my body with real sincerity,

Not just as a method or something to do,

But just with truth.

I care for you body.

Not caring to get something out of you,

But just caring,

Expecting nothing back in return.

My body just relaxes just so deeply.

And once it starts to relax,

It just carries on relaxing.

Yet it does it by itself.

I don't need to sort of stand over it like some foreman at a building site saying,

Come on relax,

You're not relaxing enough.

Come on.

Never like that.

Just this beautiful kindness.

Take your time body.

Legs,

But how are you all?

Everything just goes so at ease,

So at peace.

Just like it is the summertime and you're on some deck chair recliner.

Just in some quiet resort somewhere.

You're just relaxing.

The sun is just right,

Not too warm,

Not too warm.

It allows you to be so safe,

So peaceful,

Nothing to disturb you at all.

If you have any health problems,

This is the most wonderful way to heal the body.

Any emotional problems all come from that tightness in the mind.

Everything is being loosened up.

So loose,

So free.

Think of the word freedom.

Not the freedom of desire,

The freedom from desire.

You don't want anything in the whole world.

Desire just leaves you,

Allows you to be content and at peace right now.

Kind to your body.

Kind to your mind.

Your poor mind often does driving during a meditation retreat.

All these goals you're trying to take.

All these disappointments just wanted to happen.

Now just forgive your mind.

Forgive your mind if it hasn't done the practice,

Been wasting time or anything.

Mind,

You're okay.

We're all learning.

So be kind to your mind.

Forgive it all its faults.

Sometimes even with the mind it's like looking at a wall with two bad bricks.

You think your mind is all up to scratch.

You just see the two bad bricks.

Your faults.

But then,

So this meditation,

Maybe through some trust in the monks and nuns' teachings,

You realise that you,

Your mind is much bigger than a little mistake or even bigger than a big mistake.

You see the good beautiful bricks in the wall which makes your mind up.

And you start to feel at peace with your mind.

It's learning,

It's growing.

With that kindness towards your mind,

This beautiful peace coming up.

I am all right with nothing which I need to fix in me or change or alter at all.

Your loving kindness embraces you,

Precisely as you are.

Just like a mother sees way beyond the faults of their child.

Just loves them to bits the way they are.

Like disabled men whose arms deformed came to the monastery yesterday,

Gave them as much love and care as you possibly could.

Where so many others rejected it.

I give that loving kindness to my own mind which is not perfect.

There's all sorts of mistakes,

Deformities,

Whatever you might call it.

I love my mind.

I love my body.

This beautiful loving kindness embraces,

Embraces the truth of my body and mind right now.

Each one of you practicing this,

The very fact that you are on a retreat,

The fact that you are meditating,

To me that means you are really advanced.

You are beautiful people.

I have known many of you,

Some for years,

Some only for a short time.

But really impressed.

Impressing the quality.

All the people listening to this talk today.

You have to make some good karma somewhere to be able to have the privilege of listening to Buddha and practicing it.

Well done.

You have gratitude to your mind.

You have loving kindness to it.

And you say more than I can ever say.

You say to your own body and mind,

Body and mind,

The door of my heart is open to you.

You mean it.

All of you.

Come inside.

Find peace.

Respect.

Sometimes we don't understand what we sometimes think of as faults.

This evening.

Looking at the sunset from my hut.

Which is quite a ways away from the ocean.

But it's high up so I can see the ocean.

Sunsets are most beautiful when there is a bit of cloud or smoke on the horizon.

It causes the sun to spread its golden red yellow colours over the horizon.

There are no clouds.

No dust.

No smoke.

Sunset would never be as beautiful.

So you,

The one listening to this,

Don't try and get rid of all the dust and the smoke and the clouds in your life.

That's what makes you beautiful.

Embrace it with love and kindness.

The door of my heart is open to me as I am.

With all the faults and all the beauty too.

As you imagine it's love and kindness.

Acceptance.

Feeling peace.

Going all around you.

All around you.

Soaking in.

You may have some resistance to some corners of your body.

Some parts of your life.

But let it soak in.

Let it melt in.

All those hard icy parts of your past.

Let it just soften.

It's all the judgemental things you have about your future.

So the whole past and future which makes up you can just get so softened and blissed out and drenched with this beautiful golden glow of love and kindness.

Making peace with your past.

Making peace with your future.

Giving love to this present moment.

As you appreciate this present moment,

You can feel the energy building up.

Beautiful golden energy.

If your meditation has been going well,

Who knows,

You might see it like what we call metta nimitta.

The side of a mind which is being imbued with love and kindness.

For most people it's just beautiful golden light.

You can't actually see it inside your mind.

Feel it.

Imagine it.

Pure golden healing light of love.

Inside of you.

Imagine it getting bigger and bigger.

It goes out out of the little area you are sitting in.

To people in the same house or the same street as you.

Or maybe a cat or a dog in your house.

If your love and kindness gets very strong,

Animals can feel it so easily.

Send a still,

Peaceful,

Powerful golden light further afield.

It's called like the spreading of love and kindness.

In your house or maybe neighbours or cat,

Dog or whatever,

Imagine them.

You are sharing this beautiful love and kindness and acceptance and warmth to the beings in your house.

Like the golden light of love and kindness,

It's coming out of your body and mind and bathing them.

They need that as much as you do.

You are supplying the energy,

The peace,

The power.

You are soaking them up and down.

You are giving expecting nothing back in return.

You find the more you give like that,

The more energy you have to give.

It's like it just magnifies.

So your energy gets so wonderful,

So great.

Even your house,

Your home,

Your flat cannot contain it.

It goes out to the walls,

Through the roof,

All the people in the street or in the neighbourhood.

I often imagine visualised like this golden light spreading,

Spreading through the neighbourhood.

As it spreads,

It doesn't get weaker,

It gets stronger,

More intense.

The flow of my heart is open to all the flies,

Ants,

Snakes,

Birds,

Monks,

Lay people,

Everybody in this monastery.

This is my reflection.

May all living beings in this monastery,

All the grass and the flowers and the trees,

Beings in the ground,

Beings up in the air,

May all beings take all of my happiness and joy and peace and bliss.

The more I give,

The more I have left to give.

It's not a zero sum game of kindness,

It just multiplies.

All this love and kindness,

All the beings in the forest,

All the beings in your neighbourhood,

You keep expanding.

All the beings in UK.

You know that some of those beings are your parents and friends,

Wives,

Husbands,

Sisters,

Whatever.

You really spread it out.

You imagine this in the country in the country where you live,

Poland,

The United States or even in Australia.

Beautiful,

Loving kind of spreading out,

Wide,

Healing.

My goodness,

People need this energy,

This power.

In times of COVID and depressions and desperation and wars and disappointments.

What a wonderful gift this is,

You can give to all beings.

Kindness,

Fearlessness,

Energy,

Healing.

Whoever you visualize it or feel it,

Spreading this love and kindness over the whole world.

Not just for people or beings,

But for the earth.

All of the flowers,

Plants,

Bacteria,

Fungus,

Whatever it is,

It makes up this earth.

The rivers,

The mountains,

The seas,

The oceans,

And the wind.

May the wind be gentle and caring for life.

Spread this love and kindness over the whole planet earth.

It's cold and closed,

Stronger and more powerful.

Healing,

Inspiring.

For a while it does become an automatic process.

Kind of just watching it.

It happens by itself.

Joy,

Giving,

The healing.

It has nothing to do with you.

It's for all.

May all beings be happy,

Well,

It includes you,

But it doesn't come from you.

May all beings be at peace,

Still happy.

Just stay there for a while.

As you soak in love and kindness,

It comes into your body and mind.

It goes out towards others.

You're part of this process,

Not a part,

But right within it.

Enjoying the joy,

Peace,

The bliss of giving.

I will be quiet for about two or three minutes.

Then I will end the love and kindness meditation in about three minutes time with a little blessing chant for you all.

About three or four minutes.

Yeah.

Thank you.

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Reviews

💪❣

Thank you 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

sadhu…Sadhu…SADHUUUU! 😄🙏
Anumodami. 😌🙏🌻☀️🌻

Thank you Ajahn Brahm for your being

🙏🙏🙏

My (new) favorite Metta meditation. What a blessing!

Big smiles, happy, happy, joy, joy 💜

Wonderful, good medicine for my heart and mind. Thank you

It is Ajahn Brahm!

Grateful to be able to access these teachings via this app. Perfect meditation.

Always grateful for practices and talks from Ajahn Brahm! A very sweet loving kindness meditation and a nice bit of chanting at the end. Many thanks. ☮️💖🙏🕉️