This is what should be done by one who is skilled in goodness and who knows the path of peace.
Let them be able and upright,
Straight forward and gentle in speech,
Humble and humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied,
Not busy with duties and frugal in their ways,
Peaceful and calm and wise and skilful,
Not proud and free and free and free and free and top.
Let just let them not that the wise would later wade through,
W Renosoft's Singing gladness and in safety May all beings be happy Whatever living beings there may be Whether they are weak or strong O,
Meeting on Great or the mighty Medium,
Short or small The seen and the unseen Those living near and far away Those born and to be born May all beings be happy Let none deceive another Or despise anything in any state Let none through anger or ill will Reach harm upon another Even as another Protests with her life Her child,
Her only child So with a boundless heart Should one cherish your living beings Mediating kindness over the entire world Streading upwards to the skies And downwards to the depths Outwards and unbounded Free from hatred and ill will Whether standing or walking Seated or lying down Free from drowsiness One should sustain this recollection This is said to be the sublime abiding By not holding to false views The pure hearted one Having clarity of vision Being free from all sense desires Is not born again into this world I'm quite impressed So I'll start the guided meditation now Please take these words of guidance just as an offering If you're used to practicing your own way then please go ahead with that I'll just introduce a way to enter the meditation making kindness the most important thing So in meditation what we're aware of is not so crucial But the way that we're aware of it makes the difference So we learn how to develop wise attitude,
Right intention in the practice itself So just finding a comfortable position Closing the eyes Unless you prefer to keep the eyes closed just find whatever feels right for you And giving yourself time to settle into your seat or onto your cushion And attending to the body Allowing the body to guide what you decide to do how you decide to sit Rather than trying to control the body You might find it helpful to straighten the spine just a little Other people prefer to lean against the back of the chair Or even allow yourself to slouch if you need to do that,
The body will adjust itself naturally during the meditation Welcoming yourself to this space which is shared with everybody else Your friends in the Dhamma who've all come here with only one intention To offer themself a gift of silence A break from the busyness of the world Having settled all your duties Notice how it feels to have nothing in the world to do No one's measuring or judging you,
There's nothing to get right See if you can tune into the beauty of having time,
Space with nothing to do And the beautiful silence of this room Noticing the relief of putting everything down And if it helps you to arrive a little bit more fully Just take a slightly deeper breath than you're used to taking And notice the sensation of releasing that breath Bringing deeper relaxation to the body and to the mind Maybe breathing in this way three or four times As you settle more fully into this moment And notice the sensation of releasing that breath And notice the sensation of releasing that breath And notice the sensation of releasing that breath And notice the sensation of releasing that breath And at the beginning of the meditation,
Once you've settled We establish an attitude of kindness,
Of openness,
Of curiosity Allowing nature to manifest in whatever way it wishes It's not our job to control the experience Our only work is to learn how to relate with a kind,
Open and soft heart To whatever arises in this present moment If it helps you may use your imagination to bring up the image or the feeling of a person Perhaps a Buddha who represents kindness and compassion to you Perhaps if not a Buddha there's somebody in your life who you feel very safe around Unjudged and regarded kindly whenever you're in their presence Or perhaps this might be an experience that you've had in nature Whatever helps conjure up that feeling of safety,
Kindness,
Relaxation And notice the sensation of releasing that breath And notice the sensation of being in that space And now bringing that same attitude of kindness and gentleness To become aware of your own body,
Of any sensations in the body Regarding them with kindly eyes Allowing them to guide you more deeply,
More fully into this present moment If you find any areas of tightness or tension See what kind of awareness is needed to just soften into that,
To relax the tension Perhaps as though you were caressing or cradling a small child Gently caress that area with kindness and gentleness Listening deeply And notice the sensation of being in that space And notice the sensation of being in that space And notice the sensation of being in that space And notice the sensation of being in that space And notice the sensation of being in that space Maintaining a very kind and open attitude,
An attitude of warmth and respect See if the breath would like to enter your awareness If the breath wants to come in,
Allow it to do so,
Welcoming each little breath So it was a very special friend you haven't seen for a long time Giving that breath permission to stay or leave as it likes I'm so grateful that one breath has come to visit me And I'm practicing the simple beauty of one little breath Without trying to pull the breath in or hold onto it And allowing it to come in and leave as it likes And notice the sensation of being in that space And notice the sensation of being in that space Maintaining a very kind and open attitude,
An attitude of being in that space Maintaining a very kind and open attitude,
An attitude of being in that space Maintaining a very kind and open attitude,
An attitude of being in that space Maintaining a very kind and open attitude,
An attitude of being in that space And see if you can find contentment in the breath As each breath helps you to soften and deepen more fully into each moment Calming,
Soothing,
Still in the mind Calming,
Soothing,
Still in the mind Calming,
Soothing,
Still in the mind Calming,
Soothing,
Still in the mind Regarding every experience with the compassionate,
Kindly eyes of a Buddha Calming,
Soothing,
Still in the mind Calming,
Soothing,
Still in the mind Calming,
Soothing,
Still in the mind Calming,
Soothing,
Still in the mind Calming,
Soothing,
Still in the mind Calming,
Soothing,
Still in the mind Calming,
Soothing,
Still in the mind So before we end the meditation,
While your eyes are still closed,
I'd like to invite you to reflect on how you feel now,
Compared with how you felt at the beginning of the practice Do you feel a little bit more relaxed or peaceful?
And if so,
Why?
What was the cause of developing peace?
Or if the mind is agitated,
What were the causes for that agitation?
Did you want to be somewhere else with a different experience?
Or was this moment good enough?
.
.
.
And just taking a moment to offer yourself gratitude for giving yourself this gift,
The time,
The space,
The silence,
And the companionship of people interested in practicing the path,
Really appreciating that good intention,
And sharing any peace and harmony that you developed with everyone in this room,
And with all beings.
May all beings develop peace,
Wisdom,
And happiness.
May they all be free from suffering.
So I'll ring the bell and at the end of the third ringing,
If you wish you can open your eyes.
Cerv rpm
