Along the road to awakening,
We have four companions that join us.
They wait for us within our hearts and minds to aid us in our practice.
Yet as with all things,
They manifest their opposite.
They manifest our enemies.
Through our meditation,
We help to cultivate these four companions and cast out their enemies.
We abide within the presence of our companions whenever we can open our hearts to clarity,
Our mind to wisdom,
A dedication to practice,
And a trust within ourselves and the Dharma.
We abide in the company of loving-kindness,
Compassion,
Joy,
And equanimity.
All of these dwell within us but are shrouded and veiled by the darkness of our own detriment.
By pointing them out and focusing toward them,
We may be able to plant the seed of growth and cultivate a true measure of each of these four profound qualities.
These four companions create security in our practice.
If they are cultivated to some extent,
We will,
As the Buddha said,
Not quarrel with the world.
The world will quarrel with us.
This is part one of a four-part meditation series on these four companions.
Begin by getting into a comfortable meditation position,
Whatever that is,
Whether it's on the cushion,
In the cross-legged position,
In a chair,
Or standing.
Once you are there,
Come into the body.
Bring the awareness forward and focus on these words for the time being.
Let us begin with loving-kindness.
The words loving-kindness are meaningless.
They are impermanent and empty.
Only a symbol of an absolute truth,
Not the truth itself.
Only when you feel it in your heart and mind can you know what Buddha talked about in so many discourses and touch into a fundamental aspect of developing your true person.
If you live with your heart only,
You are prone to being controlled by your emotions.
Tug to this way and that way.
If you only live through your mind,
You can turn cold and become a stone Buddha.
Loving-kindness can be cultivated in the heart with great benefit to all those around us,
And most importantly,
To ourselves.
When we take our own being into our heart,
We begin to lessen the ego.
The more the ego is diminished,
The more love we may generate.
Remember,
You must love yourself before you are able to truly love others with your full essence and complete being.
When one is enveloped by loving-kindness,
We die an unconfused and unworried death.
We touch into forgiveness and kindness every time we choose to cultivate our spirit of loving-kindness.
We experience love consciously,
With awareness and with focus.
Each moment we live in loving-kindness,
We also die in loving-kindness.
If at the moment of death we can be in the great aware state of true loving-kindness,
We will have truly lived,
And we will die at peace.
Remember,
The only person we can lead completely to love and liberation is ourselves.
Everybody has to go alone in solitary oneness.
Yet,
You may show the way to many people through your loving-kindness.
Anyone who would like to follow along is welcome.
So point them the way,
And let loving-kindness be generated in your practice.
And let any ill will shrivel to no thing at all.
Let us sit with this and work with loving-kindness in our breath and in our meditation.
A bell will ring in a few minutes,
Signifying the end of this practice.
And there will be just a little afterwards.
A bell will ring in a few minutes,
Signifying the end of this practice.
You you Thank you for sitting with me on this first of a four-part meditation on the four companions If you find joy and peace in this content,
Please consider donating even a dollar to me on insight timer or supporting me on my patreon at patreon.
Com slash Silas day Thank you and have a wonderful day
