Compassion Practice

This compassion practice (excerpted from a live event) takes us through the basic steps for generating a compassionate attitude towards three concentric circles of beings: ourselves, our community, and all sentient beings. When performed regularly, such training strengthens the habit of compassion, which would enhance our own inner wellbeing and also spill into the domain of our behavior.

Transcript

Before we go into the practice of compassion itself,

We will revisit the quote-unquote relaxation exercise,

Or the process of settling our body,

Speech,

And mind in their natural states.

So that just means that we're bringing our awareness back to the body first.

For this practice,

Our eyes can be closed or partially open or open fully.

In some practices it's important which one we use,

But for the four immeasurables not so much.

As long as we're comfortable,

As long as there's some clarity in the mind,

We're not falling asleep.

We choose one of these options and then we bring our awareness to the body,

And especially to the parts of the body that are currently in contact with the ground.

Noticing the sensations,

Let's say in our feet and toes,

Maybe throughout our legs,

And to the degree that's available to us,

Releasing tension,

Releasing the muscle tension there.

Then equally for the area of our pelvic floor,

Our buttocks,

Our abdominal area,

Our hands and fingers,

Relaxing them so deeply that the fingers become completely still.

And then the shoulders and the facial muscles.

Checking to see if there's any extra levels of muscle tension in the face that we can still release with a nice natural exhalation.

Then consciously allowing the breath to move naturally throughout this practice,

Which means our body itself is choosing the optimal rhythm,

Volume,

And pace of breathing.

And most likely with each new exhalation,

The body is releasing greater and greater levels of physical tension,

Deliberate movement,

Deliberate activity,

So that the experience underlying all of these fluctuations,

Including the movement of our breath,

The beating of our heart,

And so forth,

Is an experience of relaxation,

Stillness,

And vigilance,

Which means that we're not falling asleep.

There's enough energy in the body to keep us awake.

We then very briefly revisit our highest goals and aspirations for this practice,

For our contemplative life in general,

Orienting this specific meditation towards those goals.

May it contribute to those goals being fulfilled.

And then with our body breathing naturally and resting like this,

We bring our mind to the actual practice of compassion,

First directed towards ourselves.

And to do that,

We bring our attention to this very person sitting here,

Known as me,

To our body,

To our mind,

Just noticing the presence of a person here,

Interbraided threads of mental and physical energy,

Known by a particular name,

With a specific personal history.

And within this bundle of interdependence that we call ourselves,

We notice one very simple thing,

The wish to be free from suffering,

From pain,

From discomfort,

And also the presence of discomfort,

At least on occasion.

We are prone to mental distress,

Physical distress,

Disease,

And so forth.

But wouldn't it be lovely to be free from pain,

At least to whatever degree is possible?

And so envisioning a greater level of freedom that is potentially possible,

We start actively wishing,

May I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

And we hold that wish,

Or we project this wish towards ourselves as a being.

And when at a certain stage this wish starts waning,

Becomes a bit vague,

Or disappears from our mind altogether,

We simply restate it,

Revisit it.

We once again send this wish into the depths of our being,

May I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

And once again we rest there.

The breath is still moving naturally,

We're not holding it.

The body is still resting.

And the mind is focusing its energy,

Modulating its energy,

So that this energy becomes just this wish,

May I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

And attentional training happens when we return to this wish after getting distracted.

So if at some point we catch ourselves getting lost in thought,

Following our memories,

Generating elaborate mental stories,

Or we get distracted by tactile sensations,

Or sounds,

Or anything else,

Simply coming back to the wish and restating it,

May I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

Revisiting this wish again and again,

In order to train in sustained attention,

But also to deepen just this habit of wishing for freedom.

And simply ignoring any mental objections that might arise.

On occasion when training in self-compassion,

Our mind might start going towards a sense of guilt or toxic shame,

Or just distracting thoughts,

Lots of distracting thoughts,

And we just gently rein it in.

We withdraw that energy of awareness back to the wish itself.

And some people find it helpful to just use the breath a little bit,

Using it as an aid,

Or as an invitation to strengthen the wish every time we breathe out,

For example,

As if we were breathing life into the wish.

May I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

And then to extend that a tiny bit,

We remind ourselves that others practicing with us,

In person,

Online,

By means of a recording,

Are equally wishing to be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

Naturally so.

We all naturally aspire for greater levels of freedom.

And many of the causes of our distress are quite similar.

So seeing others as equally real,

Equally real as subjects of their own experience,

Knowing that they also possess the same potential that we do,

We can wish,

May we,

As the circle of practitioners,

May we be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

And now we maintain this wish,

Directed towards a group of beings.

However many beings are in that group,

And we're not even completely sure.

May all of these beings be free.

Resting in this for just a few more moments.

And then transitioning into the final stage,

Which for us is a bit of a bookend to this practice,

And that is replacing the word we with the words all beings.

Just to try it out,

To see how it feels.

May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

And then we release that wish to simply rest in unfocused awareness without a reference point.

And then to ground our attention we come back to the body,

Noticing the experiences of the body,

Its current state.

Then taking a few moments to dedicate the energy of this practice to our highest goals and aspirations with which we began.

May our effort contribute to the fulfillment of those noble goals.

And then slowly introducing some movement to the body as we bring our attention to this shared space and as we conclude the practice.

Reviews

🙏

May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. The guidance throughout the meditation is skillfully and heartfelt led. Heartopening in every way.

A wish brought with kindness, attention and ease: ‘May the world be free from suffering and the causes of suffering’. Namaste 🤓🙏🏻

Thank you. 🙏😊

Spoke directly to me. Been struggling with chronic pain. This is a way of acknowledgment and action. I'm going to dive back in now. 🙏🏻💞

Thank you. I have been in a number of situations to recently that were cause for compassion from me. Seeking guidance and assurance in the area of compassion it was an insight for me to see how important it is for me to direct it towards myself first. 🙏

Calming, uplifting, and inspiring. Thank you.

Great for developing loving care towards ourselves and others. Thank you!

Very peaceful and calming. Enjoyed that there was no distraction of background sounds, music, etc.

Direct, simple and easy to follow…May you Michael be free of suffering and the causes of suffering 🧸

Thank you for this very precious practice 🙏

Very good if you want to do a compassion meditation and you don’t have much time.