To begin this loving-kindness meditation,
We find a comfortable stationary position,
We adjust our body,
And then we take a few moments to look through our body,
Releasing different types of tension and finding a greater level of comfort and ease.
Arriving at a greater level of comfort and ease.
At a greater level of stillness,
A greater level of inner silence,
Greater level of inner silence,
And a greater level of spaciousness,
Where our mind is not so strongly identified with any specific mental event that's arising,
Rather resting in openness and clarity.
Then generating a vast and profound positive motivation for this practice,
Reminding ourselves of our highest spiritual or psychological aspirations,
And generating a wish for this practice to contribute to the fulfillment of those goals.
And then with that,
First directing our attention to ourselves to take ourselves as an example for the subsequent practice of loving-kindness,
Seeing that we as a sentient being want to be happy,
Want to be free from suffering,
And we also want to arrive at a state of genuine well-being that is not simply limited to very transitory pleasures.
We want to be fulfilled,
And we also want to be safe,
Protected,
Loved,
Respected,
And so forth.
According to these foundational needs,
With a sense of respect for our basic goodness,
Our basic worth as a sentient being,
We generate or activate the aspiration that is loving-kindness.
May I be happy and have the causes of happiness.
And we direct that aspiration towards ourselves as a sentient being,
As a being that feels resting in this aspiration and perhaps even strengthening it with each new out-breath,
Breathing life into it.
Resting with this self-directed loving-kindness,
Loving-kindness for a few more moments,
Perhaps even using our imagination to see ourselves indeed arriving at greater levels of well-being step by step,
We're gathering the necessary conditions and causes until the overall system of our existence feels more happy and is full of genuine well-being,
Sustainable,
Self-reinforcing well-being that extends to others.
And then,
To direct loving-kindness to other beings,
In this practice,
We will imagine the planet Earth in front of us,
Symbolically,
Of course,
To represent all beings that inhabit it,
That form a part of this highly interdependent system of beings.
As we think of the multiplicity of beings on this planet,
One thing can be validly said,
Just like us,
They want to be happy and free from suffering.
From their own side,
They want to be safe,
Respected,
Loved,
Protected,
Nourished.
And if we were to step away from our limited view that divides beings into friends,
Enemies,
And strangers,
Into objects of aversion,
Attachment,
And indifference,
If we were to further step away from our anthropocentric view that puts humans at the center of all there is,
With a sense of respect for each being's worth,
We would be able to embrace them all with appreciation,
With tenderness.
And then,
With the wish of loving-kindness,
May you be happy and have the causes of happiness.
So directing this wish towards all beings on this planet,
Including ourselves,
We rest in it,
And if we so wish,
We even strengthen it with each new out-breath.
May you be happy and have the causes of happiness.
Letting go even of our view of ourselves,
Temporarily forgetting even about our body,
Our mind,
And our personhood,
We just transform our mental energy into a field of loving-kindness that equally embraces all beings,
Continuously affirming and wishing,
May you be happy and have the causes of happiness.
With that,
We gradually release the aspiration,
We release the idea of other sentient beings,
Release the image of the planet,
And then,
From a state of openness and spaciousness,
We return to our body,
Experiences the sensations of our body.
And we dedicate the energy of our practice to the fulfillment of our highest spiritual and psychological aspirations.
And then,
Introducing some movement to the body,
We gradually conclude this meditation,
Bringing our awareness to the world around us.
