To begin the actual meditation,
We find a comfortable stationary position,
We adjust the different parts of the body,
And then we allow our body to start breathing naturally.
And with this process of natural breathing,
With each new natural,
Uncontrived,
Unforced exhalation,
We release more and more physical tension,
And also more and more of the deliberate movement.
The deliberate movement of our body,
Including all the minute movements of our fingers,
All the tension in our face,
All the tension in our pelvic floor,
And so forth.
All acts of speech,
Including any impediments to breathing naturally,
As if we were deep asleep.
And all the types of neurotic mental activity,
Especially activity in which we're still clinging to thoughts related to the past,
Thoughts related to the future,
Our opinions about the present,
While what we actually need to do right now is to simply rest in observing the body and enjoying the breath.
Each time we naturally exhale,
We go deeper into stillness,
Silence,
And mental spaciousness.
And then out of that spaciousness arises,
Once again,
Our positive motivation for this practice,
Our most meaningful,
Most profound spiritual or psychological aspirations.
And we orient our practice towards them.
And then,
With that,
Still breathing naturally,
Still resting,
We start the process of rejoicing.
And here we can follow a sequence that would be somewhat similar to the one we've been mostly using for empathetic joy.
And so the first object,
Then,
Would be someone who,
In our perception,
In our understanding,
Is truly full of virtuous qualities,
Positive qualities,
Qualities that represent the nobility of heart and mind.
So,
For some of us,
That would be one of our spiritual mentors,
Perhaps,
Or simply someone whom we truly admire for their wisdom,
Compassion,
Love,
For their level of common sense,
For their activity in the world.
And so we imagine such a person in front of ourselves,
If we wish,
And we start by discerning one positive quality that we admire about them.
Love,
Or wisdom,
Or generosity,
Or patience,
Anything of this nature.
A virtue.
And in discerning that virtue,
We then generate the attitude of rejoicing.
How wonderful!
How amazing!
How amazing that their basic goodness is expressing itself in this way.
Or they have found ways to configure their mental energy into this beautiful form that is bringing happiness to themselves and to others.
Once again,
The attitude of rejoicing,
The feeling of how wonderful itself,
Can be strengthened with each exhalation,
If we wish.
Or we can simply rest within it.
In either case,
The breath is still moving naturally,
We're not forcing it.
And then,
Having discerned the quality and rejoiced in it,
We can think of all the numerous acts through which this quality was expressed by the person we're thinking of.
So,
If we were thinking about generosity,
All their acts of generosity.
If we're thinking about compassion,
All the compassionate actions and words,
And even thoughts.
How wonderful!
Then,
Choosing another positive quality,
Another virtue,
Available to that same person.
And first rejoicing in the quality itself,
In them having that as a pattern,
As a habit,
As a skill,
As a gift.
How wonderful!
How amazing!
And then,
All the expressions of this quality,
All the specific acts that express this quality and bring benefit to others.
How amazing!
And then,
Although we could be going through many more qualities,
Perhaps,
Instead we will just think of all the virtues,
Qualities together,
Along with all of their expressions.
Knowing that all of those are rooted in the basic goodness of this person and their spacious,
Luminous mind.
And all of those are,
In some way,
Contributing to greater well-being for everyone.
Because such is the nature of these qualities.
So,
How wonderful,
All together,
To see this dance of goodness,
This field of meaningful actions and beautiful qualities.
If we wish to add the aspiration of May it all grow,
That's not a mistake.
And for some of us,
That might arise naturally.
But for the next stage,
We bring our attention to ourselves,
Looking at ourselves as a complex system.
We are a being,
But there are many threads to our existence.
And within this complex system,
We need to discern some positive quality that we have.
It might be some level of generosity,
Or wisdom,
Or compassion,
Or anything of that nature.
But,
In exactly the same way as before,
We discern it.
And,
Once again,
That also can be seen as a collection of sparks.
Or,
Be related to our basic goodness,
Be traced back to our basic goodness.
But,
We discern such a quality and then we rejoice in it.
How wonderful that it's there,
That it's there already,
That it can be strengthened further,
Or uncovered to a greater degree.
And then,
The expressions of this quality.
And here,
We can first think of specific acts,
One or two,
In which we express this quality,
At least in very humble ways.
If we are thinking of wisdom,
Any reasonable choice that we've made.
If we're thinking of compassion,
Responding compassionately to anyone,
And so forth.
How wonderful,
How amazing.
In some ways,
How rare.
And,
At the same time,
Not rare at all,
Because there are probably many more expressions of the same quality,
Many more acts of a similar nature.
So,
We attempt to all of those together and rejoice.
How wonderful.
Then,
Choosing another quality within ourselves.
And,
Once we have chosen it,
Once we have seen that,
Indeed,
I do possess at least a seed of this,
At least a certain level of it is available to me,
We rejoice.
How wonderful.
And then,
Find specific acts,
Specific acts in which we have displayed this quality,
At least humbly,
One or two.
How wonderful.
And then,
All the similar acts that we have ever performed,
Good-natured expressions of wisdom,
Or compassion,
Or love,
Or whatever it is.
An interconnected network of goodness,
In our past,
Present,
And future.
How wonderful.
And then,
The last stage.
Opening it up.
Not just us,
Not just the inspiring figure,
But everyone within our communities,
Everyone within the overall interdependence of things.
Thinking of how,
Across these multiple systems,
A specific quality that we have been contemplated manifests again and again.
So,
Any of the qualities that we have already meditated on,
Seeing how they manifest across these multiple circles of beings.
So,
Rejoicing in,
For example,
All the generosity that all the beings possess collectively.
Or compassion,
Or love,
Or wisdom.
Or empathetic joy,
For that matter.
Or the ability to rejoice.
And then,
Not just the quality itself,
But all of its meaningful expressions.
How wonderful,
How amazing.
Like a notion of goodness that we can attend to,
And once again,
Fan,
Strengthen,
By simply finding the delight in all of it.
And then,
Even rejoicing in the fact that,
At the root of it all,
There is the basic goodness that is,
Perhaps,
That's the working hypothesis here,
Shared by all beings,
That is,
At the heart of each and every being.
And then,
We think of all the positive potential and energy we have accumulated in our own mind through doing this practice,
And we dedicate it to our most meaningful aspirations and goals,
So that all of this goodness can indeed grow and be strengthened within our own mind,
And within the minds of all beings,
Bringing happiness and freedom from suffering.
And then,
We come back to the body,
Noticing its experiences and sensations.
We introduce some movement to the body,
And very gently conclude the practice.
