Compassion Meditation

This meditation is on Compassion. Compassion for yourself and for others, both pleasant and unpleasant connections to other people. A guide to getting in touch with thinking about where one is at with regards to compassion in all forms. For all practioners.

Transcript

Today we're going to do a meditation on compassion.

Please find a comfortable position to sit.

Straighten your spine,

Trying not to be stiff.

Let the rest of your body relax,

Including your belly.

Allow your eyes to gently close,

Your attention to settle into right now.

Listen to the sounds around you and then let them be.

Relax any tension that you are holding by breathing deep into your belly.

Relaxing your eyes and jaw,

Allow your shoulders to rest.

Let gravity do its work.

Notice any tension in your head,

Face,

And neck.

Focus on it for a moment if you can.

Then let all those muscles also relax.

Now take a slow but deep breath.

Feel as your lungs fill with life-giving oxygen.

Now let the breath go and breathe normally,

Something your body automatically does.

Think about your desire for happiness and how it feels to be happy.

Focus for a moment on your heart's sincere longing to be simply okay.

Now breathe into your heart center.

Consider your wish to be safe and protected,

Free from danger,

To experience compassion for all living beings,

Great and small,

Kind and unkind,

Pleasant and not so pleasant.

Silently offer yourself compassionate mantras with the intention to uncover your heart's sometimes hidden response of love and kindness.

Consider these mantras.

May I choose to pay attention to suffering and difficulty.

May I respond with mercy and empathy.

May my heart be filled with compassion.

As you silently repeat these mantras,

You may think about other things or resist and judge this practice or your capacity for kindness and compassion.

Remember,

It takes gentle and persistent effort to return to these phrases each time your mind wanders.

May I choose to pay attention to suffering and difficulty.

Notice your breath and body's response to each phrase.

May I respond with mercy and empathy.

May my heart be filled with compassion.

Relax your body when you exhale after each mantra.

Repeat them over and over to yourself.

These are mantras of positive intention.

You may not feel instantly compassionate.

That is okay.

Remember to be compassionate and kind to yourself as well.

Sometimes all we see is our lack of compassion,

Our harsh judgment of others,

And we judge ourselves.

Simply acknowledge what is happening and continue saying the mantras.

Be gentle and treat yourself with love and kindness.

Remember,

You deserve to be treated this way.

Now let go of sending compassion to yourself.

Again,

Relax your posture and bring your attention back to your breath.

Now think of someone who has shown you great compassion or kindness.

Just as you wish to be treated well and understood,

This person too shares the universal desire.

Offer him or her the caring phrases.

With that person in mind,

Repeat each mantra.

Just as I wish to care about suffering and difficulty,

Respond with mercy and empathy and be filled with compassion,

May you also choose to pay attention to suffering and difficulty.

May you respond with mercy and empathy.

May your heart be filled with compassion.

Continue offering these mantras from your heart to this person.

Developing the feeling of compassion in relationship to the pain of others.

When the mind gets lost in a story or memory,

Simply return to the practice.

Again,

Offer mercy and care to this individual.

Again,

Offer mercy and care to this individual.

Again,

Offer mercy and care to this individual.

Now let the person go and return to your breath.

Pay extra attention to your heart or your emotional feelings.

How am I feeling right here,

Right now?

Now bring to mind someone who you have felt compassion for because you believe they were suffering.

Maybe someone you saw who was ill,

Homeless,

Or suffering in some other manner.

Think about how you felt when you saw them.

Did you help them or did you wish you could have helped them?

The desire for freedom from suffering is universal.

Offer that suffering person the compassionate mantras.

May you choose to pay attention to suffering and difficulty.

May you respond with mercy and empathy.

May your heart be filled with compassion.

Now expand this meditation to include people who have harmed you.

With even the most basic understanding of other people,

It will become clear that all of us wish to be met with compassion.

All of us,

Even the mean,

Unskillful,

Violent,

Confused,

And unkind.

They too wish to be free from suffering.

So with this in mind and with the intention to free yourself from hatred,

Fear,

And ill will,

Allow someone who has harmed you to be the object of your compassion and kindness meditation.

Bring to mind that person and say the same mantras.

Pay close attention to your heart and mind response.

May you choose to pay attention to suffering and difficulty.

May you respond with mercy and empathy.

May your heart be filled with compassion.

May you respond with mercy and compassion.

Now expand the field of compassion to all those who are in your home.

Start by sending compassion to everyone in your neighborhood.

Then expand to those in your city or town,

Allowing your positive intention for meeting everyone with compassion to spread out in all directions.

Imagine covering the whole planet with these positive thoughts.

Send compassion to the entire globe.

Radiate compassion with an open heart and a fearless mind to all beings in existence.

Those above and below,

The seen and unseen.

Those just being born and those who are dying.

With a boundless and loving intention,

Begin to repeat the phrases.

May all beings choose to pay attention to suffering and difficulty.

May all beings respond with mercy and empathy.

May all beings hearts be filled with compassion.

After a few minutes of sending compassion to all beings everywhere,

Simply let go of the mantras and bring your mind back to your breath and body.

Pay attention to the sensations and emotions that are present now.

Say to yourself,

What am I feeling right now?

Sit with this feeling for a moment.

Then whenever you're ready,

Allow your eyes to slowly open and your focus to come back to your surroundings.

Reviews

Really insightful, thank you.

Beautiful - thank you! 🙏

After a challenging day with a loved one this was just what I needed. Thank you.

Really enjoyed that! Thank you 🙏🏻

lovely compassion meditation, thank you

Love this. Found this in the book “Heart of the Revolution” when I was in treatment for the second time in 2016 and I’ve been saying it ever since.

Really nice meditation! Thanks Cary

Clear voice, with space for contemplation, thank you.