Allow your posture to be upright and comfortable,
Whatever that means right now.
Comfortable enough,
There isn't perfect.
And consider the body,
Allowing the body to be still,
Not forcing stillness,
But allowing stillness.
When you notice that something's slightly uncomfortable,
Or there's an itch,
Try to let it be a little bit.
Everything that arises,
Passes,
So see if that comes true.
If it gets too uncomfortable,
Of course,
Readjust slowly and mindfully,
But if you can sit through some minor uncomfortability,
Sometimes there's a deeper stillness.
We're going to contemplate metta,
Or friendliness,
Loving-kindness.
The first of the four heart practices,
The Brahma-viharas,
The divine abodes,
Take your pick.
This is a beautiful quality of heart that we both develop through direct practice.
And as we gain wisdom on the path,
So before we start with the phrases,
The traditional metta practice,
Let's just turn towards our breath,
So we can settle in,
Relax into the cushion,
Into the practice.
We're just turning towards our breathing,
Awareness of the body breathing,
But not controlling it,
Not counting it,
Just letting it be and knowing it's there.
Most importantly throughout this practice,
If and when the mind wanders,
Meet your own mind with kindness,
Without judgment,
Just putting down whatever has arisen and returning to the phrases.
One of the byproducts,
The Buddha said,
Of practicing metta is tranquility,
Peace of heart.
It's because we let go of ill will and hatred when we develop this loving and caring intention.
It also allows for quicker concentration of the mind,
Because we're not so taken with these negative mind states.
So as I offer the phrases,
Try and say them on the inhale and allow the idea to set as you exhale.
May I be free from danger.
May I be joyful.
May I be healthy.
May I live with ease.
As we repeat these phrases to ourselves,
Try and notice what arises,
Physical sensations,
Emotions,
Thoughts,
And try and not judge what does arise,
But just notice it and let it move on.
And we'll consider these phrases for a benefactor,
Someone who has been important in our lives,
A teacher,
A friend,
A neighbor.
And just as we wish to be free from danger,
Joyful,
Healthy,
Our benefactor,
Too,
Wants to live with these feelings and these ways.
So we will offer these loving and kind phrases to our benefactor.
May you be free from danger.
May you be joyful and healthy.
May you live with ease.
Next,
We'll move on to a close friend.
Try and bring someone to mind that you're close to now or you were close to in the past.
Someone who had a big spot in your heart,
Even if it was a long time ago.
And with that friend in mind and the understanding that just like you,
This person,
This close friend,
Wants to be safe,
Happy,
And joyous,
And live with ease.
And so we offer the metaphrases to this friend.
May you be free from danger.
May you be healthy,
Joyous.
May you live with ease.
Just remembering to be kind to yourself if the mind wanders.
No judgments.
Just putting down the thoughts that have arisen,
Returning to the phrases.
Our next object of our meta is a neutral person.
This is someone that we don't know personally,
That we may have seen on the street or in a store,
On television.
This is someone that comes to mind that we don't know.
And with the understanding that all beings want to be free and happy,
Live with ease,
Have joy.
We all want the same things,
Ultimately.
We offer this neutral person these loving and kind phrases.
May you be free from danger.
Joyful and healthy.
And may you live with ease.
Now we move into more difficult territory.
Someone that has angered us,
Frustrated us.
Our heart might be a little hardened toward them.
You don't need to imagine the most difficult person in the world for you.
This is someone that has even mildly frustrated you.
As we're training to develop more loving and kind mind states and feelings towards others,
Working to offer these phrases and notice what arises in our heart as we do is really good practice.
And also understanding that even someone that we find really deluded,
They too want these same things.
They want to be happy.
They want to be safe.
They want to live with ease.
We're not that different.
But with that in mind,
We offer the phrases,
May you be free from danger.
Joyous and happy.
And live with ease.
Now we'll expand this collection of folks we've been offering these phrases to.
Beginning with ourselves,
A benefactor,
A stranger,
A neutral person,
Someone who's difficult in our mind.
But awakening requires that we have metta towards all beings.
So with that understanding,
We'll expand our offering.
Everyone in the room,
In the city,
The state,
And the country.
The whole world.
Offering these phrases to every person,
Man,
Woman,
And child.
Every being.
Horse,
Cow,
Elephant,
Worm,
Cockroach,
Hawk,
Chickadee.
With this understanding and the wish to free ourselves from any negative feelings towards any being,
We continue offering these phrases.
May all beings be free from danger.
May all beings experience joy.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings live with ease.
