So what are Karuna and Loving Kindness Meditation?
Technically speaking,
Two separate things,
Karuna,
Meaning a desire for all beings to be free from suffering,
And loving kindness,
A desire for all beings to be happy.
Also called Metta,
That is the Pali,
Typically from the Buddhist tradition,
Mayatri,
From the Hindu tradition,
And Chesed,
In the Jewish tradition,
Among others.
Now,
I believe that these actually very closely overlap,
So I tend to offer them and suggest,
Perhaps from a practical point of view,
Including them both together in the same meditation.
There is a particular approach to this that he's commonly taught.
Which is first and foremost to invite.
Loving kindness and compassion or karuna for yourself,
A desire to be free from suffering,
A desire to be happy.
It sounds selfish,
Perhaps,
But the idea is that if we are,
As it were,
An open vessel,
And we're living in a benevolent universe where if you have a faith tradition,
You trust that God wants the best for you,
Or whatever the goal of your understanding is,
Wants the best for you.
Then firstly we need to receive and it is good to receive from this infinite source of compassion and loving-kindness.
And then once we are recipients,
We're in a much better position in order to will,
To desire this onward flow of compassion.
So here typically the recommendation is to focus first on someone or indeed a number of people that we love unconditionally.
Have no trouble willing the best for them before moving on to typically someone who would be neutral to us,
Maybe someone we pass in the street.
Meet perhaps quite regularly at a grocery store or something like that.
We have no particular relationship with them.
Then comes the challenging part,
Which is critical if we are genuinely to will,
Loving kindness and karuna for all beings and that is to will these beautiful blessings for someone we find challenging.
That includes the likes of the dictators of the world and those who commit heinous crimes as well as potentially some who may have harmed us.
Finally,
We extend this desire for all beings,
Not just human,
But plant,
Mineral,
And animal as well.
Now there is a form of words that I personally quite often like to use which goes as follows.
May all beings know their wholeness.
May all dwell in the heart.
May all be free from suffering.
I will be healed.
We will be happy.
May all be at peace.
We're winning those things for ourselves,
For our loved ones,
And then extending it.
Audibly to include all beings.
Now there are variations on this and certainly in my own meditation.
I often do vary from this particular pattern,
But it is the most common.
So I hope that's been useful as a little introduction to this very powerful and important practice.
