Being Peace In The World

Welcome to Day 7 of Insight Timer’s 7-Day Inner Peace Challenge. Over the last 6 days, we’ve explored different components of Inner Peace. Today, we will learn ways to extend peace beyond the Self. To cultivate peace in the world around us, davidji suggest that we turn to Brahmavihara, a framework of 4 divine abidings. The 4 abidings are Metta – unconditional lovingkindness, Karuna – compassion, Mudita – empathetic joy, and Upekka – equanimity. Dwell in these 4 states of Brahmavihara in every moment of your existence and you will emanate peace all around you.

Transcript

Hello,

This is davidji with Insight Timer and welcome to day seven of the inner peace challenge.

Today we awaken peace in the world.

Over the past week you and I have awakened peace in our body,

Peace in our mind,

Peace in our speech and peace in our heart.

We've made peace with the past and peace with the future and now we get to go out into the world breathing peace,

Flowing peace,

Creating peace and we do this by being peace.

A fascinating process occurred in ancient Egypt going back 7,

000 years.

When a person died,

Their heart would be weighed by the god of death Anubis.

They would place the heart on a scale.

On the other side of the scale was the feather of truth.

If the heart was heavier than the feather,

They would not make it to the afterlife.

If their heart was so light that it was filled with only peace,

Then the person would be able to go to the land of two fields,

Which was a place of joy,

Happiness and total peace.

This was a place where the people would meet their loved ones that had died before them.

Thousands of years later,

This basic understanding remains.

The heart holds the secret to this life and the afterlife.

It was the Buddha around 600 BC,

2600 years ago,

Who codified a way for us to keep our hearts lighter than a feather,

To truly dwell each moment in peace,

In a state of benevolence towards all living beings,

To have joy at the side of others' success,

To behave with compassion and sympathy for the afflicted,

And to have tolerance towards those who we have issues with.

These teachings were referred to as the Brahma-viharas,

The divine abodes.

Brahma-brahma,

Divine,

And vihara,

Viharas,

Abode.

And abode is a place to live.

So these are the divine places to live.

They've also been referred to as the four immeasurables in ancient Chinese teachings,

As the four infinite minds.

And as the great Vietnamese Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh referred to it,

Living in the kingdom of God.

These four divine states of dwelling are daily practices that we can live in order to keep our heart as light as a feather and our lives filled with peace.

These four states are unconditional loving-kindness,

Known as metta,

Which we have practiced pre- previously,

Compassion,

Known as karuna,

Empathetic joy,

Known as mudita,

Mudita,

And equanimity,

Known as upeka.

Unconditional loving-kindness,

Compassion,

Empathetic joy,

And equanimity.

We are encouraged to truly dwell in these states,

To live in them in every moment.

They interrelate and support one another.

And they can all be cultivated through practice and daily meditation.

So let's glide through these,

The first of the divine abode's metta.

It's pure unconditional loving-kindness.

Loving your own heart with such unconditional nature that you can love others as purely all others.

Are you holding a grudge or a grievance against anyone or anything?

We all are,

But we can dwell in the abode of metta,

The house of love.

And if we practice metta,

Unconditional loving-kindness in all of our affairs,

All of our words,

All of our thoughts,

All of our deeds,

Then our grudges,

Our grievances will dissipate and we will live life more unconditionally.

The second divine abode is karuna,

Compassion.

Compassion is the antidote to pain and the seed of peace.

There's a big spectrum of compassion.

On one end of that spectrum is pity,

Which is a feeling of discomfort at the distress of another.

That's usually when we're looking down on someone,

When we pity them,

We don't see them as our equal.

But a little further along is sympathy,

Which is the ability to take part in someone else's feelings mostly by feeling sorrowful about their misfortune.

A little further along the spectrum is empathy,

The ability to truly understand other people's feelings as if we were having them ourselves.

Most of us listening to this are empaths,

So we know what that's about.

And even further along the spectrum of compassion is a feeling of empathetic care and concern accompanied by a wish to see a person better off or happier.

And at the far end of that spectrum is the purest description of compassion,

Feeling empathy for someone,

Heartfelt rooting for their suffering to end and being willing to bear their burden,

Essentially to carry their pain.

We've all said to a loved one or a dear friend or an animal that we've been taking care of,

I wish I could take away your pain,

Or if I could experience the pain instead of you,

I would.

This is the extreme end of the compassion spectrum.

It's powerful.

We've all been there and we can aspire to it again.

But how do we cultivate compassion?

According to Thich Nhat Hanh,

Before we can flow kindness to another,

We need to be kind to ourselves before we can forgive others.

We need to work on forgiving ourselves.

Before we can act compassionately to others,

We need to have compassion for ourselves.

Otherwise it's just an act.

But we must begin with self-compassion,

Genuinely rooting for our own suffering to end.

Self-care is not selfish.

So first we need to be rooting for ourselves,

Rooting for our own pain and suffering to end.

Is there an internal struggle you have right now where you're thinking,

I can't do this because I'm not good enough,

I'm not worthy,

I'm not deserving?

Is there an imposter syndrome going on in some area of your life?

This would be the moment to swat away that voice in your head that says,

I can't,

And replace it with,

I can.

And I'm rooting for myself to do this.

In every moment,

Compassion says,

Don't worry,

I will take care of you.

Thich Nhat Hanh used to have a favorite expression,

Darling,

I'm here for you.

This is what compassion says.

The third divine abode is mudita,

Empathetic joy.

True excitement at someone else's good fortune or success,

Even if you don't like the person.

We've all had those moments where we've hoped for someone else to stumble.

It's natural.

We see it in sports all the time,

Rooting against the other team.

Mudita,

Empathetic joy,

Says to embrace everyone's victory because any victory uplifts the world.

Think about that.

Empathetic joy means I have empathy for your joy.

Think of one of your most recent triumphs or successes.

It doesn't have to be a big win,

Just something that made you truly happy.

Reflect on how you felt.

What are your emotions?

Maybe joyful or proud or happy,

Pleased or excited,

Relieved perhaps,

Or optimistic,

Festive or upbeat,

Even grateful.

Connect to that feeling now.

And now drift your attention to a friend or someone you love dearly who has also just had a success,

Some kind of win.

Maybe they bought something they were really wanting or they heard good news.

This is empathetic joy.

Feel those same emotions that you had for yourself.

Feel them bubble up inside of you for the other.

Feel your heart right now as you reflect on their happiness.

Feel gratitude in your heart for their happiness.

You can't be jealous when you're grateful.

That's mudita,

Empathetic joy.

And the fourth divine abode is upeka.

Upeka,

Equanimity.

This is even-mindedness.

This is being so balanced.

So serene,

So tranquil,

Treating people and situations impartially.

Equanimity doesn't mean you don't care.

It is the unshakable freedom of mind.

A state of inner peace even as you feel anger or shame or blame or judgment building up inside of you.

It is to be unwavering in the face of the eight worldly winds.

Maybe you've heard of these before.

These are the eight universal conditions that impact all of us every day.

They are gain and loss,

Honor and dishonor,

Praise and blame,

And happiness and sorrow.

All of us in every moment are dealing with some aspect of these.

Equanimity says you can be unwavering in the face of any of them.

Equanimity is freedom from all points of self-reference.

It's indifference to the demands of the ego with its craving for pleasure and power and position.

Equanimity is the power of the present moment.

The ability to be the calm amidst the chaos,

The stillness inside the storm.

It's the practice of not getting pulled into the drama.

We're going to close out our inner peace challenge with practices that flow through each of the four divine abodes.

Because it's so important to me that you find peace and happiness in each of the abodes.

What a joy to be living in a place where love and peace surround us and flow through us in every moment.

So let's settle in.

Let's close our eyes.

I'm so grateful that you've joined me this week.

And hopefully you've started to create a little more peace in your life as well.

This is again how we turn from state to trait.

From state of mind,

State of being,

To truly a character trait that embeds itself within us.

So let's take a long slow deep breath in.

As we exhale allow your eyelids to gently float closed.

Let's do that one more time.

Long,

Slow,

Deep breath in.

And gently release.

Let's just stay in this space together.

Watching our breath as it flows in and flows back out.

Just feel yourself settling in.

Notice that your mind is calming.

Notice that your body is relaxing.

There's nowhere else to be.

There's nothing else to do except to be right here.

Right now.

In this sacred precious present moment.

Notice that the swirl outside of you is slowing down just a bit.

Notice that the swirl inside of you is slowing down as well.

And breathe in some metta,

Unconditional loving kindness.

Feel it come into you,

Into your heart.

Feel it fill your heart.

And send it out to your teachers.

You breathe it in,

Your heart expands.

You flow it out to all your teachers.

Traditional and unconventional teachers.

Traditional and untraditional.

Even an animal can be one of your teachers.

Again long slow deep breath in.

Feel your heart fill.

Feel it expand.

And as you exhale,

Send it out to all your loved ones.

We know this energy is real.

We breathe it in,

Our heart expands.

We flow it out effortlessly.

Again one more time.

Long slow deep breath in,

Feel your heart expand.

You're just a hole in the flute here.

And as you exhale,

Flow that metta out to all your friends.

Those near,

Those far,

And those in the beyond.

Let's do that one more time.

Long slow deep breath in.

You've got so much love to spare.

It's okay.

Let your heart fill.

As you exhale,

Send it out to all your acquaintances,

All those people behind the scenes,

An insight timer who've made this journey possible.

The people who make sure you have wifi.

The people who built your device.

The people who sold you your device.

The people who make your food,

Grew your food,

Shipped your food.

The people who've sewed your clothes.

There's a lot of metta to go around.

One long slow deep breath in,

Feel your heart expand.

You've got so much love to spare.

And as you exhale,

Send it out to that one person with whom you have a grievance.

Remember this isn't about forgiveness.

It's not about them at all.

It's who you are.

Are you going to live in the divine abode of metta?

Unconditional loving kindness?

I think yes.

Because that's who you are.

That's what you do.

Again,

Long slow deep breath in,

Feel your heart expand and fill with unconditional loving kindness.

And as you exhale,

Send it out to all sentient beings.

You're just a conduit of love.

You're just a channel of healing.

You're just a river of energy.

You breathe it in,

Your heart expands.

You flow it out effortlessly.

You're a hole in the flute.

And in this moment,

Connect the thread from your heart to someone else's heart who's suffering,

Struggling or in pain.

Just connect that thread from your heart to theirs and see if you can make eye contact with them.

And now as you breathe in that metta,

That unconditional loving kindness,

Feel your heart fill and as you flow it out,

Flow it to them from your heart to theirs as healing light.

You breathe in,

Your heart expands and you flow healing light on a thread that connects your heart to theirs,

To that one person in your life who's suffering,

Struggling or in pain.

This is who you are.

This is what you do.

Let's see if we can invite some kindness into your heart right now and flow that on that thread from your heart to theirs.

Let's invite compassion with your next breath in into your heart and flow it out to them on that thread that connects your heart to theirs.

Long slow deep breath in,

Feel forgiveness come into your heart and flow it out to them.

Maintain that eye contact and your hearts are tethered together by this thread of love.

Flow forgiveness to them.

And lastly,

Long slow deep breath in of metta,

Feel your heart expand wider than it's ever been and as you exhale,

Send it out to them on that thread and maintain eye contact.

You breathe in love,

Your heart fills and you flow it back out to them.

You're a conduit of love,

A channel of healing,

A river of energy because you live in the divine abodes of love,

Compassion,

Empathetic joy,

And equanimity.

Take a long slow deep breath in and watch that thread dissipate.

Maintain that eye contact,

Bow to each other in acknowledgement,

Feel that healing.

And suddenly see yourself on the stage of your life.

It's a giant theater and all of your friends and all of your loved ones are applauding you.

They're lined up in the front row.

Everyone who truly is rooting for you is on their feet with bouquets in their hand applauding,

Giving you a standing ovation.

Take a long slow deep breath in and drink that in all the people supporting you,

Rooting for you,

Rooting for your pain and suffering to end,

Rooting for your successes,

Rooting for love.

Take a long slow deep breath in and let that breath go.

Right now is what it feels like to live in the house of love.

We get to live in these divine abodes every day.

And so as we say goodbye to each other,

As we part company here,

I want to encourage you to live each day in the four divine abodes.

Today's peace practice is to live each day in the four divine abodes.

Feel unconditional loving kindness with each breath.

Root for your own suffering to end.

Celebrate the successes of others and embrace the power of the present moment.

And make a list of those in your front row.

Write those down.

Those people in your life who cheer you on,

Who root for you,

Who celebrate you.

This is your front row.

These are the people to pay attention to because they are paying attention to you.

Life is long and life is short,

But the people who are paying attention,

Those are the people we should embrace at a higher level.

Those rooting for your success.

Thank you for joining me for Insight Timer's Inner Peace Challenge.

I hope you found value in the journey and found a little peace along the way.

I encourage you to stay connected to those you've met along the way and to check out some of my courses right here on Insight Timer.

In the sweet spot of the universe,

This is davidji.

Wishing you peace.

Keep meditating.

And I'll see you in the gap.

Reviews

This was a beautiful talk and meditation to start my morning and end the 7 day meditation practice. I love your teachings and your soothing voice Davidji. I will be meditating with you again. I am so grateful 🙏🏼❤️✌🏼

Incredible talk & meditation. You are honestly amazing

This week of Peace was amazing. I had to find them and piece them together but it was well worth it. I will return to these again and again as I learned somethings I would like to implement in my daily practice with fidelity. Thank you for you service.

I’ve been loving your peaceful ✌️ meditations. I’d be so honored if you’d consider joining our next “Peaceful Pause” LIVE on Aug 2nd—nearly 40 Insight Timer teachers on one screen with me 🧘‍♀️. Ending with one of your meditations would be a dream! 💜

This is definitely a course I will repeat over and over. Especially in these challenging times I’m finding I need to work extra hard to find peace. Thank you Davidji 🙏🕉❤️

Excellent! Lots to think about. 10 out of 10...would do again.❤️

This meditation is amazing too. The whole series has been transformational.

Do you have any talks on how other people mirror or reflect what’s in us? And how we can change - especially when what they reflect are things like resentment, or jealousy

My Second Time through the 7 Day Peace Challenge. I believe this time was much more impactful and beneficial for me as my understanding of the process of Meditation has improved over time.
I look forward to having opportunities for continued personal growth and understanding as my Practice continues to develop.
Much thanks to Davidji and Insight Timer for the Awaking 🙏😎

Lovely reminder of sitting Zazen. Especially partial to EQUANIMITY. Much gratitude, dear Davidji. 🙏🏽🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️

Thanks so much for your lovely meditation. May the joy be with you. Nàmaste

Daviddj’s words and voice are soothing and transforming. 💗

Beautiful practice. Finding peace is all the facets of self care. Forgiveness and acceptance for yourself.

so empowering. makes you see things in a different light. thank you from the bottom of my heart. wishing you nothing but love and light

Very deep and moving peace journey inwards, wonderful 😇thank you 🙏🏽

One of my favorites! Very soothing and grounding. Thank you Davidji and Insight for this course.

The most powerful and beautiful 7 day practice..I re-visit this many times and each time receive something powerful. So enriched with beautiful teachings and stillness. Thank you davidji 💕🙏

Always amazing. And always just what you need at that time of coming across his teaching/meditation. He’s one of life guiding lights.

Me encanija love all Davidji meditation, he has an incredibl. Thank you,,voice that makes me fly

Peace in the journey!
Such an inspiration.
Thanks brother, thank you so much.

Thank you for this week of Peace, so needed everywhere now.