Guided Metta Lovingkindness Meditation

Venerable Mahinda is the Spiritual Director and Founder of the Aloka Foundation. METTA means “loving-kindness” or “boundless love”. It is the wish for all sentient beings to be well and happy.

Transcript

Adjust your body to an upright and relaxed position.

Keep your head upright,

Just tuck in your chin a little.

Raise your palms facing upwards,

One over the other,

Right over left,

And the thumbs just touching each other,

Resting on your lap.

Feel your shoulder,

Shoulder joints relax.

You may choose to close or half close your eyes,

And just bring your attention within.

As you bring your attention within,

You will free your mind from whatever events have taken place during the day or in the past,

Or whatever plans you have for the rest of the day or the future.

Just let go of them and dwell in the here and now.

You will observe a sense of calm and quietness within.

Just spend a few moments to experience this calm,

This quietness within.

Just tell yourselves to be well,

Be well and happy.

And keep a smile in your heart.

Be free from anger,

Free from enmity,

From hatred and grudges,

Free from suffering,

From fear,

From worries and anxieties,

And just dwell in calm and peace.

Just as you wish to be well and happy,

Calm and peaceful,

You will now spread out your loving kindness all around you.

Feel that sense of calm and quietness within radiating out above,

Below and all around you.

Fill this whole room with your aura of calm and peace.

And have the good wish in your hearts that all who are present be well,

Be happy.

May all be free from anger,

Free from enmity,

From hatred and grudges,

Free from suffering,

From fear,

From worries and anxieties,

And may all dwell in peace and harmony.

Going beyond the confines of this room,

Just radiate that loving kindness to the whole house,

The whole building and all the surrounding areas,

To all the neighborhood.

As far as you can reach out,

Hovering the whole city,

Beyond the city to the whole country,

To all the neighboring countries,

All the neighboring islands,

Covering the whole world and all the realms of existence known or unknown to us,

Seen or unseen.

That may all beings be well and happy.

May they be free from harm,

Free from dangers.

May they dwell in peace and harmony.

You will now expand your loving kindness to those who are near and dear to you.

Whoever that comes to your mind,

Such as your parents,

Mother,

Father,

Brothers and sisters,

Other members of the family,

Relatives,

Teachers and friends,

Whoever that comes to your mind,

You should try to have at least someone,

Someone whom you have the trust and the confidence in,

The respect and the gratitude towards,

So that you will have,

You will be able to flow better with metta,

If you are able to accommodate others' school.

Whoever that comes to your mind,

Feel as if they are in your presence and have the good wish for them,

That may they be well and happy.

May they be free from anger,

Free from enmity,

From hatred and grudges,

Free from sufferings,

From fear,

From worries,

From anxieties.

May they dwell in peace and harmony.

May all those who are near and dear to us,

May they be well and happy.

May they be free from harm and dangers.

May they dwell in peace and harmony.

Now expand your loving kindness even to those that are not so well known to you or those unknown to you,

Including those who are present here,

Those in your neighbourhood,

Those of eyes in the streets,

Whoever that comes to your mind.

Have the good wish for them all that they be well and happy.

May they be free from harm,

Free from dangers.

May they dwell in peace and harmony.

So expand your loving kindness even to those who are unfriendly towards you,

If you feel comfortable to think of those with whom you have had quarrels or misunderstandings or simply unfriendly,

Whoever that comes to your mind,

Wherever they may be.

Have the good wish for them too that they be well and happy.

May they be free from anger,

Free from enmity,

From hatred and grudges.

May they be free from sufferings,

From fear,

From worries,

From anxieties.

May they dwell in peace and harmony.

Let me all beings be well and happy.

Feel from your heart a sense of well-being and just spread out your loving kindness in all the directions above,

Below and all around you.

Let all beings be well and happy.

Let all beings be well and happy.

In the calmness of your mind,

You will now turn your attention to your breath to develop mindfulness in breathing in and breathing out,

Just your normal natural breath without controlling the breathing.

As you breathe in and breathe out,

The air enters and leaves the nostrils,

Touching the area above your upper lip or the base of your nostrils.

So you may be able to feel a slight sensation,

The touch of the breath around the area above your upper lip or the base of the nostrils.

Any thoughts,

Any distraction that arises,

As soon as you become aware that your mind has wandered off,

You will mindfully return your attention to your breath.

When your breathing becomes fine and subtle,

If you are not able to feel the breath sensation,

Just let go of the breath sensation.

Just know that you breathe in and breathe out normally.

To go through the practice quietly,

Make an effort to forget the whole world around you.

Just pay attention to your breath.

Breathe in,

Breathe out,

Mindfully.

Any thoughts,

Any distractions that arise,

Let go and return your attention to your breath.

Just go on with your practice until you feel ready to come out.

When you are ready to come out of your meditation,

You will first remove the attention on the breath and return your attention to your body until you can feel the touch,

The contact that you make with your cushions or seat.

And then you will slowly open your eyes,

Rewind away and maintain the calm,

The quietness within.

Until such time,

You will continue with your practice.

Reviews

I like to listen to this guided meditation periodically to recharge my own personal practice. His voice is very calming and he allows space for turning inwards without too much talking.

Beautiful! So calming, peaceful and loving. Thank you! ❤ 🙏

I felt deep peace and compassion for all during this meditation. Namaste.

I appreciate the thoughtful way we're were brought out of the meditation. Not every teacher does that!

Feeling my natural breath, really helped with practicing mindfulness.

A wonderful morning meditation.

Wonderful! I love the rhythm and cadence of his voice! Very calming and exactly what I needed today! Will listen again...

Peace and love to all.

One of my favorites

Verry good thank you.

Very nice, thank you.

It was perfect for me. Thank you

Wonderful metta!!!

Great!! May you all be free of suffering and experience peace and harmony 😊 Very glad and happy to have an traditional local and original monk of the areas in Asia where metta was started to be used! That's the best!

Thank you 🙏🏻😊.

Lovely voice thank you 😊🙏

Very nice. A very pure metta holding to tradition. Simple input. Easy to accept and follow.

Thank you Venerable Mahinda.🕉☸

This is a great way to start the day. Thank you.

Soothing voice. Awesome meditation. Simple & sweet