This is a guided meditation on our precious human life.
Find your comfortable position.
Sit up as straight as you can or lay down and straighten your back.
Close your eyes and begin by taking three deep heavy breaths.
And we'll sit here in silence for just a few seconds.
The purpose of this meditation is to help us get a better perspective on our lives.
And we're going to begin by comparing our lives to others that are worse off than us.
Try to imagine what it would be like to be born as an animal.
For example,
Deeply bewildered with no potential for mental or spiritual development.
Controlled by others often.
And experiencing the perpetual round of hunger,
Thirst,
Heat,
And cold.
And living always in a total fear of death.
Sit for a few moments imagining yourself as an animal.
Imagine being a beggar living in the street or living in the desert.
Constantly in need of food and water with no time to think of anything else.
Human but with little more opportunity for development than an animal.
Just struggling with basic needs and not being able to have any time for practice.
Sit and imagine this for a few moments.
Imagine having severe mental or physical handicaps.
And the lack of freedom this would mean.
Or imagine living in a country where there is extreme political and social oppression.
Allowing you very little freedom to pursue your interests.
And sit just imagining this for a few moments.
Visualizing and thinking about the plight of the beggar,
The fear of the animal,
And the hopelessness of the person in the desert can be really scary to us.
But by understanding each of these situations,
We learn to appreciate how our present problems can compare.
Compare your problems to what others undergo.
And be thankful for what you have and feel compassion for the hardships of others.
Now,
Bring to mind all the good qualities and advantages of your life.
You are a human being with an intelligent mind,
A loving heart,
A heart that's capable of love,
And a healthy,
Reasonably healthy body.
You probably have friends and family that support you.
And you probably have the good fortune to live in a country that's relatively free.
You probably have many opportunities to pursue your creative,
Intellectual,
And social interests.
But also opportunities to practice meditation like this.
Think now of how few people or creatures on earth share these freedoms that you have.
When we consider this deeply,
We can realize how rare and precious human life is.
We can come to really appreciate our good fortune.
When we reflect on the disadvantages that we aren't struggling with,
Hopefully we can be more able to take advantage of the advantages we have.
Just sit for a little while and just contemplate the meaning of this rare human life opportunity.
And we will close this meditation by taking three deep,
Heavy breaths again.
I dedicate the merit created by this meditation to all beings that are suffering and need help.
Have a good day.
