Namaste,
Yogis.
Today we'll practice a loving-kindness meditation.
Loving-kindness is a meditation practice which brings about positive attitudinal changes as it systematically develops the quality of loving acceptance.
It acts as a form of self-psychotherapy,
A way of healing the troubled mind to free it from its pain and confusion.
Of all Buddhist meditations,
Loving-kindness has the immediate benefit of sweetening and changing old,
Habituated negative patterns of mind.
It provides the essential balance to support your insight meditation practice.
Loving-kindness is the first of a series of meditations that produce four qualities of love.
Friendliness or metta,
Compassion,
Karuna,
Appreciative joy,
Mudita,
And equanimity,
Upekka.
The quality of friendliness is expressed as warmth that reaches out and embraces others.
When loving-kindness practice matures,
It naturally overflows into compassion,
As one empathizes with other people's difficulties.
On the other hand,
One needs to be wary of pity as its near enemy,
As it merely mimics the quality of concern without empathy.
The positive expression of empathy is an appreciation of other people's good qualities or good fortune,
Or appreciative joy,
Rather than feelings of jealousy towards them.
Ultimately,
You remain kindly disposed and caring toward everybody with an equal spread of loving feelings and acceptance in all situations and relationships.
The practice traditionally begins with developing a loving acceptance of yourself.
Often resistance is experienced,
Indicating that feelings of unworthiness are present.
Don't be concerned.
This means there is work to be done,
And the practice itself is designed to overcome any feelings of self-doubt or negativity.
Once you have extended the loving-kindness towards yourself,
Then you are ready to systematically develop loving-kindness towards others.
Be aware that this meditation may at times feel mechanical or awkward.
It can also bring up feelings contrary to loving-kindness,
Feelings of irritation and anger.
If this happens,
It is especially important to be patient and kind toward yourself,
Allowing whatever arises to be received in a spirit of friendliness and kind affection.
When you feel you have established some stronger sense of loving-kindness for yourself,
Then you can expand your meditation to include others.
I'll guide you through the loving-kindness meditation.
Find a comfortable seated position.
You may sit on a chair,
On a bolster or a folded blanket,
And spend a few moments here getting centered with your breath,
Establishing your posture,
One that you will be able to sustain for a few moments.
I'll give you that time now.
Deepen your breath.
Let your inhale travel all the way down into the base of your spine,
The base of your lungs,
Filling up.
Let your exhale travel out so that you're completely emptying with each out-breath.
Let's begin the practice with a loving heart as your background.
Let your body rest and be relaxed.
Let your heart be soft.
Let go of any plans or preoccupations.
Being with yourself,
Breathe gently and recite inwardly the following phrases directed toward your own well-being.
You being with yourself because without loving yourself it is almost impossible to love others.
May I be filled with loving-kindness.
May I be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May I be well in body and mind.
May I be at ease and happy.
As you repeat these phrases,
Picture yourself as you are now and hold that image in a heart of loving-kindness.
Or perhaps you may find it easier to picture yourself as a young and beloved child.
Adjust the words and images in any way that you wish,
Creating the exact phrase that best opens your heart towards kindness.
Repeat these phrases over and over again,
Letting the feelings permeate your body and mind.
May I be filled with loving-kindness.
May I be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May I be well in body and mind.
May I be at ease and happy.
Feeling that you have established this strong sense of loving-kindness toward yourself,
Let's begin to expand this meditation to include others.
Choose a benefactor,
Someone in your life who has loved and truly cared for you.
Picture this person and carefully recite the same phrases.
May they be filled with loving-kindness.
May they be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May they be well in body and mind.
May they be at ease and happy.
May they be at peace.
Repeat these phrases several more times,
Holding this person right in the space of your heart,
Filling them with loving-kindness.
Let's begin to include others.
Start to expand into a wider circle,
A circle of your friends and close relatives.
May they all be filled with loving-kindness.
May they all be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May they all be well in body and mind.
May they be at peace and may they be happy.
Let the feelings of loving-kindness permeate into your entire community.
This will take some practice,
Be patient,
But start to include your neighbors,
Certainly your pets,
Your animals,
People everywhere in this community.
You might even start to feel a national and global expansion for this loving-kindness,
Including the whole earth and all of its beings,
All of its inhabitants.
May they all be filled with loving-kindness.
May they all be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May they be well in body and mind.
May they be at peace and may they be happy.
Don't forget to include the difficult people in your life,
Even if you have any,
Your enemies.
Wishing that they too may be filled with loving-kindness and peace.
Again,
This will take practice,
But as your heart opens first to loved ones and friends,
You will find that in the end you won't want to close it off to anyone.
May all beings everywhere be filled with loving-kindness.
May all beings be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May everyone and everything be well in body and mind.
May all beings everywhere be at peace and be happy.
Bringing the feelings of loving-kindness back into your own self.
Begin to bring your attention back to your breath to close the meditation.
Without closing off these feelings of loving-kindness,
Continue to let them infuse your actions,
Your thoughts,
And your words throughout the remainder of your day.
I hope you've enjoyed this practice of metta,
Of loving-kindness.
May we all find peace and joy throughout our day.
Namaste.
