Welcome to this Tonglen meditation.
The Tonglen meditation originates in Bengal at the end of the 10th century and is associated with Tibetan Buddhism.
It's a core practice of the Dalai Lama.
The word Tonglen itself means taking and sending.
It is the practice of giving and receiving,
A practice of true generosity.
No matter how much we give away,
We are still full and complete.
When you do this practice outdoors in nature,
Your meditation will be gifted with the abundant energy from the elements of Mother Earth,
From the sun,
The moon,
Planetary bodies and from the universal energy that flows freely.
Now assuming a posture in which your body can support itself with energy and ease,
A way in which energy can flow freely,
Tucking your chin slightly and letting your hands rest where they can be relaxed and allowing your breath to settle.
And then bringing your attention to the crown of the head and scanning down,
Noticing any areas of tightness.
Resting your attention there and seeing if you can bring some extra gentleness to that area.
So starting with the crown of the head and then perhaps around the eyes and the jaw,
Unclenching the jaw,
The throat,
Relaxing the shoulders,
Letting there be a melting sensation,
Like ice melting to water.
Your chest,
Your upper back,
Your lower back,
Your belly,
Letting the belly be soft,
As soft as it can be in this moment.
The sit bones,
Feeling the connection with the surface you're sitting on,
Sinking a little deeper into your seated posture.
And scanning further,
Your upper legs,
Lower legs,
Your feet,
Noticing how the feet touch the floor or the surface you're sitting on.
And now when you're ready,
Bringing your awareness into the center of your chest,
The heart space,
And letting your attention rest in this lively energy that's present here.
Perhaps noticing the continuous beating of the heart,
And seeing if you can connect to the vast spaciousness that is available here.
A sense of home,
A sense of presence.
And then as you inhale,
Inhaling in through every pore of your body,
360 degrees all around.
Breathing in via the skin into the body,
Right into that center of your heart space.
And then exhaling out through all the pores of your skin.
And letting your breath be as natural and relaxed as possible for you right now.
Meanwhile connecting to any present sensations in your heart space.
And now leaving aside the breath for a moment and bringing your attention to everything about yourself that is of value.
Considering that you have a human body,
Considering that you have food,
That you have a place to live,
Considering all the values that you express in your life.
Your creativity,
Your intelligence,
Your kindness,
Your lovingness.
Considering anything about yourself that you appreciate.
All your special skills that you've learned over the years.
Considering your health,
Or the help you've received with your health.
Considering all the teachings you've had,
All the education,
All the regular and abundantly available teachings,
All the spiritual teachings that you have benefited from.
Considering all the advantages that you have had in your life,
What has helped you and supported you.
And now we're going to begin the actual practice of Tonglen.
Think of a friend or loved one in your life that would benefit from having some of the values that you have identified within yourself.
Or from some of the help that you've received.
Someone that is going through a hard time at the moment.
Experiencing health issues,
Financial problems,
Or just someone that has a hard time getting along in life.
Or some obstacle they have a hard time overcoming.
Connecting with their pain and anguish.
I invite you to think of that person,
And when you inhale through every pore of your skin,
Allowing yourself to inhale all of their obstacles,
All of their pain and anguish.
And as you reach the end of your inhale,
Allowing all of that person's struggles to dissolve into your fast and spacious heart space.
Into the gateway,
Into infinity.
And as you exhale from every pore of your skin,
I invite you to send to this person everything that you have or have received that they need.
Give away all your happiness,
Delight,
Enjoyment,
Bliss,
And even enlightenment itself.
And continuing to inhale their struggles.
And exhaling everything they need.
Giving away everything that you have.
Sending it to them.
And try to have a real felt sense that you are giving,
Even if you feel a little scared about this.
Try to be brave and really give it all away.
And although our suffering often feels private and exclusive,
The fact is that we share it with countless others.
Recognizing this common humanity,
I invite you to start including everyone else in the world that is suffering on the inhale.
Breathing in their suffering,
Including people that you love,
People you don't know,
People you are having difficulty connecting with.
Breathing their suffering into the center of your heart space,
Into infinity,
Into source energy.
And exhaling all of the help that they might need.
Exhaling and giving.
Breathing out support and healing from yourself.
And tapping into source energy for extra support and healing.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Groups of people who are suffering.
Discrimination,
Famine,
War.
You could even include animals or the whole planet if you like.
Thinking about them.
Putting yourself into their shoes.
Truly breathing in the experience they are going through.
Breathing in all of their suffering,
All of their pain,
All of their anxiety.
And exhaling to them everything that they need.
Even your own life,
Even your body.
Breathing out all the privilege and opportunity you may have had in your life.
All the teachings you have received.
All the love that you've been supported with.
Exhaling and giving it all wholeheartedly,
Without reserve.
And continuing to do that with each exhale.
And now bringing the taking and giving to an end,
The Tonglen practice.
And bringing your awareness into resting in clear,
Formless awareness.
Noticing the breath coming in and going out.
Continuing to abide quietly in this state of fullness,
Openness and generosity until you feel like getting up.
And I invite you to carry this into the rest of your day.
Perhaps noticing how this feeling changes your interactions with or thoughts you have about people you come into contact with today.
And wishing you a blessed day.
Thank you for taking this practice.
