As we lie here and tend to the heart garden,
We call in vicarious joy,
Sympathetic joy,
The pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being.
The traditional example of this mind state,
This attitude of mudita,
Is a parent observing a growing child's accomplishments,
Their successes,
How we delight in that.
And then our willingness to be the cheerleaders,
The celebrants of those we love,
Can extend past familial love and boundlessly for all beings so that the great heart of mudita spreads from the center of our heart-mind and can touch everyone we come into contact with.
This from Thomas Merton,
Who speaks of his own insight into mudita and the great bodhicitta awakening.
He says,
Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts,
The depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach,
The core of their reality,
The person that each one is in the eyes of the divine.
If only they could all see themselves as they really are.
If only we could see each other that way all the time.
There would be no more war,
No more hatred,
No more cruelty.
I suppose the big problem would be that we would all fall down and worship each other.
So let's practice here,
Worshiping each other.
As you start to spread mudita,
Good tidings,
Good wishes to all the buddhas in the room here.
And just imagine good things happening to your people,
Lying here with you,
Envisioning one of us getting our dream job,
Finding our soulmate.
Having the best day ever.
And like wispy,
Cumulus call-outs from the hard sky just starting to spin that wispy wishing of mudita,
Envisioning good things occurring for everybody else here.
Really good sleep,
Really good sex,
Your dreams coming true.
Keep going,
Keep widening,
Keep spreading,
Poundless,
Sympathetic joy.
And then come back to a natural breath,
Releasing that inner method as you return to a natural breathing pattern.
It can be as shallow or unrhythmic as it likes.
And now we'll start to venture down memory lane,
Just allowing your mind to go back to any memories of times when you felt really generous,
Compassionate,
Selfless.
Start to recall events where you've been patient or kind,
Savoring the feeling tone of that.
And just acknowledging these contributions or these attributions of component of your basic nature,
Your buddha nature.
Because the self-critic is so loud for many of us,
Just take the last few moments here and draw some delight,
Feeling good about yourself,
The dignity of your own kindness,
Reveling in your tender humanity,
Releasing that inner method.
Draw your hands to the low belly for hara mudra,
Palms encircling the navel.
And you can shake the palms if you want,
Or push into the belly to come alive here.
Or just simply draw the breath down,
Re-arriving in this rich field of your essence nature.
This is where we live from.
Thank you.
