We're going to practice loving kindness or metta meditation now and I'll just start with a brief explanation of what that is.
Every meditation is a placing of our attention on a certain object of meditation and different meditations have different purposes.
And the purpose of loving kindness meditation is that it does,
Like many other meditation practices,
Build concentration.
So it's a habit of mind and we can habituate our mind to do anything,
But we can build the habit of the mind to focus,
To stay centered,
To concentrate,
And this has its own benefits.
And then the other purpose is to habituate the mind towards this particular kind of love,
Metta,
Often translated in English as loving kindness.
And when we do the practice,
We start to begin to,
As the suttas say,
The buddhas suttas say,
Become familiar with what is metta,
What is that as a mind state.
And we become familiar with it by cultivating the phrases of loving kindness,
Repeating them in our head like the technique is,
May beings be well,
Happy,
And peaceful.
And seeing what that feeling is that comes up from that,
Which is a particular kind of love that is distinct from other things that we call love also,
Like the love we have in our romantic relationships or in our friendships.
Distinct because its purpose is just to wish well only,
Not to hold on to or not to change or not to control in any way,
But just to wish for well-being,
Safety,
Happiness,
And peace.
And we can do this with people that we're close to and with our partners,
With our romantic partners,
As well as people we don't know very well and even with people that we're finding very difficult.
And we start to become familiar with that we can be loving towards people that we have difficulty with or even people that have caused us harm.
And that this doesn't mean that we're approving of their behavior,
That we'll lie down and be a doormat,
But it just means that we can still wish beings well.
And how powerful that is to do that we become familiar with as we do the meditation,
What is often talked about as the power of love,
The power we can see it because as we do the meditation we see this effect on our own mind and body and how when loving-kindness or metta is very strong within us,
It overcomes fears that we have.
It overcomes,
It's stronger than fear.
It overcomes our limiting ideas of ourselves and so the mind gets very expansive and broad and fearless and confident.
So we see it as the great power that it is and how effective it is and how it is a trustworthy force and one that we each have the power to grow and to cultivate.
So we can hear about the power of love but metta or loving-kindness meditation is the way to begin to harness that energy in our lives.
We do it first in meditation and then we can do it and bring it into the words that we use in our life or the actions that we use and then it becomes even more powerful.
So let's do the practice.
You can set up your posture,
Find a seated position that's comfortable for you and arrange your clothes in a way that feels unrestrictive and comfortable so that you can really relax.
And we'll begin the meditation by finding relaxation in the body first.
Very important for any meditation technique that you're doing to first release tension,
Physical tension so you can let your shoulders relax and relax your seat into the cushion.
Release any tightness in your jaw or the back of your throat.
You can relax your temples,
The heart center.
Release any tension in your belly.
Just let this moment be just as it is and let yourself be just as you are in your body and in your mind.
And then we begin the practice of loving kindness by extending it to ourselves.
I'll use the very simple metaphrases for this practice.
There's many different options but the very simple ones.
May I be well,
As in healthy and strong in your body,
Happy and peaceful of mind.
May I be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May I be well,
Happy and peaceful.
You repeat these phrases in your mind like a mantra but the mind connecting also with the meaning of the phrases.
If you see your mind wandering away,
Just bring it back again gently.
It will wander frequently.
Other thoughts.
Then you might catch it right away or it might take a little time.
Whenever it does,
Just bring it back again.
May I be well,
Happy and peaceful.
And then bring your loved ones to your mind,
Friends and family,
Partners,
Parents,
Teachers.
And extend these thoughts out to them.
May my friends and family be well,
Happy and peaceful.
Extending these thoughts out to them as if they could reach out and touch them,
Envelop them.
May they be well,
Happy and peaceful.
You might use some visual imagery in your mind,
Seeing your friends and your family smiling,
Happy,
Safe.
Keeping the ease in the body,
Keeping the ease in the mind.
Not worrying if any feeling is coming up,
Just repeating the words,
Connecting as much as you can with the meaning.
Cultivating the feeling little by little.
Then you can bring people who are more neutral to you,
People you don't necessarily like or dislike,
Like somebody at the store you frequent or somebody in your neighborhood and your work.
And connecting with their wish to be happy,
As all beings do,
Wish to be happy and wish to be free from suffering.
May these neutral people in my life be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May they be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May they be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May they be well,
Happy and peaceful.
And then extending the same thoughts to anybody that you've had difficulty with.
Again,
This isn't approving of people's unskillful behavior or it isn't making ourselves like people.
It's just connecting with humanity and wishing safety,
Freedom from suffering,
Happiness and peace.
May any difficult people in my life also be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May they be well,
Happy and peaceful.
And then extending these thoughts out in all directions to all beings everywhere.
All humans and animals and insects,
All beings that we don't see,
Excluding no one,
May all beings everywhere be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May all beings everywhere be well,
Happy and peaceful.
And you can bring your chin to your chest.
And when you feel ready,
Let your eyes open.
