Fostering Kindness and Compassion (Metta)

This is a 10-minute guided meditation aimed at fostering kindness and compassion. Revisit this meditation anytime you feel the need to foster feelings of kindness and compassion.

Transcript

Welcome to this 10 minute guided meditation on fostering kindness and compassion.

Take a moment to get comfortable in your chair or on your cushion.

Take a deep breath in and slowly exhale out.

Allow yourself to settle into the present moment,

Bringing your full attention to here and now.

You can close your eyes or you can keep them open,

It's up to you.

This lesson is about fostering kindness and compassion for yourself and those around you.

Then focus your attention on your posture.

Notice any discomfort in the way you're sitting and make any necessary adjustments to ensure you're comfortable and relaxed.

And now we'll get started.

Bring your attention to your natural desire to be happy,

To be free from pain and suffering.

With each breath that you take,

Acknowledge your wish to be free from harm,

Your wish to be safe and protected.

You can express this kindness and compassion towards yourself with simple phrases like,

May I be happy,

May I be at peace,

May I be free from suffering.

Try repeating these phrases in your own mind.

When you get distracted or carried away in thought,

Bring your awareness back to your natural desire to feel happy,

To be free from suffering,

To be at peace.

Repeat these phrases over and over in your head,

May I be happy.

Feel what your natural response is to this simple expression,

May I be at peace.

Notice what thoughts come to mind when you express your desire for peace.

May I be free from suffering.

Notice how natural it feels to have these wishes and desires for ourselves.

You can repeat these phrases over and over like a mantra.

We tend to already have mantras that we tell ourselves all day long.

Often we are very harsh with ourselves.

We may have thoughts like,

You are so dumb or why did you do that or I'm such an idiot.

And these can also be repetitive mantras that we hear all day long.

Notice how different it feels to speak towards what you really want in life,

Which is to be happy,

To be at peace,

And to be free from suffering.

Now bring to mind someone you care for deeply.

Perhaps this is a parent or a spouse,

A sibling,

Or a child.

Just picture them in your mind and notice how natural it feels to feel kindness and to feel compassion towards this person.

Bring your attention to the desire you have for them to be happy,

To be free from pain and suffering.

And as you continue in this space of awareness,

Notice how you want this person to be free from harm.

You want them to be safe and to be protected.

Just keep this person in your mind as you express the following phrases directed towards them.

May you be happy.

May you be at peace.

May you be free from suffering.

You can repeat it.

May you be happy.

May you be at peace.

May you be free from suffering.

Notice how it feels to extend kindness and compassion towards someone you care about.

Notice how natural it feels to want this person to be truly happy,

To be at peace,

And to be free from suffering.

And notice how this person wants the same things that you want,

To be happy and to be free,

To be at peace.

And now bring to mind someone who you don't know very well.

Perhaps an acquaintance or someone who is neutral in terms of whether or not you like or dislike this person.

Perhaps this is the teller at the bank or it's the cashier at the store or maybe this is someone you've made eye contact with while on the way to work.

Perhaps just a simple smile.

With the understanding that the desire for happiness and peace is universal,

Begin offering this neutral person your wishes for them as well.

May you be happy.

May you be at peace.

May you be free from suffering.

And notice how it makes you feel when you extend these wishes to someone who you don't know.

This neutral person wants the same thing the person that you care deeply for wants,

The same thing that you want.

To be happy,

To be at peace,

To be free from suffering.

And now picture multiple family members and friends,

A mixed group of people for whom you may feel feelings of both love and judgment.

And imagine making eye contact with everyone in the group while you extend your kindness and compassion by telling them all,

May you be happy.

May you be at peace.

May you be free from suffering.

Notice how it feels to extend kindness to the mixed group of family and friends.

And now picture someone who has been difficult in your life.

Perhaps someone for whom you hold anger or resentment.

Someone who may cause you to feel unpleasant when you are around each other.

And notice how the most basic understanding of human nature makes it clear that all beings wish to be met with kindness and compassion.

And notice how it makes you feel like you're being treated with kindness and compassion.

And notice how it makes it clear that all beings wish to be met with kindness and compassion.

All beings including those who irritate us,

The unfriendly,

The mean,

And the annoying,

They all wish to be happy,

To be at peace,

And to be free from suffering.

Or any ill will that you may feel towards this person.

And try to meet this person with the same phrases and pay close attention to how this makes you feel.

As you express,

May you be happy.

May you be at peace.

May you be free from suffering.

And if you notice feelings such as anger,

Grief,

Or sadness arising,

Just observe them and allow them to be.

Don't try to change them or push them away.

Try to extend patience and acceptance and kindness towards your own feelings.

Notice the compassion you can feel towards yourself for your person.

Feel towards yourself for your pain and for your suffering.

Remember there is no need to judge yourself for whatever it is you're feeling.

And now imagine your kindness and compassion expanding out from yourself towards your loved ones and friends and then out towards everyone,

Including the difficult people in your life,

And onto everyone in your vicinity,

Your neighbors,

Everyone in your town or city,

Your state or province,

Expanding out to include your country and the entire world,

All living beings.

And visualize all beings as you express your wishes for them.

May you be happy.

May you be at peace.

May you be free from suffering.

And after extending your kindness and compassion to all beings,

Let go of the phrase and just bring your attention back to your breathing.

Bring your awareness back to the space where you are and notice your breathing.

Is it fast or slow,

Shallow or deep?

And just take a moment to notice how you feel.

You

Reviews

🙏

Clearly explained guided meditation. Practitioners can easily adapt this practice to accommodate longer sessions.

Thanks for the step by step guide.

Thank you! The first time I did this one, it melted and softened my heart for days! I need to keep this going.

Beautiful! Love it! Thank you! 🙏

Quick and comprehensive Loving kindness practice. One of my favorite short versions.

Wonderful meditation - sitting in the airport waiting lounge, extending wishes of happiness, peace and good health to those I love, those I find difficult and those I don't know.

Really enjoyed, thanks 🙏

Thank you guruji!

I enjoyed this opportunity to ask for happiness, peace and freedom from suffering for myself, loved ones, strangers and enemies.

Nicely done. Maybe a little more silence as we repeat the phrases would be good.

Great reminder of how to be a good human being. Thank you.

I really enjoyed this meditation session.

This is a beautiful meditation with which to begin my day. Thank you 🙏🏻

Wonderful way to begin the day. Peaceful and powerful. Thank you!