Hello,
I'm Justin Malek,
And I want to walk you through a meditation known as Tonglen that instead of focusing inward,
Catching our thoughts or feeling our own sensations,
Goes outside of ourselves and really awakens our compassion.
I will say that this is a heavier and more emotional meditation,
But after years of meditating,
This one still has had the biggest impact on me personally,
And I hope it is meaningful for you too.
Let's begin.
Close your eyes.
Take a few deep breaths to check in,
And for now,
Let go of your plans for today,
Or your own emotions,
Your past.
Just relax into the present moment.
Feel the sensations within you,
The position of your body.
And take a deep breath in,
And a deep breath out.
When you're ready,
Start to feel the heat of your in-breath.
Breathe in that hot air,
That heaviness.
Feel it.
And breathe out the opposite,
Coolness,
A light air with positivity.
We'll stay here for a bit.
So breathing in heat and darkness,
It's thick,
Might feel like a tightness.
And breathe out brightness,
Light,
Energy,
Radiance.
Really feel this as you breathe in and out for a moment.
Feel this in every pore of your body.
Might feel a little claustrophobic on the in-breath,
But release it all and feel the openness on the out-breath.
Now as you're continuing to do this,
Breathing in the heat and darkness and letting out coolness and light,
I want you to think about someone in your life who is going through any kind of pain.
This could be someone close to you who is dealing with an illness,
Possibly even dying.
But any kind of illness or pain,
Someone struggling in life,
Someone who is feeling that pain,
And you can feel it too.
It may be a family member,
Friend,
Co-worker,
Acquaintance.
It can even be an enemy or a stranger that you've seen and is dealing with some kind of pain.
If you're struggling to think of someone,
It can be a person who is no longer with us.
Continue breathing in heat,
Darkness,
And breathing out light and airiness as you think of this person.
Now with this person in mind,
Become aware of this person's suffering.
What is that suffering?
What does it feel like?
Can you feel the emotions they must be feeling in this situation?
What does it look like?
Let yourself connect to their feelings and really feel it with them.
Imagine this pain,
This suffering,
And start to actually see it.
What color is it?
Imagine it has a smoke,
A tar,
Oily and thick,
Heavy.
Breathe all of that in,
All of that pain and suffering.
Feel that as the heat and darkness of your in-breath and let out the coolness and light.
As you breathe in,
I want you to feel that pain and suffering for them deeply,
That smoke,
And really feel it in the core of your body,
The burning sensation.
Breathe out relief and positivity for them.
Breathe in those emotions of fear,
Hurt,
Disappointment,
Anger.
As it hits your heart,
It cools down,
It becomes airy and clean.
Breathe out that calmness,
Coolness,
Serenity,
And compassion for them.
You may feel like you want to hold your breath on the inhale,
But allow it to flow naturally.
Breathe in that intensity and the nerves,
The heartache and the suffering.
Breathe out words of encouragement,
Even a wish or a prayer,
And you can say this in your head,
That they be rid of this suffering.
Let yourself feel this emotionally.
Take it all in for them.
Take in that smoke and let it dissipate and wash away on the out-breath.
In with the pain and suffering,
Out with relief and vitality.
Keep doing this until you feel like you're ready to expand this to other people.
So now think about other people who might be going through this same experience.
Breathe in,
Feeling the pain of all of those people too.
And breathe out a sense of calm and peace and love for everyone going through this situation.
Again feel the intensity of all of their combined suffering.
Take it in for them and release it with openness and light.
With good wishes and thoughts that you can say in your head for all of them.
Think about anyone ever who has experienced this,
Unborn children who may eventually go through this and feel the same for them.
Extend this to every possible being.
Breathe in that pain and breathe out their relief.
Breathe in the darkness and breathe out the light.
Feel that this person is free of suffering and can be filled with peace and love.
Breathe it in and breathe it out.
And continue this until you feel like you've extended this to every possible person.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes,
Check in with yourself,
Take a couple of deep breaths and thank yourself for showing such deep compassion for this person and everyone who is going through a similar experience.
