Loving-Kindness Filling All Of Space - Meditation

After establishing an attitude of loving acceptance we move onto becoming aware of the very space within which our bodies exist and then radiate loving-kindness

Transcript

Once again becoming aware of the sitting posture,

Just aware of the feelings of the body sitting,

The weight of the body pressing against mats and cushions,

Feeling that pressure,

Aware of the sensations,

Moving the awareness upwards including the knees,

Shins,

Thighs,

Aware of the feelings on the surface of the skin.

Moving the awareness up to include lower abdomen,

The buttocks and the lower back,

And aware of the feelings over the stomach area,

And the middle part of the back,

And then aware of the area around the chest,

And then the upper part of the back,

And then including the hands,

The lower part of the arms,

Elbows,

The upper arms and the shoulders,

And then including the neck,

Face,

The ears and the head,

And just aware having a broad sense of the body in the present moment in the sitting meditation posture,

And then bringing our awareness inwards,

Noticing the in and out breathing,

And the breath comes in at the nose,

Passes through the chest and into the abdomen,

The breath leaves the body,

Abdomen,

Chest,

Nose,

And trying to be aware of the feelings of the natural breathing,

The entire in-breath,

Beginning middle end,

And knowing the feelings of the entire out-breath,

And knowing the spaces in between,

Training with the word buddho,

Meaning awake,

Aware,

Fully mindful,

And we use a mental recitation to help us stay with our meditation,

Breathing in gently,

Quietly noting buddho,

Breathing out,

Buddho,

One in-breath buddho,

One out-breath buddho,

And bringing the awareness,

The attention to rest in the area of the heart and just checking,

Dropping any negative feelings,

Emotions,

Attitudes,

Trying to give rise to a quality of acceptance,

So however things are in the area of the heart,

Just allowing it to be that way,

The quality of kindness,

Patience,

Acceptance,

Breathing in buddha,

Allowing the body and mind to be exactly as it is,

Breathing out,

Dole,

Aware of the breath,

With an attitude of care,

Caring for the breath,

Giving interest to noticing those feelings,

Nose,

Chest,

Abdomen,

Abdomen,

Chest,

Nose,

Breath,

Establishing this awareness of the body sitting and placing awareness on the breath,

Setting our intention,

Checking our motivation,

We're going to be cultivating loving kindness,

Then we start with allowing things and accepting things the way they are,

Breathing in buddha,

Relaxing,

Breathing out,

Dole,

Breath,

I'd also like to involve or include contemplation of space,

Awareness of space in this meditation,

We tend to have habits of holding limited ways of seeing things,

So we train in noticing space,

We can relax the various contractions and allow for more expansion,

So still aware of the in and out breathing,

But just aware of the space around the body,

Immediately around this body,

Breathing in,

Breathing outside during the meditation,

Breathing in put,

Breathing out do,

Aware of the breath and aware of the space in which the body sits and the space within which the breath occurs.

Aware of the in-breath put,

Aware of the out-breath do.

And then noticing becoming aware of the space above the head,

Between the head and the ceiling.

Still aware of the in and out breaths but just noticing the space.

And now becoming aware of the space in the room,

The entire space within the room.

All forms exist within empty space.

Very so often looking at the forms we don't notice the space.

Breathing in put,

Breathing out do,

Aware of space.

And now just for a few moments bring to mind the perception of the sky,

A vast open space above the roof of the building.

Because of gases in the atmosphere and reflection it seems the sky,

The daytime sky has a limit.

And empty space stretches in all directions endlessly,

Just aware of the space element.

Breathing in put,

Breathing out do.

There is no longer the delivery of surprise or dark in the space,

Each form� moving Coming back to the heart area,

Still aware of the in-breath,

Bhut,

The out-breath Do,

Facing attention once again in the area of the heart.

And then we can ask ourselves,

At this point in the life of this conventional being,

Is there any suffering?

Any difficulties,

Any challenges,

Conflict in relationship,

Pain in the body,

Or any other difficulties?

Usually there are some.

And then just acknowledging that painful experiences in life give rise to painful mental feelings in the heart area.

There's still some pain there.

And I'm just going to ask you now to open the heart with a natural,

Kind response to pain.

Just opening the heart of loving kindness,

Seeing pain,

Seeing suffering,

And just allowing warmth,

Tenderness,

Responding with kindness,

Care,

Aware of the in-breath Bhut,

Aware of the out-breath Do.

Lord Buddha had boundless compassion.

Breathing in Bhut,

Breathing out Do.

As we generate the heart of loving kindness,

We simply wish,

But it's important that we wish with great sincerity.

We make the wish,

May I be well.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

And just allowing this potential that we all have to open the heart with tenderness,

Kindness,

Care.

And opening that wide up.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

And as this warm feeling of loving kindness arises in the heart area,

Just holding it there,

Allowing it to dissolve any sense of tension or melt away anything there that is not metta.

Sincerely,

Lovingly holding the warmth of metta in the very centre of consciousness.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

Now we try to expand this energy.

Open the heart further.

As you breathe in,

May I be well.

Allow the warmth of loving kindness to fill the chest area.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

The warmth of loving kindness expanding.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

The Lord Buddha explains that loving kindness is an attitude,

A wholesome emotion,

A pure form of love that becomes a type of samadhi.

And Lord Buddha explains that this concentrated loving kindness can be expanded,

Generated,

Cultivated boundlessly,

Filling all of space.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

Holding the warmth of loving kindness and allowing it to grow.

And try to embrace the whole upper body,

Shoulders,

Arms,

And the neck,

The circle,

Sphere of warmth.

Sincere,

Tender care for unconditional love.

And hold this very sincerely and very carefully,

Lovingly.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

And now allowing the warmth of loving kindness to grow,

Including the face,

The ears,

The head,

And the legs and the feet,

And just allowing that warmth.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

The warmth of loving kindness suffusing the entire body,

Pervading all of the cells.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

Some people might find it helpful to see light,

Loving kindness as golden light,

Radiating from the heart,

Embracing the entire body.

For others,

Working directly with feeling,

Just allowing the feeling of loving kindness to pervade,

Suffuse,

And embrace the entire body and mind.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

May I be happy.

The Buddha,

The Arahants,

The Bodhisattvas,

All great practitioners praise the cultivation of loving kindness and all affirm every human being has the capacity to cultivate,

Generate,

And develop loving kindness.

We should feel confident about this potential and about the wholesomeness,

The value of this mind state.

Be willing to embrace it wholeheartedly and generate it fully,

So if you can,

The perception of the space in the room,

Feel it with loving kindness.

On the in-breath,

May I be well.

On the out-breath,

May I be happy.

As you breathe in,

The warmth of loving kindness is generated in the center of the heart.

And as you breathe out,

It spreads outwards in all directions,

Filling the entire room.

Generate,

Develop,

Radiate,

Metta.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

Whenever I visit the monastery of my main teacher in Thailand,

Wat Maapchan,

The monastery of Thanachana Nan,

I can feel the Arahants' metta in the entire monastery.

The loving kindness of the Arahants fills the whole monastery.

And if ever I attend teachings by the Dalai Lama,

One can feel the boundless kindness,

The positivity,

The optimism,

Seeing the good,

Seeing the potential in all beings.

So we all have the capacity to open the heart of loving kindness,

Generate,

Develop,

Radiate,

Metta.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

Becoming aware of the sky above the roof and the space.

Just for a minute or so,

Try to pervade that perception of empty space,

Fill it with loving kindness.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

On the in-breath,

The metta radiates,

Warmth glows at the heart,

And breathing out expands filling space.

Breathing out,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

On the in-breath,

The metta radiates,

Warmth glows at the heart,

And breathing out expands filling space.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May all beings be well.

On the in-breath,

The metta radiates,

Warmth glows at the heart,

And breathing out expands filling space.

Breathing in,

May I be happy.

Breathing out,

May all beings be happy.

The warmth of loving kindness radiating outwards in all directions.

Breathing out,

May I be well.

On the in-breath,

The metta radiates,

Warmth glows at the heart,

And breathing out expands filling space.

Now coming back to the perception of the space in the room.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

Loving kindness radiating from your heart filling the room.

And then coming back to the sense of the space immediately surrounding your body.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

The warmth of loving kindness pervading,

Suffusing,

Embracing the entire body and mind and just holding the heart of metta.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

And then gently bringing the loving kindness to the area surrounding the heart,

Immediately surrounding the heart,

Filling the chest cavity.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

And just holding with great care that area with this benevolent,

Warm,

Kind energy.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

And just holding with great care that area with this benevolent,

Warm,

Kind energy.

So feeling blessed,

Feeling nourished.

We turn our attention to the awareness of the in and out breathing,

The physical sensations and try to know them in detail.

Caring for the in-breath,

Caring for the out-breath.

Generating clear mindfulness,

The kind of clear awareness that will help us take care of our lives.

Breathing in,

Bhut.

Breathing out,

Do.

Mindful,

Aware,

Awake,

Unconfused.

Breathing in,

Bhut.

Breathing out,

Do.

As we say these words well and happy,

It's good to empower these words with meaning.

May we be well,

May we be happy would mean may I be able to let go of the things that cause suffering.

May I grow in skillfulness.

Abandoning that which should be abandoned and cultivating that which should be cultivated will result in more happiness,

Less suffering.

Breathing in,

Bhut.

Breathing out,

Do.

And we can make any number of wishes,

Kind wishes.

May I have the strength,

May I have the determination,

May I have courage to live my life in the most skillful way that I can.

May I never lose sight of my potential and may I cultivate it wholeheartedly.

May I always grow in goodness,

May I never give up.

Breathing in,

May I be well,

Breathing out,

May I be happy,

Wishing these kind and skillful things.

Often after radiating loving kindness,

It's much more easy to be with the breath.

So just resting with the awareness of the breath.

Breathing in,

Bhut.

Breathing out,

Do.

Having let go of tensions,

Having let go of contraction,

Allowing the body and mind to relax and waking up,

Gladdening the mind and then allowing the mind to rest,

Knowing one in breath,

Bhut.

Knowing one out breath,

Do.

Be aware and resting in mindful awareness.

Okay.

Reviews

Wonderful Metta meditation. Give so much peace , love and well being. Thanks a lot for sharing and for your inspiring life

I just can say thank you for this profound, care and loving meditation. May you be well and happy

Amazing. I will come back to this, as there's useful visualisation of radiating metta

What a wonderful meditation. Ajahn has a very lovely and soothing way of speaking which made it easy for me to go very deep. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much for a deep loving kindness meditation that touched my heart

Thank you Ajahn for this very beautiful and beneficial meditation.

This truly cultivates loving kindness, so grateful.

So healing and amazing

Thank you for this grounding and boundless expanding meditation ...

Thank you for the deep and loving meditation 🙏

I love this meditation. The time Ajahn takes to body awareness in the beginning ( in all of his meditations) is so helpful in absorbing and finally radiating meta. Thank you.

great meditation for radiating love and kindness. heart feels open and tender

Absolutely amazing and transformative. As the test of your meditations, this one is a must. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom.

By breathing into my heart, tension eased and I truly did feel kinder to myself ... which I hope will spread out to others through my day 💛🌈☀️ Thank you 🙏

This meditation brought so much lightness to my heart this morning 🙏✨

Flying with Metta... love it

Truly wonderful :-) thank you so much for sharing. I do wish it had a little bit clearer ending but it's all good :-)

Just beautiful, warm-hearted and full of wisdom. His voice is an instrument that vibrates and touches the inner temple. Thank you .