Loving-kindness meditation,
A visualization involving meeting the newly enlightened Buddha.
This meditation will be a loving-kindness meditation involving visualizing the newly enlightened Buddha sitting in meditation under the Bodhi tree in northern India.
These types of visualizations can be helpful with regards to encouraging the development of loving-kindness in our own minds.
By bringing to mind within meditative discipline an inspiring example which represents the quality of loving-kindness,
We are setting a resonance in our own minds,
And by learning to empathize with and deeply appreciate this quality of metta,
Our own minds can become imbued with this same quality.
The Buddha of course is the foremost example of a being who has generated boundless loving-kindness.
We will start as per usual by establishing a body-based mindful awareness,
And then moving on to breath awareness.
After a few minutes of these,
We will then proceed to the visualization and contemplation of the boundless loving-kindness of the Buddha.
And lastly,
We will then generate the mind imbued with loving-kindness to whatever extent is possible within our own minds,
Radiating metta to all beings.
Focusing your attention to your sitting posture,
Being simply aware that you are now sitting with a straight yet relaxed posture.
At first simply feeling the physical feelings of the buttocks pressing against the mat or the cushion or the chair on which you now sit.
Grounding awareness in the present moment.
Allow a broad awareness to embrace your whole body,
Simply knowing,
Mindfully aware that you are sitting.
And now we are going to take three slow and deep in and out breaths,
Releasing any tension you may be feeling,
Particularly with the out breath.
Breathing slowly and deeply in all the way into the abdomen.
And then breathing out,
Letting go,
Putting things down.
Once again breathing deeply in and breathing out,
Relaxing.
And one more deep in and out breath at your own pace.
And now allow the breathing to become relaxed and natural,
Breathing ordinarily at your own natural pace.
Acknowledge that we are now doing a session of sitting meditation.
Rather than meditating now,
We don't need to do anything or go anywhere.
Just taking small,
Relaxed,
Natural breaths.
Just breathing,
Just sitting.
Allowing thoughts to simply drop away.
Now with mindful awareness,
Try to feel the area around the top of the head.
Simply aware of the various feelings on the surface area of the skin,
Around the top of the head.
And then include the face,
And the ears,
And the neck.
Now include the upper shoulder area.
Knowing the various feelings on the surface of the skin in the shoulder area.
Becoming more aware,
More alert,
And at the same time relaxing.
Aware of the shoulders,
Relaxing the shoulders.
Now include the chest in this awareness.
And then include the stomach area.
And then bring this gentle,
Knowing awareness to include all of your back.
And now include your arms.
Embracing the whole upper area of the body with gentle awareness.
And now include the lower abdomen,
The groin,
And the buttocks.
Feel your bottom pressing against the surface underneath.
Feeling awareness to shift from the realms of thoughts and emotions,
And simply settling with the awareness of sitting.
Being present,
Grounded in the moment.
And the legs and the feet in your awareness.
Feel the whole body simply sitting,
Knowing the sitting posture.
Now gently bring your awareness to your in and out breathing.
Being mindful of each in and out breath.
Try to be aware of the entire in breath,
And the entire out breath.
Knowing the breath as it comes in at the nose,
Down through the chest,
And into the abdomen.
And then similarly,
Knowing the breath as it leaves the abdomen,
And the chest,
And the nose.
Simply knowing the natural,
Relaxed breathing.
Knowing the feelings of each in breath,
And each out breath.
As this is a session of loving kindness meditation,
You can recite phrases in your mind gently in conjunction with the breathing,
As a way of noting the breath,
And also of encouraging the heart of loving kindness.
Breathing in making the simple wish,
May I be well.
And breathing out wishing,
May I be happy.
Try to do this for the next couple of minutes,
Maintaining awareness of the entire in breath,
And the entire out breath.
Breathing yourself well.
Generating goodwill within your own body and mind.
Breathing in,
May I be well.
Breathing out,
May I be happy,
One and a half.
And breathing out,
May I be well.
And breathing out,
May I be happy.
And breathing out,
May I be happy.
And breathing out,
May I be happy.
And breathing out,
May I be happy.
And breathing out,
May I be happy.
While still maintaining a clear awareness of each in and out breath,
You can continue to generate loving kindness towards yourself as we have been doing,
Or change your mental noting to buddho.
On the in breath noting budd and on the out breath do,
Simply knowing.
As I ask you to imagine the following scene,
Try to continue with your mindful awareness of each in and out breath.
Allow the breath to be a center,
An island,
An anchor.
Hear my voice as if in the distance.
You are in ancient India.
You are in an open grassy plain.
It is a pleasant spring day.
The weather is warm,
Yet there is a cool breeze.
Bud-do Bud-do Here is the sound of a stream gently flowing in the distance.
And a few hundred yards away you see a deer grazing quietly.
Here is the occasional sound of birds in the sky and from trees both near and far.
Aware of each in breath budd,
Aware of each out breath do.
You stop and simply stand in the middle of this grassy plain.
Simply standing,
Closing your eyes,
Enjoying the feelings of the sun on your skin.
And the gentle breeze.
And a pleasant bird song.
Breathing in may I be well.
Breathing out may all beings be well.
Breathing in may I be well.
Breathing out may all beings,
The deer,
The birds,
The people in the village a few miles away be well.
While still aware of each in and out breath,
Imagine that you are still standing in the grassy field.
You gently open your eyes.
Looking up ahead you notice that in the distance there is a beautiful tree.
A large and shady tree.
Feeling warm now,
You feel drawn to the shade of this tree.
Slowly you begin to walk across the grassy plain towards the beautiful tree.
Along the way you notice that there are wild flowers sprouting up through the grass.
Several different types of fresh beautiful spring flowers.
And so walking towards the tree,
Occasionally you stop,
Bending down to collect a few.
And slowly a small handful of flowers gathers in your cupped hand.
White,
Pale pink,
Violet,
Golden yellow,
Orange.
The flowers smell like honey.
Aware of each in breath,
Bhut.
Aware of each out breath,
Do.
When you have finished gathering a handful of wild flowers,
You gently tie them together with a long strand of grass.
And then as you continue to walk closer to the beautiful pipell tree,
You notice something.
There seems to be a yogi sitting in meditation under the tree.
Aware of each in breath,
Bhut.
Aware of each out breath,
Do.
As you stand there now,
Aware of the grand tree and aware of the meditating yogi,
You notice that something in the air has changed.
For although the noises of nature are still audible,
There seems to be a pronounced stillness suffusing the air.
And although the day is quite warm,
Your heart has begun to feel extraordinarily serene and cool.
Thoughts have simply dropped away.
Aware of each in breath,
Bhut.
Aware of each out breath,
Do.
You have a very strong feeling now that the meditating yogi before you is no ordinary sadhu.
Taking a few more steps and looking a little closer,
You notice that the monk is in fact very beautiful looking.
He has a dignified and gracious bearing.
And somewhat mysteriously,
There seems to be a soft golden light surrounding and also radiating from his body.
Aware of each in breath,
Bhut,
Aware of each out breath,
Do.
You decide to approach now slowly and quietly for you wish to pay your respects.
If the venerable one is absorbed in his meditation,
You will simply place your flowers before him and bow.
Slowly and quietly,
You walk towards the yogi.
Aware of each in breath,
Bhut,
Aware of each out breath,
Do.
The yogi's eyes are closed.
Looking at his serene countenance and golden complexion,
You feel happy and blessed.
Slowly and reverently,
You lower to your knees.
Before moving any closer,
You take the scene in deeply.
The meditating yogi is very inspiring.
Just gazing upon him,
You feel a deep contentment and true ease.
More content in fact than you have ever felt before.
And now in your heart,
You feel certain that this being must be a Buddha.
Someone who will bring tremendous blessings into the world.
And you feel great joy that such a one has arisen.
Aware of each in breath,
Bhut,
Aware of each out breath,
Do.
You notice now above the Buddha's head,
The branches of the grand old tree.
Stretching up and arching out in all directions.
The broad leaves of the tree gently sway and brush against one another.
Getting in silver shafts of light amid the tranquil shade.
You can hear the leaves gently rustling in the breeze.
Complementing the extraordinary silence that mysteriously fills the air.
Looking closer,
You see that every single leaf is shaped like a heart.
It is a very beautiful tree.
Rolling under this tree respectfully before this monk,
You feel very happy and very peaceful.
Aware of each in breath,
Bhut,
Aware of each out breath,
Do.
You notice now above the Buddha's head,
The branches of the grand old tree.
The branches of the grand old tree.
You decide now that you will make your offering.
As the monk's eyes are closed,
You will simply place the flowers before him carefully and bow.
Slowly you move forward on your knees.
Coming closer to the monk,
You place your flowers respectfully.
Gracefully you take one deep bow with great heartfelt reverence.
When you finish your bow and look up,
You see that the Buddha's eyes are now open.
The Buddha glances at you for a moment.
And in those eyes you see a quality of loving kindness that is truly vast and profound.
You can see and feel the extent of this extraordinary being's love.
In that moment,
Looking into the Buddha's eyes,
You can see that this benevolent love extends to all beings without exception,
Simultaneously.
Every single being in every possible situation.
You feel truly blessed to have glimpsed such impartial and impersonal,
Yet very real and profound,
Love.
Buddha The Buddha,
Absolutely pure,
With ocean-like compassion.
Looking into the Buddha's eyes,
You are struck once again by the loving kindness,
And by the wisdom,
The concentration and the emptiness.
You know that he knows you intimately.
With one glance,
He has seen everything.
He knows you in fact much better than you even know yourself.
And he wishes you well.
Aware of each in-breath,
Bhut.
Aware of each out-breath,
Do.
The Buddha has loving kindness for all,
For every single being without exception.
And you understand that right now,
Sitting under the Bodhi tree,
He is spreading his loving kindness to all beings.
Surfusing the entire ten-thousand-fold world system with a mind imbued with loving kindness.
Aware of each in-breath,
Bhut.
Aware of each out-breath,
Do.
You know that in that small glance,
The Buddha saw your potential.
And he saw your capacity to be liberated,
To become enlightened.
And perhaps at some point in the future,
He will teach you.
But just now,
He is absorbed in his meditation,
Radiating loving kindness to all beings,
Including you.
You feel truly fortunate and blessed.
You notice now that a little way off in the distance,
There is another tree.
Still looking at the meditating yogi,
It seems that he glances at the tree ever so slightly.
And you understand that it is an invitation to meditate.
The Buddha sees that you understand,
And then gently closes his eyes.
And now the extraordinary golden light around him seems to shine even brighter.
Aware of each in-breath,
Bhut.
Aware of each out-breath,
Do.
Respectfully now,
You move backwards from the Buddha on your knees.
And once again you bow.
And then slowly walk towards the other tree.
Quietly taking your place under the tree,
You cross your legs in meditation posture.
Taking one last glance at the radiant Lord Buddha,
Fully enlightened,
Sitting motionless under the Bodhi tree.
And then taking in deeply the vision of the beautiful tree and its heart-shaped leaves.
You gently close your eyes to meditate.
Aware of each in-breath,
Bhut.
Aware of each out-breath,
Do.
You understand now,
Deep in your heart,
The true potential of a human being.
Having seen for yourself the purity,
The wisdom and the loving kindness of a Buddha,
You feel deeply blessed.
And you wish to share these blessings.
And so you decide that you will also generate loving kindness now.
Understanding that it is truly possible to radiate loving kindness to all beings.
And so you turn your mind now to loving kindness meditation.
Breathing in,
You suffuse your own body and mind with loving kindness.
Wishing,
May I be well.
And breathing out,
You radiate this quality towards all beings in all directions.
Wishing,
May all beings be well.
Imagine your own body and mind and the space around you completely suffused with soft golden light.
Breathing in,
May I be well.
Breathing out,
May all beings be well.
This golden light radiates from the area of your heart.
As you breathe in,
The golden light fills your body.
And as you breathe outwards,
It radiates outwards in all directions.
Breathing in,
May I be well.
Golden light filling your body.
Breathing out,
May all beings be well.
Golden light pervading the entire world with the blessings of loving kindness.
Try to do this for the next few minutes.
Understanding that with loving kindness all that is necessary is pure goodwill,
A sincere and kind wish.
And understanding that all human beings have the capacity to radiate this.
Breathing in,
May I be well.
Loving kindness filling your body and mind.
Breathing out,
May all beings be well.
Loving kindness radiating outwards in all directions,
Unobstructed.
Breathing out,
May I be well.
Breathing out,
May I be well.
Breathing out,
May I be well.
As you breathe in,
The golden light fills your own heart and body.
May I be well.
And as you breathe out,
It moves outwards in all directions.
May all beings be well.
Breathing out,
May I be well.
May I be well.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
May all beings be well.
And may all beings be happy.
May I be well.
May I be well.
Try to stay with this meditation for the next few minutes.
Still aware of each in-breath and each out-breath.
Mindful of the loving kindness of Buddhas.
And aware of your own potential to generate the heart imbued with loving kindness.
Breathing in,
Radiating goodwill to yourself,
Blessing yourself.
May I be well.
And breathing out,
Radiating boundless goodwill outwards.
May all beings be well.
May I be well.
May all beings be well.
May I be happy.
May all beings be happy.
Allowing golden light to suffuse your body and mind with each in-breath and to radiate outwards with each out-breath.
If it is helpful,
You can recollect the example of the Buddha once again.
Simply see the newly enlightened Buddha sitting under the Bodhi tree.
Radiating loving kindness in all directions to all beings without exception.
And then emulate his inspiring example.
Breathing in,
May I be well.
Breathing out,
May all beings be well.
May I be well.
In a couple of minutes we will come to the end of our meditation session.
Allow yourself to enjoy these last precious moments of metta meditation.
Consider that even in this day and age,
There are still enlightened beings living in the world.
And like the Buddha,
They too frequently generate metta,
Radiating loving kindness to all beings without exception.
While spreading loving kindness yourself,
Try to be open and receptive to receiving the blessings and goodwill which other beings are currently generating towards you as well.
Breathing in,
Wishing,
May I be well.
Receiving blessings from yourself and from others.
And breathing out,
May all beings be well.
Multiplying and sharing these blessings infinitely.
Before closing the meditation,
Return once again to the perception of your breath.
Try to be aware of the entire in-breath and the entire out-breath.
Clearly aware of the feelings involved in each in-breath and each out-breath.
Bring to mind once again the image of the Buddha under the Bodhi tree.
And in your mind,
Respectfully take leave of the Buddha,
Bowing gracefully and deeply three times.
In ending our meditation,
We recollect what we have been doing.
Using our reflective and imaginative faculty in order to generate the mind imbued with loving kindness.
Although we do not yet have the capacity to embrace the whole world and all of the beings in it within our loving kindness,
Bringing to mind those beings who can do this and imagining doing so can be a helpful aid in developing this beautiful quality.
And so simply spend a few last moments sharpening awareness of the in and out-breath,
Regenerating a clear,
Present moment based,
Mindful awareness.
Aware of the entire in-breath and the entire out-breath.
If you like,
You can dedicate the merit that came from doing this meditation now to one person in particular or to all beings as you prefer.
And so I hope that this meditation was helpful or useful to some of you.
I wish you every success cultivating and integrating mindfulness and loving kindness in your life.
Be well.
