Tonglen: A Practice of Compassionate Presence

This gentle practice invite you to breath in what is difficult and breath out a sense of peace and ease. Recorded live at an IMCW Loving Kindness Retreat.

Transcript

So the Tung Lin practice is about breathing in what's difficult and breathing out a sense of peace and ease.

And so if you'll join me,

I'd like to guide us in a bit of that.

So take your posture again.

Again,

The posture is a posture of dignity that supports the practice.

It's not a small thing,

Your posture.

So make sure you get yourself positioned so that there is flow.

Feeling the body seated here and well anchored like a mountain or a tree,

Well rooted here in your seat.

And this is not effort.

This is just an alignment and an inclination towards grace.

You want everything on the inside to soften a little bit.

Sometimes I like the image of,

You know,

Our skeletal frame as a hanger and then our flesh just loosely hanging on that frame.

And that there's a gentle breeze so that everything,

There's a bit of space on the inside of the body.

So just play with an image that brings an awake ease to this moment.

And with the breath,

The breath being your most intimate and largest movement inside of the body.

So given the breath,

Your attention is really allowing your body,

Allowing you to be in touch with,

Literally in touch with the body,

The breath touching the body.

So just notice where that's happening and let the noticing be solved.

This body sitting and breathing.

Feeling the sense of gentling here.

And again,

Allowing the mind to rest in the body,

Let it drop down from the head and fill up the torso of the body.

Let the mind drop into the body and let the body rest on your seat.

And even though there may be thinking that's occurring,

Just give most of your attention to the body sitting and breathing for now.

It's like turning down the volume of the thoughts and let your attention be on the breath and your contact with the cushion.

Letting that half inch back be a place of alertness for you without tension.

Allowing your breath to be free.

So no manipulation of the breath,

No hard focus,

Just a gentle,

A soft curiosity of the movement of the breath in the body.

And again,

Allowing the mind to rest in the body and let the body rest on your seat.

May I be safe from inner and outer harm.

May I be safe.

May I be content.

Even in the midst of suffering,

May I be content.

May my body and mind be at ease.

Even in hard times.

May I be at ease.

Reflecting now for a moment on just the suffering that's in the world.

And with your next inhale,

Inhale this suffering.

And with your exhale,

Exhale peace.

May there be peace.

Inhaling the suffering in the world.

Exhaling peace.

And just repeat this very consciously in your mind.

You might even recall specific situations of suffering or it may be more of a global suffering.

Or it could be a combination.

So for the next few breaths,

Breathe in that suffering.

And then breathe out into the world.

Ease.

Peace.

May you be safe.

Let it be a natural and fluid expression.

Taking your time here to breathe in the suffering and breathe out peace.

The suffering you're breathing in is not going to be stuck on the inside.

And as we all breathe in and exhale,

Just making a larger offering to the world.

Make the image of the suffering as clear as it can be.

Breathing in the struggles.

Breathing out kindness.

Breathing out kindness.

Allowing your awareness to be relaxed.

Letting your breath be free.

Breathing out kindness.

Breathing out kindness.

Breathing in the suffering that might be in your communities and neighbors.

Breathing in the suffering that might be in your communities and neighboring communities.

And breathing out love.

Breathing in the suffering that's in our immediate families and friends and loved ones.

And breathing out peace.

Breathing in the invisible suffering of maybe those in this room.

Breathing out kindness.

May you be well.

I care about your suffering.

I care about your suffering.

And reflecting a moment on any suffering you may be experiencing through this exercise in this moment.

Any contractions or tightness in the body or struggle that you feel.

Breathing that in as well.

And exhaling ease.

May I be at ease even in the midst of this struggle.

Breathing in the struggle.

Breathing in the suffering.

And exhaling I care about this suffering.

May I be at ease.

May all beings be at ease.

Free from suffering.

It's like me,

All beings want to be free.

Exhaling peace.

Resting in the experience of the offer.

Resting in your good heartedness.

Resting in the experience of the offer.

Resting in your good heartedness.

Reviews

The subtle shifts in the wording of the loving-kindness mantras really resonated. Contentment alongside suffering. Safe from inner and outer harm. Ease of body and mind. I also really appreciated the focus on the suffering in my community & offering my own resources of love, kindness and peace to our interconnected sufferings.

It was easier than I expected to willingly take in the suffering of others. Thank you for helping me to include and hold what is painful.

Hits the spot! Love how there is space between the instructions. I love the space

Such a beautiful, peaceful and empowering practice. Thank you Ruth for your gentle guidance. Namaste.

Supportive of compassionate presence, accepting the reality of suffering with spacious awareness and empathy.

Calming, grounding and settling. Helps with dis-ease 🙏🏼

Ruth’s instruction carries deep compassion and this practice helped me embrace the suffering of our times.

Grateful to relieve world's suffering and breath ease, it brought me ease as well. Thank you.

May all beings be safe, may all beings know peace, may all beings be free from suffering 🙏💛

Powerful meditation with a beautifully serene voice. Thank you 🙏🏼

Ruth’s voice is so calming and gentle. I love all of her prompts and this meditation is truly wonderful. Thank you Ruth for your softness and holding this beautiful space

Wonderful pacing for a "simple" practice; often meditations try to jam in too much -- all good content but too much to absorb and really integrate. Ruth is a gem.

Your Tonglen meditation was lovely for me in this moment. Thank you.

Perfect meditation for me today. Coping with the tragic loss of my son. Thank you 🙏🏻💔

Ruth’s gentleness and aware focus touch deep inside

Thank you 🙏🏼 for this lovely version on Tonglen. I will be returning to this ♥️

Graciously calm to sit in my suffering and equally gracious to breath peace. Thank you

Interesting approach, that definitely also brought up negative emotions (the suffering) but it teaches you to deal with it in the right way.
What could be improved is the constant white noise of the microphone, but that became part of the acceptance for me.
Thank you for this insightful practice!

Thank you very much. I love your guidance. Perfect combination of speaking and silence. This is a tough practice but you made it easier. Thank you

Tonglen has almost always been a practice I struggled with, most especially if I didn't feel particularly strong and good. The way Ruth approaches it has made it feel both healing and empowering. I am ever so grateful for all of your teachings.