Tonglen practice is an ancient Buddhist practice to connect ourselves with loving-kindness,
But particularly a sense of giving and receiving.
Find a comfortable seated position.
Sit with your back upright,
But not rigid.
Allow your body to relax.
Rest your hands gently in your lap or on your knees.
Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths,
Letting your mind and body settle with each breath.
Allow your awareness to rest in this present moment.
In this Tonglen practice,
We will work with the breath to transform suffering,
Breathing in the pain,
Our pain or the pain of others,
And breathing out relief,
Compassion,
And peace.
Tonglen is a practice of reversing the usual habit of avoiding pain and instead meeting your pain with openness and compassion.
We start by connecting to your own suffering,
Emotional stress,
Or perhaps a mental restlessness.
Bring this suffering into your awareness without judgment.
As you breathe in,
Imagine drawing this discomfort into your heart.
Breathe in the discomfort.
Breathe in the suffering.
Allow yourself to feel the suffering fully,
Held with a sense of compassion.
You're not trying to avoid or resist it,
You're inviting it in and meeting it with acceptance.
Then on the out-breath,
Imagine sending yourself relief,
Kindness,
Compassion.
As you breathe out,
Release any tension,
And offer yourself comfort,
Peace,
And healing.
Let's repeat this for a few breaths.
Breathing in that deep connection to your own suffering,
Taking it in,
Allowing it to be present.
Breathing out relief,
Compassion,
And kindness.
Breathing in the suffering,
Allowing its presence in your body,
In your mind,
In your heart.
Breathing out relief,
Compassion,
And kindness.
One last time.
Breathing in that suffering,
The suffering you've been grappling with.
Breathing it into your heart and allowing it to be present.
Breathing out compassion and kindness.
We're going to expand our practice to the suffering of others.
Bring to mind someone you care about who's going through a difficult time.
Visualize this person in front of you.
As you breathe in,
Imagine breathing in their pain,
Their suffering,
Or their struggle.
You're not taking their suffering from them in a literal sense.
You're simply acknowledging their pain and holding it with profound compassion.
As you exhale,
Send them relief.
Send them comfort and love.
Imagine your out-breath bringing them a sense of peace and lightness,
Easing their suffering.
Repeat this process for several breaths.
Breathing in this person's suffering,
Recognizing their pain.
Breathing out comfort,
Peace,
And relief.
Feel the connection between you and this person,
Knowing that by offering them compassion,
You are softening your own heart.
Let's do another breath.
Breathing in this person's pain and suffering,
Recognizing their struggles.
Breathing out comfort,
Peace,
And relief.
Let's now include the suffering of a stranger.
Bring to mind someone you don't know well.
Perhaps someone you've seen in your community or encountered briefly in your life.
This could be a stranger or a neutral person,
With whom you have no emotional charge.
Visualize this person and recognize that they too experience suffering,
Just like you.
As you breathe in,
Imagine taking in their suffering.
As you breathe out,
Send them relief,
Kindness,
And compassion.
Breathing in their suffering,
Acknowledging their shared humanity.
Breathing out peace,
Love,
And kindness.
Breathing in their suffering,
Contemplating what it means to have shared humanity.
Breathing out peace,
Love,
And kindness.
As you breathe,
Allow your heart to open to the suffering of others,
Even those you don't know personally.
Recognize the common thread of suffering that connects us all.
One more breath cycle for this stranger.
Breathing in their suffering,
Acknowledging their shared humanity.
Breathing out peace,
Love,
And kindness.
Let's expand now to someone you have difficulty with.
Bring to mind someone with whom you've struggled.
They may have caused you pain,
Frustration,
Or anger.
Visualizing this person may bring up uncomfortable feelings.
Allow yourself to sit with those feelings without judgment.
As you breathe in,
Imagine taking in their suffering.
This might be challenging.
You might acknowledge that their actions which have caused you pain likely stem from their own experience of suffering.
Hold their pain with compassion,
Without condoning their behavior.
As you breathe out,
Send them relief,
Peace,
And healing.
You are not excusing or justifying their actions,
But simply offering them compassion,
Recognizing that they too seek relief from suffering.
Breathe in their suffering,
Recognizing it arises from their own pain.
Breathing in their suffering,
Recognizing that it arises from their own pain.
Breathing out peace,
Healing,
And understanding.
Breathing in their suffering,
Recognizing it arises from their own pain.
Breathing out peace,
Healing,
And understanding.
Remembering that this is an ancient practice for cultivating your own compassion muscles.
Feel,
See if you can feel your heart soften as you extend compassion to someone who may have been difficult to love.
Notice how this helps you free yourself from anger or resentment.
One more time.
Breathing in their suffering,
Recognizing that it arises from their own pain.
Breathing out peace,
Healing,
And understanding.
Finally,
Let's expand your awareness to include all beings everywhere.
Those you know,
Those you don't know,
And even those you may never meet.
Recognizing that suffering is a shared experience for all beings.
And just as you wish for peace and relief,
So do all others.
As you breathe in,
Imagine breathing in the suffering of all beings.
Humans,
Animals,
All living creatures.
You're holding this suffering with a compassionate heart,
Without resistance.
As you breathe out,
Send love,
Peace,
And relief to all beings.
Visualize your out-breath spreading compassion throughout the world,
Bringing comfort and ease to every living being.
Again,
Breathing in.
Breathing in the suffering of all beings.
Holding that suffering with profound compassion.
Breathing out peace,
Love,
And relief to all beings.
Let's do that again.
Breathing in the suffering of all beings.
Holding it with compassion.
Breathing out peace,
Love,
And relief to all beings.
Feel the connection between yourself and the world.
Knowing that by cultivating compassion,
You're contributing to the collective well-being of all.
Take a few moments now to rest in the spaciousness of your heart.
Feel the openness and softness that this practice has cultivated within you.
Recognize that compassion for yourself and others is always available to you,
And that this practice can be returned to at any time.
Bring your awareness back to your breath.
Take a deep breath in,
And as you exhale,
Slowly open your eyes.
Carry this sense of compassion and connection with you as you move through your day.
