Good morning,
Good afternoon,
Good evening.
So,
One of the ways of looking at what we are engaged in here is that of moving from what in Zen they call a self-centered existence to a life-centered existence.
Because it's the overly self-concern,
Overly self-obsession that creates the suffering.
Me in my life,
We're ever thinking about ourselves,
Our future,
Our past,
Micro-managing our experience,
What do people think of me?
It's all about overly psychological concern with ourselves.
We're at the center of the universe.
And what we're doing is seeing that in action because it's going on all the time.
We're sitting here in meditation.
And so as that dies down,
We'll naturally open up to be concerned about life rather than self.
And that's the realm of compassion.
It's not something we get.
It's something we already are when we stop being self-obsessed.
So I'm not striving to attain compassion.
It's something we open up to.
It's something that's revealed.
And there are,
And Zen calls what we're doing the ultimate compassion practice,
But there are other practices which we're going to do one now,
We have done before,
Which I learnt in my own tradition.
But it's not done through force and effort.
It's done through insight.
So it's a very simple practice.
So just settle into a posture,
Comfortable.
Resting in the heart area.
Rest your attention there.
Helps us to soften.
Resting in the heart.
Then we have a sense of how we suffer.
We might have an issue at the moment,
Health or financial issue,
Whatever.
Or just have a sense of how we overthink things.
We worry.
Just have a sense of that.
A little bit of kindness,
A little bit of compassion towards ourselves.
Start with acknowledgement.
And what we're going to do,
We're going to gather it all up,
All those worries.
Whatever they are.
On the in-breath,
We're going to gather it all up into the heart.
Imagine it all as black smoke.
And on the out-breath,
We breathe it all out into the universe.
Let the universe have the worries,
The anxieties,
Because everything belongs to the universe.
Gathering up and breathing it out as black smoke,
If that helps.
And then just rest in the heart.
You may feel a little lighter,
You may do,
You may not.
It's the intention that matters.
Just rest in the heart.
And into this heart space,
We're going to invite a good friend.
First person comes to mind.
Don't overthink it.
We have a sense of how a good friend suffers.
I'd be aware of their worries or fears.
They might seem weighed down by them,
Burdened.
Give me your worries,
Give me your suffering.
So we're going to breathe it in.
Breathe in their suffering.
Don't overthink it.
Just breathe it in.
Breathe it into the heart.
The heart can hold it.
It's the heart of the universe.
You may notice I'm feeling a little lighter.
That doesn't really matter.
What matters is that you breathe in their suffering.
Then when you feel ready,
Give it to the universe.
Breathe it out.
The universe can hold it.
Then when you're ready,
Just again rest in the heart.
That silence.
Silent heart.
Just checking you're not tensed up and charging ahead,
Trying to achieve.
Relax.
We have our self and our good friend.
I'd like you to invite a difficult person.
Maybe a neighbor,
Work colleague.
Compassion is to feel.
Passion and calm is with.
So we feel with this person.
Just feel with them.
Notice resistance.
Breathe in their worries,
Their fears.
You know they have them.
Give me your suffering.
Relieve them.
Breathe into the heart.
Don't turn away here.
When you're ready,
Begin to breathe out into the universe.
It belongs to the universe.
It doesn't belong to us.
We belong to the universe.
We belong to life.
When you're satisfied that it's being given to the universe,
We can just sit with our self,
A good friend and a difficult person.
We all want the same things.
Let's call it peace and happiness.
And just sitting in silence,
Stillness.
Sitting in the heart.
Now just rest.
Where are you right now?
Can you just enjoy this last few minutes of silence and stillness?
You have to feel into it.
Okay.
So you can bring this to an end.
Open your eyes.
Give you a little stretch.
And that's it.
See you tomorrow.
Bye-bye.
See you all.
Bye-bye.
