Tonglen For Ukraine

Sit upright in a relaxed way,

You can keep your eyes open or closed,

Breathing naturally and allowing yourself to settle,

Feeling yourself grounded in your body,

Being in the present moment,

Aware of the space around you,

Present,

Open and aware.

Connect with your motivation for doing the practice,

Connecting with a deep wish that it may bring about peace,

Freedom from suffering and healing to everyone touched by war and peace to the world we all share.

Make your motivation really meaningful and personal and then again rest a few moments In openness,

Aware of the inflow and outflow of your breath,

Imagine a boundless,

Limitless space within you,

Like the sky and consider at the center of this space is your good heart that is open,

Clear and kind,

Your true nature,

It's like the radiant sun or a compassionate jewel,

Shining out brilliantly,

Feel its warmth radiating out to every single cell of your body and your being and imagine breathing from this radiant heart space,

Which is infinitely vast and infinitely expansive,

Resting in this heart space,

Bring to mind the land and the people of Ukraine,

The suffering of everyone touched by war,

The destruction and devastation.

People who are overnight living in a war zone,

Lost their homes,

Have become refugees,

Who are in fear for their own lives and the lives of their children and loved ones who are grieving a death.

You can recall an image you've seen on the news,

A mother with her children desperately waiting on a crowded platform for the next train to take them to safety,

A father having to say goodbye to his family,

A teenager hunkering down in the metro doing a bombardment or an old woman sifting through the rubble of her home.

Tune into the nature of their suffering,

Remember their faces,

Their eyes,

Imagine what they are going through right now,

What it must feel like.

Now imagine your radiating,

Compassionate heart becoming a catalyst,

Taking in the suffering and transforming it through the power of your compassion into kindness,

Into wisdom.

With a deep and sincere wish that they are free from suffering,

Breathe in,

Take in their suffering and breathe out,

Send out your happiness to them,

Your wishes for their well-being.

Breathing in with compassion,

Breathing out with love,

Breathing in suffering,

Breathing out happiness,

Breathing in the pain,

Breathing out love and comfort,

Breathing in fear,

Breathing out safety and protection.

Imagine as the suffering comes into your heart space.

It dissolves any final traces of your own negative emotions,

Any sense of self-grasping.

As it touches your radiant heart,

The suffering immediately dissolves,

Making your compassionate heart stronger and it now shines out even more powerfully.

In the traditional instructions for the Tonglen practice,

It says to imagine breathing in the suffering in the form of a dark smoke and breathing out well-being and happiness in the form of bright white light.

You can do this visualization or simply stay with the breath alone.

Breathing in suffering,

Breathing out happiness.

Breathing in grief,

Breathing out solace and comfort.

Breathing in exhaustion,

Breathing out rest.

Breathing in the cold,

Hunger or thirst people endure.

Breathing out comfort and warmth.

Breathing out any resources that are in need right now.

Imagine your whole body is becoming a wish-fulfilling jewel.

Breathing with your whole body,

Breathing in the suffering and sending out well-being.

Breathing the struggle,

Confusion and panic.

Breathing out calm,

Safety,

Courage and strength.

Continue now the practice in your own time and rhythm for a couple of minutes.

Keep it real.

You can breathe out whatever is needed,

A cup of tea,

A hot meal,

Shelter.

If at any point during the practice you feel it's getting too much,

Be gentle.

You can do Tonglen with a feeling that is stopping you from doing the practice.

Breathing in that feeling that blocks your heart,

Breathing out ease and spaciousness.

As you continue,

You can think of other people touched by war,

Touched by violence and destruction,

Nurses,

Doctors,

Civilians who volunteer to help.

Breathing in fear,

Breathing out security and safety.

Breathing in hopelessness,

Breathing out hope.

Breathing in the tears,

Breathing out solace.

Breathing in pain,

Breathing out healing.

Breathing in numbness and shock,

Breathing out warmth and safety.

Breathing in uncertainty,

Breathing out safety and the safe next steps.

Breathing in sleepless nights,

Breathing out peace and rest.

During your practice you can bring to mind the Ukrainian leaders guiding the country through this dark time.

Global leaders who are trying to make the right ethical and moral decisions.

Breathing in doubt,

Confusion and their struggle.

Breathing out clarity,

Courage,

Steadfastness and wisdom.

You can also include the Russian people,

Especially those who feel helpless,

Whose voices have been silenced.

Breathing in anger and helplessness,

Breathing out courage and strength.

Continue opening your heart and mind when you breathe in.

Trust that in this vast heart space there is no place for any negativity to get stuck.

Through the power of your kindness,

Your compassion,

Everything is transformed.

You can widen out your practice to include the aggressors who are utterly divorced from their true nature,

Who are blinded by destructive emotions that they cannot see the harm and unimaginable pain they are causing right now.

May they awaken to their true humanity.

Breathing in aggression,

Breathing out awareness,

Insight and understanding.

Breathing in fear and hatred,

Breathing out love and empathy.

Breathing in all the hot and destructive emotions,

Breathing out a sense of calmness and peace to cool them down.

As you breathe out,

Trust everyone is fully receiving your wishes.

We arrived at the end of the Tonglen practice.

Let go of any images,

Breathe naturally without a particular focus.

Feeling your body,

Aware of the space around you.

Allow yourself to rest for a few more moments in silent meditation.

Simply being present and aware.

Before we close,

Let's take a moment to dedicate the healing power of this meditation to the people of Ukraine and other places around the world that have been touched by war,

Destruction and violence over the years.

May the political and military leaders find peace and wisdom in their hearts and minds now,

Right now.

May wisdom prevail and may lasting peace arrive quickly.