Meditation on loving-kindness,
Metta.
Begin with a comfortable posture,
Then reflect on your spiritual aspiration,
The reason that you're practicing meditation,
And the direction in which you'd like to take your mind and heart.
Do you have the humble aspiration of peace and happiness?
Do you have the medium aspiration of complete freedom from suffering?
Or do you have the highest aspiration of complete freedom from suffering for the benefit of all living beings?
When you're ready,
Turn the mind inwards and rest your awareness on the breath.
Focus your attention on the in-and-out process of the breath as you experience it at the nostrils.
Feel cool air coming in and the warm air passing out.
Let your mind come to rest on one point.
Let go of any surface distractions.
Let go of past or future,
Hope and fear.
Come now to the present moment.
Begin to breathe deeply into the diaphragm,
Accessing the low slow flow of breath.
If you become distracted,
Gently bring your awareness back to the breath without delay.
And when you feel calm and peaceful and centered,
We can begin the contemplation on loving-kindness.
Imagine first a person that you care deeply about,
A loved one,
And bring them into your mind and feel their presence.
Reflect on their great kindness and their support and care for you,
How they've been there for you,
How they've taught you things,
Supported you through difficult times.
And take a moment to reflect on their humanity,
Their frailty,
The inevitability of suffering in their life.
Just like you,
They have hopes and fears,
Disappointments.
Just like you,
Pain,
Illness,
Discomfort becomes them.
Just like you,
They face fear and insecurity,
Loneliness.
Reflecting on this,
Allow yourself to open your heart.
And with that,
You can begin the four stanzas of loving-kindness.
May they be well,
May they be peaceful,
May they be happy,
May they be free from suffering.
Begin by reciting the first stanza,
May they be well,
May they be well.
Mount the stanza on the breath and repeat several cycles.
Imagine any pain,
Discomfort,
Or illness beginning to dispel,
Dissipate,
Lessen with each passing breath and affirmation.
May they be well,
May they be peaceful,
May they be peaceful.
Reflect that your loved one is often distracted,
Is overcome by fear and insecurity,
Anger,
And that that distraction disturbs the quality of their mind,
Causing them to act in harmful ways.
Wish them peace of mind,
Tranquility,
May they be peaceful,
May they be peaceful.
Mount that on your inhalation and repeat several cycles.
As you do,
Imagine that your loved one's mind becoming more peaceful and restful and alert.
May they be peaceful.
As you undergo this process,
Imagining your own heart opening,
Feeling the connection with another living being,
Sharing your mind with them,
Your own peace and tranquility with them.
And may they be happy,
May they be happy.
Imagine just like you,
Your loved one experiences chronic dissatisfaction,
Fleeting happiness that ends in disappointment,
That they have fear and shame and sadness.
How nice it would be if they could share your inner joy and happiness.
So wish them happiness.
May they be happy.
And mount that on your in-breath and repeat several cycles of may they be happy.
And here notice that your habit may be just to hold on to your own happiness and we reverse that by consciously offering happiness to others.
Giving away happiness,
Developing generosity and gratitude.
May they be happy.
Imagine that your loved one begins to access the happiness born of wisdom,
Of understanding interconnectivity,
The happiness that is like a well within.
And may they be free from suffering.
And mount that stanza on your breath and repeat several cycles.
May they be free from suffering.
Here you can reflect on all the suffering that we cause ourselves and others through self-preoccupation,
Anger,
Misperception.
Imagine that your loved one accesses their own intuition of interconnectivity,
Interdependence.
Accesses their own wisdom of cause and effect.
May they be free from suffering.
Now move to a neutral person and imagine someone unfamiliar in your life.
Someone at work or around your home who has some mundane relevancy to you.
The person who gives you coffee in the morning or brings you the mail or picks you up in a taxi.
These are the masses of neutral people in your life.
For a moment choose one person and reflect on their humanity.
The fact that they suffer,
Have joys and fears,
And like you want lasting happiness.
Begin repeating the four stanzas of loving-kindness with this neutral person.
Sharing your life and heart with them.
Bring them closer into your field of awareness.
Bring them closer into your circle of love.
May they be well.
May they be well.
Imagine just like you,
This neutral person experiences discomfort,
Pain,
And illness.
Send them wellness and health and vitality.
Mount this on your in-breath and repeat several cycles.
Imagine any illness or frailty or old age or pain that they may be having instantly dissipates and they feel buoyant and healthy and vital.
May they be well.
And may they be peaceful.
May they be peaceful.
Take that affirmation mounted on your breath and repeat several cycles.
Reflect for a moment now that the neutral person in your life also succumbs to distraction.
Their mind falling prey to aversion and clinging and misperception.
Stealing their peace.
Forcing them to act in inappropriate and harmful ways.
Send them peace of mind.
May they be peaceful.
May their minds be at ease and tranquil.
And may they be happy.
May they be happy.
So mount the affirmation on the breath and repeat several cycles.
Reflect just like you,
Their happiness comes and goes.
That their dissatisfaction is chronic.
That sadness and despair lingers only around the corner.
Wish them the happiness that is ever-present and flowing from within.
May they find true happiness.
And notice if there is any holding on to the happiness,
Keeping it for yourself.
And open your heart and practice generosity of sharing happiness with others.
Of giving it away.
And you can imagine the neutral person tasting happiness and becoming light-hearted and open and buoyant and free.
May they be happy.
And finally may they be free from suffering.
May they be free from suffering.
And take the affirmation and mount it on your breath repeating several cycles.
And you can reflect just like you,
This neutral person is their own worst enemy.
Causing their own unhappiness and pain.
And if they only had the wisdom born of self-introspection,
How happy and free and connected they might be.
May they be free from suffering.
So suddenly imagine that this neutral person has transformed.
By giving them peace of mind and happiness and wisdom,
They suddenly become a cared-for person.
You have become closer with them.
You have increased the circle of your loved one to include a neutral person.
And just notice how you've included a neutral one in the concentric circle of your love.
And finally now imagine a more difficult person in your life.
Someone who causes you insult or injury,
Hardship,
Frustration.
Please pick someone who's more moderately difficult rather than the most difficult person in your life.
And just reflect for a moment that they were harmful or hurtful because of the turbulence in their own mind.
How different it would be if they had peace of mind.
How different it would be if they felt cared for and safe.
Try to heal the relationship by sending them the four affirmations of loving kindness.
May they be well.
May they be well.
Mount this on your in-breath and repeat several cycles.
Notice if your heart begins to shut down with the difficult person.
If you begin to become less generous,
If resentment begins to emerge in your mind.
Here we have to work to open the heart.
Recognize if the difficult person was free from illness and pain and fatigue,
How different they might act.
So send them wellness.
Imagine them becoming softer and healthier and more vibrant.
And may they be peaceful.
May they be peaceful.
So mount the affirmation on the breath and repeat several cycles,
Sending peace and tranquility to the difficult person in your life.
Reflect if their mind was at ease and calm and centered and pleasant.
Reflect if their mind was at ease how they might be pleasant and caring towards you.
If you're holding on to peace and having difficulty sharing,
Just open your heart.
Begin to open your heart sharing the peace and tranquility that you have with the difficult person.
Begin to invite them into the circle of love and kindness.
And may they be happy.
May they be happy.
Bring them to mind.
Notice your reaction.
Notice your aversion,
Your repulsion.
Notice how the great loving kindness in your heart begins to protect itself.
Closes down.
Imagine your difficult person's angry face being replaced by happiness,
Joy,
And a smile.
May they be happy.
Mount the stanza on the breath and repeat several cycles.
Wish that they find the inner wellspring of happiness.
Recognize that their anger comes from not getting what they want.
And imagine if they access their own happiness,
How close the two of you would be.
May they be happy.
And finally,
May the difficult person in your life be free from suffering.
Wish them freedom from suffering.
So mount the affirmation on the breath.
Do several cycles of wishing them freedom.
You can imagine them becoming wise and introspective and gaining self-knowledge,
Freeing them from the burden of their own suffering.
As you open your heart,
Imagine that you're widening the circle of loving kindness,
Which includes your loved one,
A neutral person,
And now this difficult person.
As each person experiences your care and love,
They become more friendly and open and caring in return.
In this meditation we not only develop care and concern for others,
We begin to unlock our own happiness,
The happiness born of sharing with others.
So now take a moment to reflect on the three people in your life.
The loved one,
The neutral one,
The difficult one.
Notice at some fundamental level there is not much difference between all of you.
All human beings want happiness and wish to avoid suffering.
The neutral person could easily become difficult or loved depending on their state of mind and yours.
By sharing happiness and care,
Neutral people could easily become loved ones.
Changing your perspective based on opening your heart,
This is the power of loving kindness.
And when you're ready,
Transition into your dedication.
Commit any insight that you've discovered or moment of warm-heartedness and interconnectivity to your ongoing study,
Reflection,
And practice for your own benefit and for the benefit of all living beings.
