Recollecting Deities for Increasing a Sense of Blessings As the theme of Recollecting Deities is slightly unusual to be taught by a Theravadan Bhikkhu,
It would seem to require something of an introduction.
The detailed instruction is important for a sense of context and understanding.
If you've already done the practice before and listened to the introduction,
Please feel free to fast forward and begin the meditation at 13 and a half minutes.
For Vajrayana practitioners,
Whether visualization of a deity above one's head or even of oneself as a deity is quite common,
Such a meditation will not seem strange at all.
But for many modern Theravada practitioners in the Insight Meditation community,
People who have done many Vipassana-style meditation retreats,
The subject is rarely mentioned.
It is interesting to note,
However,
That among meditation methods recommended by Lord Buddha himself,
Recollection of Deities or Devanusati is one such meditation.
In the Visuddhi Magga,
A respected ancient commentarial text written in Sri Lanka by Bhikkhu Buddhaghosa,
It is described that Devanusati is a skillful meditation that invokes protection from devas and deities,
Inclines the mind to concentration easily and leads to heavenly rebirth.
It also states,
However,
That it is a practice that is most suitable for people with a strong faith faculty.
For those people who have a strong belief in or feel an innate sense of connection to the Divine or the Heaven realms,
Or who have a strong belief in karma and rebirth and in the existence of angels and deities,
This practice might be useful.
But for those who have a strong preference towards cultivating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness in the present moment more exclusively,
This practice might not be so useful.
Even so,
Please consider that other practices can be useful supplements to aid in bringing greater balance.
The reason that I am interested in offering this meditation at this time is that I believe that in this modern world,
Where governments tend to have been corrupted,
The greed of corporations is extreme,
And where the scale of environmental catastrophe occurring almost everywhere is so disturbing,
I suspect that many people are currently feeling disconnected from sources of goodness and blessing and are lacking a sense of optimism or hope.
News of war,
Terrorism,
And strange new diseases can also add to a sense of despair.
I do believe that by inclining the mind to become more aware of the benevolent beings that do exist in the conventional universe,
That this might be one way to elicit feelings of greater well-being.
There are forces of goodness in our universe,
Just as there are forces of darkness.
Similarly,
With our minds,
There are good and dark forces in there as well.
For those of us who aspire to Enlightenment,
It is important to understand that Enlightenment is a process.
It usually occurs in stages and takes several lives to be fully realized.
We need to understand the nature of conditions and work with the natural laws within conventional reality.
I'd like to give an example from the life of the Lord Buddha himself.
You may recall,
If you've read the life of the Buddha,
That shortly after his Enlightenment,
Lord Buddha was reviewing what it was that he had realized,
And in seeing how subtle it was,
How difficult to realize,
How counter-intuitive compared to the assumptions of most worldly beings,
He felt for a moment,
Disinclined to teach,
Realizing that to do so would be difficult.
It is said that a powerful Brahma deity,
An angel on the level of the very high and subtle Brahma realms,
Heard Lord Buddha's thoughts and became very concerned.
He instantly descended from the heavens and appeared before the Buddha.
After paying respects to the Lord,
He beseeched him to please teach.
He said,
Lord,
Scan the world with your divine eye.
You will see there are those who can be trained and who can realize what it is that you have discovered.
Lord Buddha did scan the world and saw that indeed it was true.
Then he decided to go ahead and teach,
Much to our great fortune.
It is interesting to note that this story has been relayed by the venerable Arahant Upali,
Master of the monks' disciplinary rules.
There are many examples in the suttas where the existence of heavenly beings is mentioned as a matter of fact.
Lord Buddha explains that belief in karma and rebirth is a component of conventional right view.
It is correct and skillful.
The beings in the heaven realms are beings who have cultivated vast goodness.
Their goodness and merits led them to that state.
A number of these beings have already attained to a level of enlightenment.
This is the case for Saka,
The king of the deities in the heaven of the 33 or Dautimsa heaven.
It is also the case for Brahma Sahampati.
Once the Lord Buddha was contemplating the qualities that led to his enlightenment under the goats herd,
Banyan tree,
Not far from the Bodhi tree.
As he was reviewing the events,
He realized that five qualities in particular when cultivated and made much of,
Lead to the deathless and merge in the deathless.
The qualities are faith,
Energy,
Mindfulness,
Concentration and wisdom.
Once again the Brahma Deva Sahampati overheard these thoughts and instantaneously descended to earth.
He said,
Lord,
It is wonderful and marvelous and it is true.
The passions faded in my own mind when I cultivated these qualities under the guidance of the previous Buddha Kasapa.
We can deduce from this conversation that Brahma Sahampati has in all likelihood attained to one of the levels of enlightenment,
Possibly a Sakatakami or once returner,
Living out the remainder of his days in a heavenly realm before attaining to final Nirvana.
We can also see from this that there are indeed beautifully minded radiant beings who work alongside Buddhas,
Wishing for our well-being,
Our safety and even for our enlightenment.
Another interesting story,
This one from a commentarial source,
Is the story of the occasion immediately following the Buddha's enlightenment.
Apparently,
Just after the Lord was enlightened,
Many devas gathered to rejoice,
But then Mara's army,
The forces of darkness and delusion,
Gathered with such might that all of the devas fled.
So frightening and menacing a sight they were.
They were throwing spears and other weapons which evidently turned to flowers and then fell elegantly to the ground as they came closer to the Buddha's now fully purified mind and body.
Mara then approached the Lord and said,
You are not enlightened.
After which the Lord said,
Yes I am.
Mara retorted once again,
No you're not and don't tell anyone.
After this it is said that the Lord Buddha then called the earth goddess,
Mother Torani,
To be witness to his enlightenment.
The earth goddess,
Who we are told had previously been the Buddha's mother in many past lives,
Appeared at his request.
She then wrung out from her hair a massive amount of water,
A torrent of water like a flood,
And washed away Mara and his hordes.
This water is said to be representative of the enormous amount of merit that the Buddha had accumulated along his path to Buddhahood as a budding bodhisatta.
After this the Buddha touched his hand to the earth and called the earth and the earth goddess,
Mother Torani,
To be witness to his attainment of the unexcelled and ultimate supreme self enlightenment.
It had indeed been accomplished.
Many people will say,
But Ajahn,
This is just commentarial.
It's symbolism.
It's mythology.
Well,
Maybe it is,
But maybe it isn't.
For myself,
I suspect that there is some truth to this.
It is important to understand that the Buddha's enlightenment was his enlightenment,
That was his accomplishment,
And even so the forces of darkness still tried to cause obstructions.
In understanding the nature of conventional reality,
We have to work with the forces of goodness and be well aware of the forces of darkness.
We need the forces of goodness to rally behind us and by our side.
This is exemplified by the Lord Buddha's statement to the Venerable Ananda that wise spiritual companions are the entirety of the holy life.
We need Kalyanamitta,
Or wise and virtuous spiritual friends.
In the following meditation we are going to be visualizing the Mother Earth Goddess radiating her blessings around the world.
We are also going to be visualizing the Brahmadeva Sahamputti radiating his Metta from the Brahma realms above.
I will also include Maitreya Bodhisatta,
The future Buddha,
But we will be imagining him in the form of a celestial Bodhisatta residing on the level of Tushita heaven,
Radiating his powerful and pure Metta to all beings on the planet as well.
For those who have some faith in Devas,
You will probably find this meditation uplifting.
For people of a more doubting nature,
It might not be so useful.
I should add that the images contained in this meditation have been extracted from stories I've read and things that I've heard.
I am not claiming this to be my vision.
It is a creative exercise intended to help people open their hearts to the presence of the blessings of Devas.
In general,
For many modern people,
Our pantheon of deities has become very diminished.
For example,
Many modern Christians wonder whether Christ is an energy or a being.
Modern Western Buddhists also wonder whether Devas are real or rather metaphors for states of mind.
Probably they are both.
I've noticed that whenever I have attended teachings or ceremonies with His Holiness the Dalai Lama,
That whenever he has given the ceremony of taking refuge to the Buddha,
The Dharma and the Sangha to large audiences,
Sometimes 10,
000 people or more,
He was mindful that those in attendance were not just Buddhists.
He encouraged the Christians to visualize Jesus and Mary above their heads while doing the ceremony,
And similarly for the Hindus.
He encouraged them to visualize the deities and teachers who they revered,
Referring to this as the merit field.
This struck me as being very skillful,
And although he was aware that many modern Buddhists are skeptical,
He encouraged those Buddhists with faith to visualize their teachers as well as celestial bodhisattvas and even Buddhas above their heads as well.
The feeling in the auditorium at such times is always very uplifting.
Broad smiles linger on the faces of attendees long after the ceremony.
In my travels around the world,
I've noticed that the cultures where people have a strong belief in or awareness of heavenly beings are the cultures where people smile the most.
Think of the native Balinese,
The Thais and the Tibetans.
It seems that being mindful of devas and cognizant of heaven realms is conducive to well-being and happiness.
There's something about opening the heart to include the existence of large numbers of patient,
Benevolent,
Kind and forgiving beings that is conducive to greater joy,
Hope and optimism.
For myself,
As a practicing Buddhist who also studies the suttas,
When I noticed that the very same suttas that contain teachings pertaining to the methods and techniques that lead to liberation also frequently mention the existence of certain deities as a matter of fact,
I for one am willing to believe that they exist,
Conventionally speaking,
And feel happy to visualize them above my head.
These matters of course always come down to personal choice.
Either you feel interested or willing to do so or not and either way is fine.
Certainly I hope that some people find the following meditation useful.
Recollecting deities for the sake of increasing the sense of being blessed.
The images that will be introduced later in the following meditation are an approximation from accounts that I have read and heard but are not direct visions of mine.
We will be using these images in a creative exercise to become more aware of and receptive to the blessings radiated from benevolent beings in parallel and superior realms.
There are many more subtle-bodied beings living in realms that are parallel to ours.
Although the bodies of the beings in the lower heaven realms are still considered to be form bodies,
The forms in these realms are of a lighter and finer type than humans.
It is said that there is more pleasure and beauty in these realms too.
Increasingly so,
The higher the realms ascend.
The beings in such realms are enjoying the results of powerful merits produced in their past lives.
We will begin as usual with some body sweeping and breath meditation.
While establishing mindfulness in the body and mindfulness of breathing,
Try to be receptive to these possibilities.
Simply aware of the body in a sitting posture.
Aware that you are sitting with a straight back,
Upright but not tense or stiff.
Bringing the awareness to know the feelings in the area of the face,
The feelings on the skin,
Including the area at the top of the head,
The back of the head and including the ears.
Simply knowing the feelings on the skin.
Moving the awareness down the neck,
The front and the back.
Now including the upper shoulders.
Releasing any tension there might be.
Moving the awareness down the chest and then down the upper part of the back,
Including the upper arms.
Moving the awareness down the stomach area and then the abdomen.
Then moving around the back and simply knowing the feelings on the surface area of the lower back.
Now include the elbows,
The lower arms and your hands.
Feeling one hand resting on another.
Having a felt sense for the body in the sitting posture and knowing the entire upper body with a broad awareness.
Just knowing the feelings on the surface of the skin.
Bring the awareness now to know the feelings of the bottom pressing against the mat or the cushion or the chair.
Aware of a sense of pressure and then including the groin.
Then the upper legs,
Left and right thigh,
Including the knees,
Including the shins and the calves.
Knowing the feelings around the area of the ankles.
And now including the feet and the toes.
Simply knowing the body in the sitting posture.
Establishing present moment body based awareness.
Gently move your awareness now to the tip of the nose.
Try to feel the feelings when the breath comes in the body at the tip of the nose.
Knowing the in breath and the out breath.
Try to know the feeling of the breath as it comes in the body.
Through the nose,
Down through the chest and in the abdomen area.
Knowing the feelings involved in the entire in breath and then knowing the out breath,
The entire out breath.
Nose,
Chest,
Abdomen.
Abdomen,
Chest,
Nose.
Knowing one breath at a time,
Moment by moment.
Establishing a fresh awareness on the in breath and with the out breath putting things down.
Thoughts about the past,
The future,
Other places,
Other people.
Allowing the breath to be the mind's object,
The object of meditation.
Using the word buddho,
The two syllables budd and do,
Can be very useful in helping us to stay with our meditation object.
It's a gentle and skillful way to restrain the thinking mind and help to keep it within the parameters of the meditation.
The Buddha,
The one who knew ultimate truth,
Is awake,
Aware.
Buddha means mindfully aware,
Awake in the present moment.
Breathing in noting budd and breathing out noting do.
Breathing in noting budd and breathing out noting do.
Try to maintain a clear awareness of breathing as you are informed by the words.
Some of the Aboriginal people of Australia in times gone by could see huge rainbow-coloured serpent creatures living in mountains and rivers.
And the sailors of old,
Perhaps while on long journeys when the mind became deeply quiet and still,
Occasionally also saw huge mystical dragon-like creatures out in the sea.
In Thailand,
Great meditation masters have relayed stories to their students about the earthbound devas who live in floating mansions towards the tops of trees.
Their fine homes literally float,
Buoyed up by the power of past merits.
Monks,
Nuns and laypeople with developed meditation can see these beings as plain as day.
On occasions in the past when especially virtuous monks were travelling on long journeys through remote regions,
Mysterious,
Well-dressed and fine-mannered beings would sometimes appear around the time of the arms round,
Not far from a very large tree.
Impeccably polite,
They would then graciously offer some especially fragrant rice and delicate sweetmeats to the noble wandering ascetic.
Some of these monks told stories of how they had seen such beings wander back towards a large tree and then literally disappear from sight.
Still aware of the breathing,
Simply becoming receptive to the existence of other realms and the existence of other beings.
Breathing in,
Bhut,
Breathing out,
Do,
Knowing the feelings of the in and out breathing.
Breathing in,
Bhut,
Breathing out,
Do,
Knowing the feelings of the in and out breathing.
Imagine now a magical forest in a hidden valley in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Perhaps in the regions of Nepal or Bhutan.
See majestic,
Ancient towering trees with grand old vines hanging from their limbs.
The long soft lush grass underneath is dappled in golden sunlight.
There are many wild flowers and flowering shrubs like rhododendrons in full bloom.
Giant bamboos sway gently in the warm and fragrant breeze.
This is a forest in a parallel realm,
Existing in the very same space as ours.
These realms exist easily side by side,
As easily as one of your hands resting on the palm of the other.
In this sacred forest there are no threatening creatures.
The beings here live together in harmony and are deeply at ease.
There are deer eating lush grass at their leisure,
Birds singing melodic songs and butterflies dancing in the fragrant temperate air.
Imagine now a lean and fine featured female form,
The very picture of grace and health.
Although she is a similar size to a human,
You recognise that she is not,
For her radiant aura blazes effortlessly like the sun.
She is dressed in fine brocade silks in bold colours,
Yet with subtly ornate designs.
She is bedecked in layers of fine gold chains,
Bracelets,
Anklets and jewels,
In the manner of an Indian princess of ancient times.
Her lean and perfect form is emerald green in colour,
Yet transparent like a magnificent jewel.
And curiously and wonderfully her body actually radiates light from within.
This goddess is Mother Torany,
The Earth Mother Goddess.
She is walking from her palace in the centre of this enchanted forest towards the root of her favourite grand old tree,
Which is 5 billion years old.
Once sitting in a meditation posture at the root of the tree,
She will place her mind in a very particular type of absorption.
That is,
It will be absorbed in the auspicious state of radiating health giving life force,
A special type of pure metta.
To all beings currently living on this planet,
Her love is equal for all of her children and reaches far and wide.
Imagine now that you too are sitting in your favourite natural place on this earth,
Aware of in and out breathing and aware of deities.
Aware of the in-breath Bhut,
Aware of the out-breath Do.
The goddess is now sitting in meditation posture.
The light from her mind now stretches out evenly and covers the entire globe.
The light is green like fresh new leaves,
Yet transparent.
And it is tinged with gold,
Like the morning sunlight.
Try to feel the loving kindness of the Earth Goddess,
Bathe your body and mind with fresh,
Health giving,
Life affirming,
Loving energy.
Aware of the in and out breathing and aware of the blessings of the Mother Earth Goddess.
Aware of one in-breath,
Aware of one out-breath,
Mindfully knowing each breath,
Breathing input and breathing out Do.
In thousands of past lives,
The Earth Goddess had loved to create beautiful gardens and she took excellent care of them with meticulous love.
Then as she learned progressively deeper states of meditation in consecutive lives,
She continued to maintain a particular loving regard for the beings on this planet.
She would radiate her metta to the humans,
The animals,
Fish,
Birds and trees all around the globe.
Thus she developed her deep karmic connection to this world and to all of us.
Rather than ascend to a lofty heaven realm far removed from the Earth,
Mother Torany has chosen to live at one with this great planet.
Her commitment is one of great love.
The Earth Goddess is aware of everything that occurs on this vast Earth.
So powerful is her mind.
Even our Lord Buddha called upon her to be the special soul witness to his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and to testify to the power of the virtue that had been accumulated by the Bodhisattva over four incalculable periods and 100,
000 aeons.
And bear witness she did,
Releasing a torrent of water greater than the mighty Ganges,
Washing away the hordes of Mara at that time.
After this the Lord Buddha touched the Earth,
Declaring the supreme enlightenment.
Mother Earth wholeheartedly rejoiced.
Mindful of in and out breathing and mindful of the loving kindness of Mother Torany,
The Earth Goddess.
Breathing in,
Bhut,
Breathing out,
Do,
Knowing the feelings of the in and out breathing.
The Mother Earth Goddess holds the entire ecosystem in her heart.
Whenever a species becomes extinct,
It is said that Mother Earth sheds a tear.
But her heart does not fall into sadness,
For she understands the laws of nature.
There are seasons of degeneration and seasons of regeneration.
When virtuous people fall unwell,
Sincere prayers to the Earth Goddess make herbal medicines more effective,
And diseases can frequently disappear.
As the Earth Goddess is meditating now,
Radiating her Metta around the planet,
Try to see this life-giving light enveloping the Earth and allow it to flow through every cell.
Mindful of the in and out breathing and mindful of the blessings of deities.
Knowing the feelings of the in-breath and knowing the feelings of the out-breath.
Nose-chest-abdomen,
Abdomen-chest-nose.
Breathing input,
Breathing out,
Do.
Nose-chest-abdomen,
Abdomen-chest-nose.
Nose-chest-abdomen,
Abdomen-chest-nose.
I wonder if the Heaven realms are higher up in space,
Or if they simply exist in the very same space,
Yet are higher in vibration.
Parallel realms.
It is difficult to say.
Conventionally speaking,
Students of Buddhist cosmology understand that there are many realms above and many realms below.
Imagine then that in a heavenly realm at least seven tiers above,
There is currently living a wonderful devata by the name of Brahma Sahampati,
Residing in an especially subtle and fine Brahma realm along with only other Brahma divinities.
The Brahma-devas spend their time in profound states of mental collectedness,
Experiencing indescribably subtle forms of pure mental joy.
These beings were spontaneously reborn into this realm at the time of the death of their past life due to the result of powerful states of stabilised meditation.
Most of these beings are absorbed in the subtle joy of their meditative equipoise.
Perhaps for huge expanses of time.
But some of these Brahma-devas remain mindful of us human beings and frequently radiate loving kindness towards us.
Their bodies are made of the most subtle type of form,
Which looks like a ray or facet of light.
They have four faces and four arms,
Yet are without gender,
Being beyond all sexual conceptions.
To get a sense of the colour and appearance of their form,
Imagine a tall,
Thin glass jar filled with honey,
With a bright flame placed behind.
Imagine Brahma Sahampati's body looking similar to this,
Yet without weight and exquisitely refined.
The four faces and four arms represent the loving kindness,
Compassion,
Appreciative joy and tranquil serene equipoise that has become this being's nature.
Each face is smiling serenely.
While still aware of your breathing,
You are becoming more mindful of the existence of Brahma deities.
Aware of one in-breath,
Nose,
Chest,
Abdomen.
Aware of one out-breath,
Abdomen,
Chest,
Nose.
Breathing in Bhut,
Breathing out Do,
Aware of the breathing.
Brahma Sahampati kindly beseeched our Lord Buddha to turn the wheel of Dhamma when he overheard a momentary thought of inaction,
And several other times he appeared to rejoice in a wise thought and realisations of the Lord,
Stating that he himself had developed a certain stage of liberation by practising in accordance with these insights when he was a bhikkhu taught by the previous Buddha,
Kasapa.
How wonderful it is to know that there are devata who are established on the path to liberation who still regard the humans below with tender regard and concern.
Given that there have been many past Buddhas and the lifespan of devas is very long,
There must be hundreds,
Thousands,
Tens of thousands or perhaps even millions of such beings.
Mindfully living out the remaining years of their long lives before peacefully passing into final Nirvana,
A state of unshakable peace completely devoid of suffering.
While still aware of your breathing you are becoming more mindful of the existence of Brahman deities.
Knowing one in breath,
Bhut,
Knowing one out breath,
Do.
Bringing to mind the kind Brahma Sahampati as well as other Brahma devas,
Please consider while the energy that permeates from these exceptionally ethereally fine bodied beings is subtle,
It is also powerful and vast.
In fact it is immeasurable.
Wherever you are meditating now imagine that a translucent gold coloured light is showering down from above and bathing your body and mind with the purest energies of love,
Compassion,
Joy and tranquil serenity.
At any time of the night or day,
On any given day there are Brahma devas spreading loving kindness to all beings,
Including you.
Aware of the blessings of Brahma deities and aware of the in and out breathing.
Knowing the feelings of the breath as it passes through the nose,
Chest and abdomen and out from the abdomen,
Chest and nose,
Breathing in Bhut and breathing out Do.
Om.
If you like,
You can still be aware of the blessings spreading up from the earth below emanating from the vast and radiant loving mind of the Mother Earth Goddess translucent emerald green tinged with vibrant gold while at the same time being aware of the pervasive translucent golden light streaming down from the immeasurably kind Brahmadayities above allow the loving kindness of these subtle-bodied beings to bathe your mind with pure love aware of the blessings of deities and aware of the in-and-out breathing breathing in but breathing out though if you can't actually feel anything never mind we are simply being willing to receive the matter of others as we cultivate our own maintaining the awareness of the breathing you in the next phase of the meditation we will be bringing to mind the image of metria bodhisattva and to sheet a level Davis as this is a long meditation you can choose to end the session in a few minutes and come back to expand the practice later you can turn off the audio in a few moments and continue meditating on your own if you do decide to end the session now please do take a few minutes re-establishing a clear awareness of the breathing and a felt grounded sense of the physical body simply sitting you may like to dedicate the merits of your practice to all beings as well it is said that our Lord Buddha spent his final life before enlightenment in the Tushita heaven realm in the heaven of the contented apparently this realm exists 40 years higher than ours above the more sensual heavenly realms yet below the realms of subtle mental absorption the Davis in this realm are spontaneously born upon large radiant lotus these represent the great merits accumulated the Tushita Davis live in a state of profound contentment and harmony the very air itself in this realm is said to smell like the finest sandalwood and rose we are told that the mother of Lord Buddha in his final life now currently resides here as well imagine how radiant and beautiful the Bodhisatta that became our Buddha must have been after accumulating special merits and perfecting noble qualities for millions of lives the radiance and beauty must have been stunning his radiant thousand petaled lotus throne must have filled the heavens with a bright and joy-giving light still aware of the in and out breathing becoming more mindful of the Tushita Davis aware of the feelings of the in breath aware of the feelings of the out breath the natural breath breathing in but breathing out though our suitors tell us that the next Buddha in our world will be the Buddha Maitreya the foremost quality of Maitreya is a vast and expansive pure loving kindness he is so close to his full enlightenment that the Thai people already call him Arya Maitreya Maitreya the noble one for the purpose of our meditation here imagine now that Arya Maitreya is already in the last life before his final human birth see him regally sitting on his lotus throne just as the previous Bodhisatta must have done Maitreya Bodhisatta has so much meta that his face is always smiling with great love and great joy for he knows that he will personally liberate millions of fortunate beings his graceful translucent body is a bright and whitish gold the translucent clarity of perfectly clear wisdom the warm and rich gold of boundless and impartial loving kindness and the white of immaculate virtue purified over many thousands of lives all of these qualities are gathered together and manifest in this noble being in this celestial form the Bodhisatta also wears fine golden ornaments inlaid with coral turquoise lapis and amber colored jewels all of these jewels represent perfected qualities and they radiate spontaneous rainbow colored lights while still aware of the in-and-out breathing becoming mindful of Arya Maitreya the future Buddha breathing in but breathing out though mindfully aware of the breathing imagine now that Maitreya Bodhisatta has crossed his legs in the meditation posture he is spreading his blessings throughout the entire universe imagine these golden white rays bathing your body and mind as they bathe the minds of all other beings as well while still aware of the in-and-out breathing becoming mindful of Arya Maitreya's meta blessing knowing the feeling of the in-breath knowing the feeling of the out-breath put though Surrounding Maitreya are thousands of other Tushita Devas.
They sit on lotus seats in concentric circles with the great noble being in the centre.
These are some of the beings who will become fully enlightened when the future Buddha teaches the Dhamma.
They are also in their last heavenly birth,
Preceding their final birth as humans.
Their merits and qualities are so developed that everything has already been set in place.
Also possessing vast loving-kindness,
They join Arya Maitreya in radiating their blessings now.
Boundless,
Impartial loving-kindness radiated in all directions to all beings filling space.
Allow these meta-radiations to permeate your body and mind.
And allow yourself to smile for a few moments like Maitreya and his disciples.
While still aware of the in and out breathing,
Being mindful of the Tushita Deva's meta-blessings.
Aware of its in-breath,
Aware of its out-breath,
Mindful of breathing.
And be mindful of the Tushita Deva's meta-blessings.
And be mindful of the Tushita Deva's meta-blessings.
And be mindful of the Tushita Deva's meta-blessings.
The Tushita Heaven Realm is much larger than our world.
As vast as the empty sky.
The high level Bodhisattvas who reside here for some of their lifetimes have cultivated their meditations for hundreds of thousands of lives.
When they concentrate and meditate and radiate their loving kindness and compassion,
It can spread throughout several universes.
These beings have cultivated these immeasurable qualities,
Boundless qualities,
To a truly immeasurable degree.
If you are familiar with other celestial Bodhisattvas,
You can also include them here now.
See them radiating their blessings from another part of the vast Tushita Heaven Realm.
Perhaps Manjushri,
With perfect wisdom.
The Manta-Bhadra,
Giver of the most incredible offerings.
Avalokiteshvara,
With boundless compassion.
In different forms as you prefer.
Perhaps Chenrezig,
Or Kuan Yin,
Or Tara,
With equally boundless compassion.
You can include some or all of these,
Or just Aryamaitriya as before.
Whatever helps you to feel aware of and open to the goodness of these kind and mighty beings destined for Buddhahood.
Allowing the virtue of the future Buddhasmetha to bless your mind stream now.
Aware of in and out breathing,
And aware of celestial Bodhisattvas.
Breathing in Bhut,
And breathing out Do.
Avalokiteshvara,
Ok Timati,
And in Vice Caniva earnings constant in your body.
Do not forget them.
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Recollecting again for a few moments now the Mother Earth Goddess,
Rejoicing in her love and kindness,
And recollecting Brahma Sahampati and the other Brahma Devas once more,
Appreciating their pure love,
And Arya Maitreya and the other celestial bodhisattvas,
Their boundless wisdom,
Purity and compassion.
Hopefully by this stage you are feeling both blessed and appreciative of the goodness in the worlds.
Recollecting the qualities of these very developed beings can truly stretch our habitual sense of limit and contraction.
It can inspire the mind to open up to new potential,
New possibilities.
Now returning the awareness to just oneself for a while.
Try to join in the spirit of the Devas by practicing some loving kindness meditation for the next few minutes or so,
In conjunction with the in and out breathing.
Breathing in,
May I be well.
Breathing out,
May all beings be well.
Breathing in,
Bathing this body and mind inwardly with loving kindness,
And breathing out,
Radiating meta outwards in all directions.
May I be well.
May all beings everywhere be well.
As we approach the end of this meditation session,
It would be good to establish once again a sense of being truly mindful and grounded in the body in the present.
Truly knowing the feelings of an entire in-breath,
Nose,
Chest and abdomen.
Similarly with each out-breath,
Knowing intimately the feeling of the out-breath in its entirety as it passes from the abdomen,
Chest and nose.
Using the syllables,
Bhut Do as before.
Breathing in,
Bhut.
Breathing out,
Do.
Mindful,
Awake,
Aware.
Breathing in,
Bhut.
Breathing out,
Do.
In one and a half more minutes,
We will end the meditation session.
Recollecting that practicing meditation in these ways produces good karma and great merit.
You may wish to dedicate the merits now,
Perhaps to relatives,
Teachers,
Or all beings everywhere as you prefer.
This is the end of our session for today.
Thank you.
