To begin,
Take a few nice deep breaths,
Focusing on letting your belly be soft,
Abdominals relaxed so that your diaphragm can expand and contract easily,
Lungs fill and empty completely,
Breathing deeply but naturally.
And then let your breath settle into a comfortable rhythm,
You don't need to breathe any special way.
But stay aware of your breath,
Especially your out breath.
And call to mind a friend.
Ideally someone who's had some good fortune recently,
Someone that you're happy for.
And imagine them with you or think of their name.
And think about the good thing that's happened to them,
For them.
And let gladness for your friend arise in your heart,
Recognizing their gladness and wanting that to continue.
So in Buddhism,
We recognize the law of karma.
You do a good thing,
You get a good result,
Do a bad thing,
You get a bad result.
So as a result of the law of karma,
Our good fortune arises because of our good actions.
And we can see these things that arise as blessings.
The good that we have done in the past has ripened in the present and that's how we are blessed.
So as you're envisioning your friend,
You can send your warmth or your light to them,
Touching them with the thought,
May they enjoy their blessing,
May they appreciate their good fortune.
May they enjoy their blessings,
The goodness that has risen as a result of their goodness.
May they appreciate their good fortune,
May they be glad.
And then call to mind a loved one.
Now maybe nothing in particular has happened for your loved one,
But that's okay.
They live in a civilized land,
They have loved ones like you.
So just think of some of their blessings.
Be glad for them and extend this wish.
May they enjoy their blessings,
May they appreciate their good fortune.
May they enjoy their blessings,
May they be glad.
And now call to mind a neutral person.
This could be an acquaintance,
Might be someone you don't know very well,
Or just someone that you don't really like or dislike.
You may not know much about them,
You might not know anything about their lives,
What they've done,
What they've experienced.
But just to be born a human being is the result of some past good karma,
Some past good actions.
Only human beings can seek enlightenment.
To be a human where enlightened teachings are available,
That's a blessing.
And if you know them,
They probably live in a place that's reasonably civilized,
Where they have basic necessities met,
And that's a blessing.
So extend this gladness that you felt for your friend and your loved one to them.
May they enjoy their blessings,
May they appreciate their good fortune.
Amen.
Thank you.
And now call to mind your adversary.
A lot of time if someone has done something harmful or if we're not getting along or they're hostile in some way,
We don't really want them to have good fortune.
But the reality is that whatever good fortune they have,
If it's truly good fortune,
If it's truly a blessing,
Is a result of some goodness,
Maybe not what you're encountering.
But again,
Just to be born a human involves some good karma.
So begin to wish that they enjoy their blessings.
It's a blessing to be here and be human.
We always have the capacity to do better.
We don't need to know if everything that happens to someone is the result of direct good actions.
We can't predict how karma will ripen.
Sometimes something can look like a blessing,
But it's really not.
A thief might come into a whole lot of money.
It might seem like good fortune,
But that's actually bad karma if they stole it.
And that will ripen in some unpleasant way for them at some point.
So when we're glad for someone's blessings,
We're glad for the good that has risen from their good.
We don't have to judge which is which,
That's not our job.
People can squander their good karma by bad karma,
We don't need to worry about that.
Our role is to be glad in the gladness in others' good karma,
In others' good fortune.
May they enjoy their blessings,
The good results achieved from their good results,
The good results achieved from their good actions.
May they appreciate their good fortune.
And now think about some of your good fortune.
What kinds of things make your life easier,
Make it possible for you to do what you do,
To make your life more enjoyable?
Take that moment to be aware of those things,
To be glad for your own good fortune.
Sometimes we overlook a lot of our blessings,
So notice that you're blessed.
May I enjoy my blessings.
May I appreciate my good fortune.
May I enjoy my blessings.
And extend this wish to all beings.
May all beings enjoy their blessings.
May all beings appreciate whatever good fortune was attained by them.
And send that thought in all directions to different kinds of beings,
Whatever beings there are.
May I enjoy my blessings.
May I enjoy my blessings.
In this meditation,
Bring your attention back to your heart center,
Aware that this wellspring of gladness is always available to you.
When the bell rings the first time,
Bring your hands together in front of your heart.
Take a moment just to acknowledge your own good fortune.
And when it rings the second time,
Bow slightly in gratitude for having this blessing,
Being able to develop your mind in this way.
