MA 62L The Power Of Kindness

So we start by making sure we're sitting comfortably,

With our back fairly straight,

Without feeling strained or being overarched.

It's fine to sit on a chair or on an arrangement of cushions on the floor.

For this meditation,

It's ideal to be seated in a comfortable and yet upright position,

To allow us to be comfortable enough to sit without moving too much for the entire session.

So we take a few moments to settle into position,

A posture that feels comfortable for us,

And bear in mind that we can readjust our posture at any later time if we need to.

So when we're ready,

We can gently close our eyes.

We begin to take a few deep breaths,

Without undue effort,

Using the full capacity of our lungs.

Taking a deep breath in,

Filling our lungs,

And then breathing out,

Releasing all the stale air.

As we continue to take a few more deep breaths,

We can pay particular attention to the sensation of our breathing in and out,

Feeling the breath as it enters our nostrils,

Fills our chest and abdomen,

And then releases.

And then we allow the breath to become natural,

Without forcing it or controlling it.

We might become aware of how we're feeling without any judgment of this.

We begin to get a feel for the body,

Noticing its shape and position.

Again,

Without any judgment,

We let any tension dissolve,

Allowing our muscles to relax all the way from the top of our head,

Right the way down to the tips of our toes.

And we come gently to an opportunity for relaxing our state of mind.

We take that rare chance to withdraw our attention from any ambient sounds,

Whether they are loud or soft,

Far away or close by.

Additionally,

Our mind can become inundated with thoughts or worries.

So for now,

Let's put to one side as many of those thoughts as we can,

So that we're left with a mind that is less cluttered,

Like a person with no future and no past,

As if all we have is the present moment,

The here and now.

And we might imagine that we are sitting all alone in a vast empty space,

And around us is nothing and no one.

And meanwhile,

If our attention drifts back into thinking,

Then we just let the thoughts settle down towards silence for a few moments,

Gradually gaining mindfulness,

Where being mindful for now means simply being aware,

Conscious and present in the moment.

We might focus our attention for just one moment at a time.

We needn't concern ourselves with what has already gone by,

And there's no need for us to anticipate the future.

When we're ready,

We begin to direct our attention inside the space of our body.

And to help keep our mind in place,

We can imagine a picture of the sun shining,

At least in our mind's eye,

The same sort of sun we might see if we were walking along the shoreline and saw the sun on the horizon,

Shining bright,

Clear and round.

We visualize without making any special effort,

Because in theory it is our natural ability to picture things internally.

Whenever we think of anything,

A picture of that thing will arise in the mind.

So that's the way we visualize the shining sun,

At the center of our body,

Or at a place that we feel is the most comfortable,

Wherever we experience it the most distinctly.

In theory,

It might be at the nostrils,

In the chest,

Or in the abdomen.

We continue to keep our awareness in touch with the inner object the whole of the time.

We rest our attention with the same lightness as a butterfly alighting on a flower petal.

And meanwhile,

If we find our mind wandering,

We calmly bring our attention back to the inner object,

Relocating our awareness there.

And in spite of inner focus during meditation,

Many people find that the stream of thoughts in the mind is almost continuous.

It can sometimes be hard to find a single break in the thoughts,

To give ourselves that sense of peace and quiet that we need.

In such a case,

To open up a space between the thoughts in the mind,

We can make use of something called a mantra,

Which is basically a word that we repeat to ourselves silently,

As if we hear the sound of it coming up from the center of our inner object.

The traditional mantra which comes with this meditation lineage is the words sammah arahant,

Sammah arahant,

Sammah arahant,

And we hear the sound of those words coming up,

As if like a silent music from the center of ourselves,

From the center of the bright object,

Over and over again,

Gently encouraging the mind to become free of thought,

While at the same time linking our awareness more closely with that inner object.

We continue to cultivate the mind in this way,

Maintaining our inner focus,

While keeping our mind free of thoughts,

Lightly and gently,

For a few more moments now in silence,

Until we come to the appropriate time.

If we find our mind wandering,

We shouldn't let it cause us concern,

We shouldn't even give the time of day to whatever has captured our attention,

We just let go of the thought or feeling and return to our awareness.

It's okay if we get distracted by our thoughts,

But we just bring our attention back again to the center.

If our thoughts waver,

We simply acknowledge the thought rather than trying to add to it,

We let it pass and bring our awareness back to the center.

And if we find ourselves emerging from a cloud and realize a lot of time has elapsed since we were last aware,

Then is the moment to consciously practice compassion for ourselves,

However long it has been,

Or however far away our mind has wandered.

We can always just begin again.

Little by little in our meditation,

We will gradually cultivate positive aspects of the mind,

Such as the much undervalued quality of kindness.

There are those who belittle kindness,

Seeming to equate it with lip service to other sorts of righteousness,

Or who see it as a second best to wisdom,

Clarity or incisiveness.

Some people say that kindness is nothing more than the good intentions of those who haven't been able to make any substantial difference in the world.

In fact,

Kindness on the level of the mind is like a thread of meaning,

Where we find out if we can be profoundly kind to ourselves,

While at the same time strongly dedicated to kindness for those around us.

It becomes a movement of the heart,

So deep and subtle,

That is like a movement of the sea close to the ocean floor.

As people get older,

They come to value good-heartedness more and more in those around them.

Kindness is based on the observation that deep down,

There is no one who doesn't want to be happy,

Or at least have the chance to be happy.

And that warm-heartedness of kindness supplants cynicism.

Compassion overcomes indifference to things.

Caring melts away standoffishness.

And it helps to roll back the misapprehension that in a dog-eat-dog world,

It's better to have no close friends,

Because it's too tiring to care for anyone else.

However,

The wisdom of meditation would say,

When watching after oneself,

One watches after others,

And when one watches after others,

One watches after oneself.

So,

By sustaining meditation and having access to our inner world of thoughts and feelings,

We can understand our deeper motivations more and more,

As we begin to catch sight of the fleeting impulses in our own minds.

By cultivating patience,

By renouncing cruelty,

By the tender loving care of others,

Then we find that our self-respect grows and flourishes.

And this is the basis for our growing confidence,

Courage,

And ease of heart.

Because a life suffused with kindness is not just an ideal,

But an action.

So,

Including the power of kindness in our inner cultivation,

We keep our mind gently on track within ourselves for a few more moments in silence,

Until we come to time for some loving-kindness meditation.

And as we come to the final phase of our meditation,

We find that the center of the body becomes much more than a defined area,

But can expand concentrically without limits,

As a direct way to cultivate the power of kindness within us.

And on top of this expansion of inner experience,

We can superimpose silent repetition of certain phrases.

And the phrases are like an offering through the expression of the heart.

Being words,

They will tend to be inadequate,

But that's okay.

Traditionally,

The first recipient of the loving-kindness is always ourselves.

Because the logic is that we have to have loving-kindness for ourselves first,

Before we gain kindness to share with others.

We might extend heartfelt phrases within our mind,

Such as,

May I be safe.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I live at ease.

Where living at ease means that the burdens of day-to-day life,

Like livelihood and family,

May not be an endless struggle to us.

So,

We can use these phrases or other phrases that seem more relevant,

And simply let them resonate from our center,

With enough space and silence,

That it forms a rhythm that's pleasing to us,

Like the song of the heart.

Repeating the affirmation,

May I be healthy,

Over and over again,

Might be dismissed by some as magical thinking,

To expect it to protect us from ever getting sick.

However,

It's more accurate to regard the phrase as a way of surrounding ourselves with beneficence and goodwill,

Instead of disparaging ourselves or carping at ourselves.

And practicing in this way,

Meditation teaches us gentleness,

And an ability to be more easily able to forgive our own mistakes in life,

In order to overcome them.

In the same way,

We widen the inner experience beyond our body,

To all living beings around us.

Together with phrases or affirmations,

Again,

This is not magical thinking,

Because it was once said,

If you find it in your heart to care for someone else,

You have already succeeded in kindness.

Nonetheless,

We don't struggle to fabricate a feeling or sentiment,

But perhaps try out the phrases for size in our mind,

In a way that lifts us out of old dynamics,

And frees us from the limitations of determining circumstances and personalities.

In an adventurous expanse of our own power of kindness,

With the words,

May you live in safety.

May you experience the peace and joy of mental happiness.

May you have the health and freedom from pain that represents physical happiness.

May the elements of your daily life allow you to live with ease and without struggle,

Elevating those living beings from the status of neutral objects,

To those that are loved and appreciated,

Through a capacity for kindness that is intelligent and wise.

Finally,

We extend our love and kindness to its furthest extent with the wish,

May all beings everywhere,

All people,

All creatures,

All those in existence near and far,

Known and unknown.

May all beings be safe,

Be happy,

Be healthy,

Live at ease.

And we continue in this way for the last few moments of our meditation together in silence.