Buddhist Belief – Metta Meditation — Loving Kindness
“The real differences around the world today are not between Jews and Arabs; Protestants and Catholics; Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. The real differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past; between those who open their arms and those who are determined to clench their fists.”~~~ William J. Clinton
This time of year has always been difficult for me. In fact, I always thought of myself as someone who had the S.A.D. syndrome– Seasonal Affective Disorder. My mental attitude this year seems to be starting out in the same vein — you know — “Here we go again — another few weeks of hectic chaos and wild commercialism.”
Then my thoughts proceeded to the things I write about and I said, “No! Not this time. This is the season of peace!” I don’t have to buy into all the craziness. There’s no good reason why I can’t be a person of peace. Remember the wonderful song, “Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.” With that in mind, I decided for this posting I would offer a meditation which could, if practiced by enough of us, be a great way to let “Peace Begin With Us!”
Read on — You’ll see where I’m going with this …..
” Let your love flow outward through the universe, To its height, its depth, its broad extent, A limitless love, without hatred or enmity. Then as you stand or walk, Sit or lie down, As long as you are awake, Strive for this with a one-pointed mind; Your life will bring heaven to earth.”~~~ Sutta Nipata
In keeping with so much of what we’ve been writing about these past several weeks relating to the basic teachings of Buddhist Belief. — and in keeping with the beginning of the holiday season here in the United States, I’d like to offer a meditation called, “Loving-Kindness Meditation — or the Metta Meditation. I’ll get back to the regular posts soon — I’m going to take a short break before we continue with the Eightfold Path.
Before we start, I have included this meditation as a podcast I recorded for those who would rather this be a Guided Meditation, where you can close your eyes and listen to it, rather than one you would read yourself. Just double-click the link to hear the podcast….
This is an ancient meditation taught by the Buddha himself, and is designed to bring unconditional love to your Self, your loved ones and even learn to send unconditional love to beings throughout the universe. It will help to bring peace to situations taking place in your life. It will also allow you to look at the world in a more positive light.
Here’s how it goes …..
You can begin by sitting down in a comfortable position and closing your eyes. Sit with your back erect, without being strained or over-arched. Just be comfortable. You can sit in a chair or on the floor, whichever works best for you.
Bring your attention to your breath. Take a few slow, deep breaths. In .. and out. In … and out. As you exhale, imagine you are breathing out all negative thoughts and emotions. Breathe in pure light, kindness, generosity and love — breathe out anger, breathe out any thoughts of harm to others or yourself or feelings of fear or failure. Relax your body. Feel your energy settle into your heart and into the moment, the present, the Now.
See if certain phrases emerge from your heart that express what you wish most deeply for yourself, not just for today, but in an enduring way. Phrases that are big enough and general enough so you can ultimately wish them for all of life, for all beings — everywhere.
The phrases of loving-kindness are things like,
“May I live in safety. May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I live with ease.”
You can gently repeat these phrases over and over again. You can have your mind rest in the phrases and whenever you find your attention has wandered, don’t worry about it. When you recognize you’ve lost touch with the moment, see if you can gently let go and begin again repeating the phrases.
“May I live in safety. May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I live with ease.”
Call to mind somebody that you care about — someone close to you — someone for whom you have positive feelings — perhaps a family member, a good friend, or someone who’s helped you in your life, or someone who inspires you. You can visualize them, say their name to yourself. Get a feeling for their presence, imagine them being with you now, here in the present, and then direct the phrases of loving-kindness to them.
“May you live in safety, May you be happy, May you be healthy, May you live with ease.”
Call to mind someone you know who’s having a difficult time right now. They’ve experienced a loss, or a painful feeling, or a difficult situation. It may be someone you know — or it may be someone who you’ve heard about. If somebody like that comes to mind, bring them here into the present with you.
Imagine them sitting in front of you. Say their name if you know it. Get a feeling for their presence and offer the phrases of loving-kindness to them.
“May you live in safety. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you live with ease.”
Now, think of someone who plays some role in your life, someone you don’t know very well, perhaps someone for whom you have no particular feeling for, or against. Maybe the checkout person at the supermarket where you shop. It could be the gas-station attendant, somebody that you see periodically. If someone like that comes to mind, imagine them sitting in front of you, and offer these same phrases of loving-kindness to them. This could also apply to someone for whom you may be harboring negative feelings.
“May you live in safety. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you live with ease.”
When we connect into these phrases, when we aim our hearts in this way, we’re opening ourselves to the possibility of including, rather than excluding — of connecting, rather than overlooking — of caring, rather than being indifferent. And ultimately, we open in this way to all beings everywhere, without distinction, without separation.
“May all beings live in safety. May all beings be happy. May all beings be healthy. May all beings live with ease.”
All people, all animals, all creatures, all those in existence, near and far, known to us and unknown to us. All beings on the earth, in the air, in the water. Those being born, those who are dying.
“May all beings everywhere live in safety. May all beings everywhere be happy. May all beings everywhere be healthy. May all beings everywhere live with ease.”
You feel the energy of this loving-kindness meditation extending infinitely in front of you, and to either side of you, behind you, above you and below you, surrounding you. As the heart extends in a boundless way, leaving no one out —
“May all beings everywhere live in safety. May all beings everywhere be happy. May all beings everywhere be healthy. May all beings everywhere live with ease.”
And when you feel ready, you can open your eyes and see if you can bring this wonderful, loving energy with you throughout the day, everyday.
Namaste — Be in Peace.
After a short break, we’ll get back to our articles about the Eightfold Path of Buddhist Belief.
====================================================
For those who wanted me to repeat the links for the books I’ve mentioned in the last few articles, here they are again — And, I have added another wonderful book by Sharon Salzberg. Here’s some information about it. I highly recommend all these books to you:
Sharon Salzberg — The Kindness Handbook
“It takes boldness, even audacity, to step out of our habitual patterns and experiment with a quality like kindness–to work with it and see just how it might shift and open up our lives. This book is an invitation to do just that.” – From The Kindness Handbook — “The Kindness Handbook
Eckhart Tolle’s amazing best seller, “A New Earth”
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s wonderful book, “My Stroke of Insight” — “Nirvana is just a breath away!”
And this one by Sharon Salzberg and is entitled: “A Heart as Wide as the World: Living with Mindfulness, Wisdom and Compassion“.
=====================================================
Always remember this wonderful quote from Buddha ….
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”~~~ Buddha
Shanti everyone, … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”~~~ Buddha
Have a peaceful day!! —
Ron Rink
http://www.theleaderinside.com
http://www.wecould2.com
http://www.buddhistbelief.com
Tags: Buddhist Belief, Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, First Noble Truth, Four Noble Truths, Second Noble Truth, Third Noble Truth, Nirvana, inner peace, peace, attachment, detachment, Fourth Noble Truth, Eightfold Path, karma, meditation, loving kindness, metta
Metta Loving Kindness Meditation
Tags: attachment, Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, Buddhist Belief, detachment, Eightfold Path, First Noble Truth, Four Noble Truths, Fourth Noble Truth, inner peace, karma, loving kindness, Meditation, metta, Nirvana, Peace, Second Noble Truth, Third Noble Truth
May 17th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
The meditation reads: May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be health, may you live with ease.
I am trying to work this into a poem about spirituality.
Is it acceptable to offer:
May you be safe,
May you be healthy,
May you be at peace,
May you be happy.
Notice I changed the order.
And I have used the words at peace rather than at ease.
OK?
May 20th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Hi Larry —
One of the beautiful things about Buddhist meditations is, at least to my way of thinking, there are no rules. I have seen many, many variations on the theme of the Metta Meditation. The object is to fill your universe with good thoughts for yourself and for others.
I really like your words — and would look forward to seeing your poem.
Be well — be in peace,
Ron Rink