The pali word metta is a multisignificant term meaning lovingkindness, friendliness, goodwill, benevolence, fellowship, amity, concord, inoffensiveness and nonviolence. In metta meditation we train in opening our hearts through the repetition of four heartfelt wishes that we send first to ourselves and then outward to an everexpanding community, until we are able to hold the entire world in the lovingkindness of our attention. This lesson has taken a while and is admittedly still a work in progress, but it is powerful nonetheless. Practicing the lovingkindness meditation inclines our hearts and our minds towards a greater sense of kindness and compassion, both towards the world and towards ourselves. Kids metta 6week applied lovingkindness meditation for. It is a commitment we make, a practice we cultivate, and a lifestyle that we live. Apr 06, 2019 loving kindness meditation metta bhavana can be the antidote to feelings such as resentment, anger, illwill and hatred which can appear as a mental hindrance vyapada. We live a life of loving kindness so that all beings may be happy.
Jun, 2010 i read a lovely post on practising lovingkindness meditation in the huffington post last week. As ive said, we dont necessarily like or approve of everyone to whom we offer lovingkindness. The lovingkindness meditation, sometimes known as a metta prayer, is traditionally done for successively wider circles of caring, beginning with yourself see a simple form of the metta prayer. These steps are for practicing loving kindness for yourself. Learn about the history of metta, read the buddhas words on lovingkindness, and find free guided metta meditations. May 31, 2019 practicing the loving kindness meditation inclines our hearts and our minds towards a greater sense of kindness and compassion, both towards the world and towards ourselves. Loving kindness is a sense of benevolent affection, unwavering connection, and compassion for ourselves and others, even the difficult people in our lives. Jan 01, 1995 lovingkindness is a translation of the pali word metta, which is the first of the brahmaviharas, or the heavenly abodes. But in this section, i offer you a range of lovingkindness practices, directed to yourself and others, that vary in time. But if we practice looking deeply into the other person, we see that. As the title suggests, this book is all about exploring that.
In this inspiring book, sharon shows us how the buddhist path of lovingkindness can help us discover the radiant, joyful heart within each of us. It is not sufficient to glibly recite words of kindness imho a waste of effort on its own but to feel and cultivate a loving and friendly intention. Lovingkindness metta to oneself and others is one of the major teachings of buddhism. Loving kindness meditation lkm is a popular selfcare technique that can be used to boost wellbeing and reduce stress. I can still remember that it was a good feeling when i was cradled to sleep by my mother. In this inspiring book, sharon shows us how the buddhist path of lovingkindness can. Begin by directing these wishes towards 1 yourself, then extend the sense of loving kindness to a 2 mentor or benefactor. I read about loving kindness on a blog post on the university of california greater good in action website. Try loving kindness meditation after youve had some experience with the body scan and sitting meditation. In this excerpt from sharon salzbergs the kindness handbook, she teaches us that by repeatedly practicing kindness and generosity with others and ourselves, that is who we become and what begins to feel most natural. Derived from the ancient pali scriptures, metta is often translated as friendliness or lovingkindness. Lovingkindness isnt the same as passion or romantic love, and its not sappy sentimentality. Lovingkindness, whether as a formal meditation or simply as an onthego practice you use to bring yourself some peace and ground yourself, is a powerful practice that offers several useful benefits for navigating the challenges of daily life.
Research suggests that when people practice lovingkindness meditation regularly, they start automatically reacting more positively to othersand their social interactions and close. By wishing well for others, this practice benefits our health and overall wellbeing. Gently close the eyes if you feel comfortable doing that, or direct the eyes towards the floor while seated or lying down. Bhante g speaks directly to how we can cultivate lovingkindness to find emotional clarity, overcome anger, and become more peacefulboth on and off the meditation cushion. If the trip you have been saving for is canceled, its ok to be disappointed.
Sharon salzbergs book illuminates the heart of lovingkindness like a lamp in the darkness, like the clearing of fog, like a sunrise on a beautiful morningit brings light so that all those with eyes may see. Goleman says lovingkindness practices strengthen empathic concern. Facing common issues with the lovingkindness meditation 84. Loving kindness metta in theravada buddhism drarisworld. Practising loving kindness can enhance empathy, boost positivity and reduce negativity. Jun 07, 2017 in this excerpt from sharon salzbergs the kindness handbook, she teaches us that by repeatedly practicing kindness and generosity with others and ourselves, that is who we become and what begins to feel most natural. We find, for example, that people who do this meditation whove just started doing it actually are kinder, theyre more likely to help someone in need, theyre more generous and theyre happier. The revolutionary art of happiness by sharon salzberg is. Using mindful selfcompassion and kindness for anxiety 79. Since then, he resided at shwe oo min dhamma sukha tawya yeikthar, yangon, myanmar.
Throughout our lives we long to love ourselves more deeply and find. Guided lovingkindness meditation from sharon salzberg. But in this section, i offer you a range of loving kindness practices, directed to yourself and others, that vary in time. Metta bhavana loving kindness meditation venerable dhammarakkhita venerable dhammarakkhita is an australian buddhist monk of the myanmar th eravada tradition. A meditation on lovingkindness this meditation uses words, images, and feelings to evoke a lovingkindness and friendliness toward oneself and others. Lovingkindness as a spiritual practice the spiritual.
Keeping a daily journal in which you process the difficult events of your day through a lens of selfcompassion can enhance both mental and physical wellbeing. Loving kindness meditation script, howto, benefits 2020. In this book, seven experienced meditator share read more. It is one of the most important buddhist meditations for beginners the technical, buddhist name for this technique is metta bhavana, metta meaning compassion and bhavana meaning cultivating metta bhavana buddhist loving. Jack kornfield, author of after the ecstasy, the laundry reading salzbergs book produces the sense of having been gifted abundantly. Compassion helps us understand others, even those who have caused our suffering. This exercise will help make selfkindness, common humanity, and mindfulness part of your daily life. Gottta be the best book on becoming more at peace, self loving and connected through cultivating loving kindness friendliness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity aka. The development of metta is a traditional meditation practice that can help us to transform our emotional life into one consistently based on love.
Generally, you achieve this sense of friendliness through practising lovingkindness meditations, which traditionally can be up to 45 minutes long. They present us with a series of thoughts that nurture our sympathy, our powers of compassion, and our appetite for forgiveness. Metta, or loving kindness, lies at the heart of buddhism. With his signature clarity and warmth, bhante gunaratana shares with us how we can cultivate loving kindness to live a life of joyful harmony with others. The blog post was about how research showed that practicing lovingkindness meditation for seven consecutive days can increase positive feelings such as joy and referred this book. We practice lovingkindness so that we will live a life of lovingkindness. Wishing for a person who is a thorn in your side to be peaceful and to be free from suffering may be a challenge, but it turns lovingkindness practice into a liberation practice. We practice loving kindness so that we will live a life of loving kindness. The expansive openheartedness of lovingkindness and compassion practices is one of the greatest gifts we can offer our children. In a landmark study, barbara frederickson and her colleagues found that just seven weeks of lovingkindness practice led to more positive emotions in meditators and less depressive thoughts, which, in turn, resulted in increased self esteem, lifesatisfaction, sense of purpose and less symptoms of illness.
Accepting the importance of being kind to yourself 80. I personally benefited from the extended read is i obtained a clearer picture of the intention one must cultivate when practising metta. Facing common issues with the loving kindness meditation 84. Moreover, you may ask, what is the use of practising lovingkindness for all living beings by saying. Kids metta 6week applied lovingkindness meditation. Managing anxiety with mindfulness for dummies oreilly media. Looking deeply, we can see the other person as our mother, father, or ourself. Learn how to practice lovingkindness meditation by sharon. This practice of lovingkindness is revolutionary because it has the. Lovingkindness meditation min the lovingkindness meditation, sometimes known as a metta prayer, is traditionally done for successively wider circles of caring, beginning with yourself see a simple form of the metta prayer. Generally, you achieve this sense of friendliness through practising loving kindness meditations, which traditionally can be up to 45 minutes long. A practice, author of the post, marguerite manteaurao routinely calls upon when the emotions get to be too muchmy secret weapon of choice, for all the times when life gets a bit rough. By focusing your inherent tenderness and loving energy towards others, as well as yourself, you can expect to experience the warmth of fulfilment, care and compassion.
Sep 10, 2019 here is a fourstep instruction for metta. Lovingkindness is a sense of benevolent affection, unwavering connection, and compassion for ourselves and others, even the difficult people in our lives. According to the patisambhidamagga, one of the books in the khuddaka nikaya, there are three ways of practising loving kindness meditation. Aug 12, 2018 in 2008, positive psychologist barbara fredrickson conducted research that determined that practising loving kindness meditation metta for seven weeks led to increased love, joy, pride, contentment, awe, gratitude, and hope. Lovingkindness meditation increases happiness in part by making people feel more connected to othersto loved ones, acquaintances, and even strangers. All of this will delight the reader who is interested in better understanding the traditional texts. Loving kindness meditation also is called compassion or metta meditation. In 2012, at the age of 25 he received full ordination after four and a half years practising as a novice monk in srilanka.
But a lack of kindness lies at the heart of so much of what goes wrong at work, in friendships, and in love. Focusing our attention on inclusion and caring creates powerful connections that challenge the idea of an usthem world by offering a way to. Loving kindness can be practiced in our lives as we are performing our day to day activities. But the key to achieving deeper states of peace of mind is the practice of lovingkindness, or metta. Throughout our lives we long to love ourselves more deeply and find a greater sense of connection with others. The blog post was about how research showed that practicing loving kindness meditation for seven consecutive days can increase positive feelings such as joy and referred this book. With compassion and loving kindness in us, we suffer much less. The buddhist loving kindness meditation script metta meditation script is a prayer or simply words that we use for developing kindness and compassion. Loving kindness meditation metta bhavana can be the antidote to feelings such as resentment, anger, illwill and hatred which can appear as a mental hindrance vyapada. Loving kindness metta to oneself and others is one of the major teachings of buddhism. A profound, yet simple book on practicing metta, or lovingkindness by sharon salzberg, the founder of insight meditation society. Lovingkindness meditation practice greater good in action.
We live a life of lovingkindness so that all beings may be happy. While many of the activities and exercises are perfect for world kindness day, the random acts of kindness foundation also has a list of 10 easy activities you can do to celebrate the holiday. This question speaks to the eternal debate between book knowledge and street smarts, theory and practice, knowing intellectually vs. With each recitation of the phrases, we are expressing an intention, planting the seeds of loving wishes over and over in our heart. Apr 14, 2017 the bestselling author of mindfulness in plain english invites us to explore the joyful benefits of living with loving kindness. These kindness prompt cards are designed to bring out our better natures. Metta bhavana lovingkindness meditation venerable dhammarakkhita venerable dhammarakkhita is an australian buddhist monk of the myanmar th eravada tradition. Covers the great concepts from many religious beliefs that point to the life of compassion and kindness as the way back to your true self.
Just as compassion is the wish that all sentient beings be free of suffering, lovingkindness is the wish that all may enjoy happiness. Because many of us are so selfcritical that it can be difficult to find loving feelings for ourselves, this meditation begins with a person who you know to be loving towards you, and only after this. Essentially metta is an altruistic attitude of love and friendliness as. The hatred and anger we have towards the other person prevent us from being happy or peaceful.
How to practise lovingkindness journeying beyond breast cancer. Gottta be the best book on becoming more at peace, selfloving and connected through cultivating loving kindnessfriendliness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity aka. With compassion and lovingkindness in us, we suffer much less. This practice of lovingkindness is revolutionary because it has the power to radically change our lives, helping us cultivate true happiness in ourselves and genuine compassion for others. Aug 01, 2018 derived from the ancient pali scriptures, metta is often translated as friendliness or lovingkindness. Go through your bookshelf and open up a book that you keep meaning to start but havent gotten around to it. How to practise lovingkindness journeying beyond breast. Check in with where youre starting this moment from, physically, emotionally, mentally.
Sharon salzbergs book illuminates the heart of lovingkindness like a lamp in. It focuses on social interactions and how our actions. Loving kindness is filled with gentle reminders and prompts for living a positive life. We can all benefit from the four ideas of lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, whether or not we choose to meditate. Managing anxiety with mindfulness for dummies by joelle jane. You can also practice metta for others in different categories, such as people close to you, friends, people you are neutral toward, people you find difficult, and ultimately all living beings. Mar 22, 2019 goleman says lovingkindness practices strengthen empathic concern. I read a lovely post on practising lovingkindness meditation in the huffington post last week. Metta is the practice of lovingkindness, or the opening of the heart toward ourselves and others. It is so easy for us to dwell on all of the regrettable things we have done or said the times when we now feel we were too timid or too. In this sevenminute practice, elisha suggests a few phrases to follow along with. Because many of us are so selfcritical that it can be difficult to find loving feelings for ourselves, this. Amazing book, and an amazing practice to take up too. In a landmark study, barbara frederickson and her colleagues found that just seven weeks of loving kindness practice led to more positive emotions in meditators and less depressive thoughts, which, in turn, resulted in increased self esteem, lifesatisfaction, sense of purpose and less symptoms of illness.
As with compassion, when cultivating lovingkindness it is important to start by taking a specific individual as a focus of our meditation, and we then extend the scope of our concern further and further, to eventually encompass and embrace all sentient beings. In lovingkindness in plain english bhante gunaratana provides a clear and thoughtful elucidation of the karaniya metta sutta, as well as other discourses that give guidance on practicing metta lovingkindness. Learn about the history of metta, read the buddhas words on loving kindness, and find free guided metta meditations. All of this will delight the reader who is interested in. Metta bhavana cultivation of lovingkindness the good symbol for metta lovingkindness is the mother cradling her baby to sleep. Nov 09, 2015 loving kindness is not going to accidentally happen to us. Managing anxiety with mindfulness for dummies by joelle. These steps are for practicing lovingkindness for yourself. The first time that i ever did lovingkindness practice was without a teacher. In the discourse on the benefits of lovingfriendliness metta nisamsa sutta, the buddha lists 11 benefits derived from practicing mettaand i might add that many of these benefits are being confirmed by contemporary scientific research. Our fear of intimacyboth with others and with ourselvescreates feelings of pain and longing. The discourses that follow show in that order the wretchedness of all anger and hate there is no righteous anger in the buddhas teaching.
World kindness day is the perfect time to practice kindness, whether its toward family members, friends, coworkers, or strangers. The others sharon salzberg has practiced buddhist meditation for many years, so the book provides much information about buddhism. The pali commentators define metta as the strong wish for the welfare and happiness of others parahitaparasukhakamana. A lovingkindness practice for young children zen under ten. It isnt a cureall but definitely worth going into for increased positivity. Jack kornfield, author of after the ecstasy, the laundry. Its commonly used to refer to a type of meditation where the practitioner, by reciting specific phrases, wishes herself wellbeing and then gradually extends that wish to others before offering it universally to all beings everywhere. After a period of directing lovingkindness toward yourself, bring to mind a friend or someone in your life who has deeply cared for you.
There is also a lot of joy when one is unselfishly caring for a friend. Gather a pile of books that you need to pass on to others because if you are honest with yourself, youll never actually read them. This meditation is quite different compared to the other mindfulness exercises because its about deliberately bringing images to mind and cultivating the positive emotion of wellwishing or compassion, both. This provides kids with a visual representation of the importance of kindness. Lovingkindness is not going to accidentally happen to us. We dont learn this from books or teachers or friends or enemies, but from our own practice and experience. After extensive and intensive practice in vipassanamindfulnessinsight meditation in australia and myanmar, his teacher venerable chanmyay sayadaw. Jun 26, 2018 metta is the practice of loving kindness, or the opening of the heart toward ourselves and others. It is kindness at its purest and strongest, a loving response to all life.
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