Lovingkindness Meditation
To reteach a thing its loveliness is the nature of metta. Through lovingkindness, everyone & everything can flower again from within.
~Sharon Salzberg
~Sharon Salzberg
Overview | Instructions
Photo credit: FelixMittermeier
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This guided meditation is based on work by Jack Kornfield, who is trained in the Buddhist tradition. Kornfield is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS). The following meditation is a LovingKindness meditation based in his style. If you enjoy it, you might like to learn more about Jack Kornfield or the IMS.
It may be difficult to practice while reading the typed instructions. You may find it easier to follow a verbal guided instruction, which you can find online, or at Regis during our week of LovingKindness practice. Or, of course, you may find that over time you have memorized the lines used and can practice on your own without needing to read the text. Find a place to sit where you feel comfortable and safe for about 15-20 minutes. Once you are seated, turn off your phone ringer and anything else that might distract you in some way. Take a comfortable dignified posture; whatever that looks like or feels like for you. If you would like to close your eyes, you may close your eyes. If you would like to keep them open, you may keep them open. Breathe gently throughout this mediation. You will have some phrases to bring your attention to, and some visual images to bring your attention to. But at any time you feel too distracted or forget what we are focusing on, feel free to bring your attention back to your breath and the sensation of breathing in and breathing out. Instructions
Begin with a few mindful breaths. Now, bring to mind a good friend, someone who you find very easy to love. Picture them clearly in your mind: you can thing about their hair color, how they like to style their hair…. Picture their skin color and tone… the color of their eyes… picture them wearing one of their favorite outfits. And picture how they look at you in kindness. And with awareness of the following aspirations, you can direct each of them to this good friend who you picture sitting beside you or in front of you. May you be filled with lovingkindness. May you be safe from inner and outer dangers. May you be well in body and mind. May you be at ease and happy. Now, pick an acquaintance. Possibly someone you see on a regular basis at school or work… but that you do not know very well. Get a good mental image of this person… the color of their hair, the tone of their skin color… maybe you’ve noticed that they like to wear a certain article of clothing. You can picture them wearing this article of clothing. So get a good picture of this person, sitting next to you or in front of you. And with awareness of the following aspirations, you can direct each of them to this person that you do not know so well. May you be filled with lovingkindness. May you be safe from inner and outer dangers. May you be well in body and mind. May you be at ease and happy. Now, bring yourself to mind. It maybe that you like to picture yourself as you are today… or it may be that you like to picture yourself as a child. Maybe 5 or 6 or 7 years old… 12 years old. See yourself sitting next to you, or across from you. Get a good look at what you look like. How you do your own hair, your favorite article of clothing. If you have hobby or something you love to do, you might see yourself holding an object that you need for that hobby or activity. But really get a good look at yourself. And with awareness of these phrases, direct each to yourself as you are today or as you were as a child. May you be filled with lovingkindness. May you be safe from inner and outer dangers. May you be well in body and mind. May you be at ease and happy. Now, picture someone in your life who might be a little more challenging for you. It doesn’t have to be the most challenging person in your life… you might start with someone who is just a little irritating for you. Someone you just don’t quite get along well with for some reason. And bring them to mind so you can see them clearly, as if they were sitting right in front of you or next to you. Get a good look at their hair style, color, and their skin color. See them wearing something that they like to wear. And if you can, picture how they might look at you in kindness. And, with awareness of the following phrases, you can direct each of these phrases to this challenging person in your life. May you be filled with lovingkindness. May you be safe from inner and outer dangers. May you be well in body and mind. May you be at ease and happy. Now imagine all of you together… the good friend easy to love, the stranger or acquaintance you don’t know so well, yourself, and the challenging person. Imagine all of you sitting there together. And with awareness of the following phrases, you can direct each of these phrases to all of you as a group. May we be filled with lovingkindness. May we be safe from inner and outer dangers. May we be well in body and mind. May we be at ease and happy. If you like, you can offer a dedication or intention, or recognition of gratitude to all four of these people and what they have taught you today about yourself and about compassion. End with a few mindful breaths. |
Additional Resources
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Guided Lovingkindness Meditation with Sharon Salzberg, 19 minutes
Metta (Lovingkindness) Meditation with Ruth King, 19 minutes Loving-Kindness Meditation with Kristin Neff, 20 minutes Guided Heart Lovingkindness Meditation with Tara Brach, 27 minutes Guided Metta Meditation with Anushka Fernandopulle, 25 minutes |
Photo credit: dae jeung kim