Читать книгу May I Sit with You? - Tom Catton - Страница 23
ОглавлениеMetta is the practice of sending loving kindness to oneself and others. It teaches us a deep compassion for life. Being mindful of loving kindness can promote forgiveness to those it is directed toward. In the teachings of the Buddha, metta is a form of prayer; just as you are directed to pray for others, sending loving kindness creates the same container (conditions) to work within.
I have always been told when praying for self or others to follow it with the words Thy will be done. This neutralizes the request and carries with it the acknowledgment that I may not know what is good for others or even myself. When sending out metta, we always start with the word may: May I experience a life of love or May others experience joy within. The use of the word may takes the demand out of the request, thus becoming the neutralizer.
Metta can be your whole meditation practice. It differs from mindfulness, where we observe thoughts that arise and continually return to our breath. Sending out loving kindness is an action-based meditation. When I lead a meditation sitting, I let people know that I will ring the bell to signal the group that the remaining minutes will be spent practicing metta. I find that ending my meditation in this way provides a lovely balance to my practice.
When on retreat, you may find yourself practicing many times a day, for many days in a row. Some retreats have walking meditation times; this physicality, combined with mindfulness, breaks up the practice of sitting all day on the meditation cushion. Bringing metta into your meditative practice can help feelings that arise from long periods of sitting. Feelings about life situations can and do arise; we can feel our hearts empty out. Feelings of despondency can appear, and we can use metta to send loving kindness, for example, “May my heart be filled with love and compassion,” or “May I be led to right understanding of what is.”
When sitting upon the meditation cushion for long periods, we may send love to our cramped legs and aching bodies. Our egos can tell us that if we don’t move and stretch we will never walk again, but by sending love and appreciation to our body temple we can work through our physical pains. We see and then experience the sensations of the impermanence of our thoughts.
Metta and prayer are both essential principles that should be called upon with routine frequency as we move through a life that seems to lash out at us with chaos and doubt. To watch the news in today’s world will bring tears to the eyes of many, sometimes followed by feelings of powerlessness to reach out and help so many in need. Practicing metta teaches us to embrace compassion; we learn to put love into action, with opportunities arriving in each moment.
There are many ways to be of service to a life that is starved, sometimes by giving money, sometimes by giving your time, but always by silently sending out loving kindness to the hearts of others. Close your eyes now. Someone in your life needs compassion; maybe it’s you. Silently project the words May love be felt within the heart.
