"Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something different. It’s about befriending who we are already." Pema Chodron
Loving-Kindness Meditation and Metta Practices
Metta is the Pali word for love. The meditation technique begins with developing self-love and then extending outward to develop openness and compassion for everyone.
In her book on Loving-Kindness, Sharon Salzberg writes: "We spend our lives searching for something we don’t think we have, something that makes us happy. But sometimes the very love and happiness we want can be found just by sitting down. The path to true happiness is one of integrating and fully accepting all aspects of our experience. We must move from trying to control the uncontrollable cycles of pleasure and pain, and instead learn how to connect, to open, and to love no matter what is happening. By following this path, we learn to develop skillful mental states and let go of unskillful ones. We align ourselves with an expansive vision of what is possible for us, and we use the tools of spiritual practice to sustain that vision."
Pema Chodron adds: "When we talk about mindfulness and awareness, we're not talking about something stern, a discipline that we impose on ourselves so that we can clean up our act. It's more that we practice some sense of loving kindness towards all the details of our lives. We realize that we're always standing at the center of a sacred circle. Our life's work is to wake up, to open, be curious and develop some sense of sympathy for everything that comes along."
"Maitri is the basis of compassion. It's a Sanskrit word that means 'unconditional friendship with oneself.' Its about feeling at home with your own mind and body. And we can use meditation as a tool to cultivate Maitri."Books Available from Amazon
Loving Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, by Sharon Salzberg ($12) A popular American meditation teacher and cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society, Salzberg gives lucid, easy-to-follow meditation instructions in this book. And guided meditations on audio tape: Loving-Kindness Meditation: Learning to Love Through Insight Meditation ($13).
The Wisdom of No Escape And The Path of Loving Kindness, by Pema Chodron, ($10) and the same book in a pocket edition: Awakening Loving-Kindness, ($7). This book is a series of talks by the American Buddhist nun who is among the most popular modern meditation teachers.
Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving Kindness, by Chogyam Trungpa, ($10). This book introduces and explains 59 slogans that can be used to breathe life into your daily meditation practice.
Good Medicine: How to Turn Pain Into Compassion with Tonglen Meditation, by Pema Chodron (CD, $17) Sixteen recorded talks and guided meditation practices in Pema's charming, intimate style.
A Heart as Wide as the World, by Sharon Salzberg, ($10), also available on cassette tapes ($13). Specific instructions for meditation
Links
Sharon Salzberg’s biography and teaching schedule is on her webpage: www.dharma.org
Pema Chodron’s biography and teaching schedule is on her website: www.gampoabbey.org And there is also information about Pema through the Shambhala organization: www.shambhala.org
The Insight Meditation Society, founded by Sharon Salzberg and others, offers training in Loving Kindness and Vipassana meditation techniques. Their site has links to other centers teaching these practices.
Biography of Chogyam Trungpa The Shambhala organization carries on his teachings in centers worldwide. www.shambhala.org.
