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June 21, 2019 By Admin

Loving Kindness – An Alternative Version

Loving Kindness – An Alternative Version

The writings of Thich Nhat Hanh offer a different version of Loving Kindness Meditation or Metta (Pali). This version may be influenced by Buddhaghosa in Visuddhimagga (or The Path to Purification,  fifth century system of The Buddha’s teachings). The reality of no-self, or a static, permanent and inherent self is a core teaching of Buddhism; however, humans do experience life in Samsara via their perceived self – the experiencer of events and circumstances. Sensory awareness and mental formation make our realities. It is important to know yourself well, thus it is important to go deeper and deeper into the sources of your self-experiences. Negative emotions and feelings cause great suffering; fears and internal turmoil prevent happiness. To move beyond suffering, we need to understand and experience self-compassion and self-love. Our best hope may be the regular practice of Loving Kindness Meditation, especially if we are able to feel (interoception) the words as they transform inner body feelings and mind-thoughts. Here is a version of loving kindness. Try it. I have made several of my own adjustments in wording.

May I be free from suffering, aversion, and emotional conflict.

May I be mindful of peace and affection.

May I experience the inner light of my soul and feel safe.

May I learn from the loving spirit of myself.

May I be free from all afflictions, including greed, craving, fear, anger, and negative moods.

May I practice freeing myself from the skandhas of form (body), feelings, perception, mental formations, and consciousness.

May I learn to be at peace in impermanence when such things arise.

May I liberate myself from the suffering of my own “second arrows.”

May I allow myself the inner joy of silence.

May I accept and love myself.

May I be happy.

For more information refer to Thich Nhat Hanh (2014). No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering. Parallax Press.

Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC  

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont and the Home of The Monkton SanghaChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

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Filed Under: Featured, Love and Kindness, Loving Kindness, Meditation, Thich Nhat Hanh Tagged With: ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, LOVING KINDNESS, MEDITATION, MONKTON SANGA, PRACTICE, SELF CARE

July 3, 2015 By Admin

Mindfulness Practices

Mindfulness Practices to help Reduce Your Worry & Suffering

My last post dealt with various mindfulness-based practices and skills that may help to reduce created suffering due to excessive worrying.  I will add a few more practices in this post.  First, let us go back to Roman Emperor, marcus-aurelius_Mindful-HappinessMarcus Aurelius, and his Meditations. In Book 2, page 14 he advises himself (also us) to allow nothing to interfere with our emotionally stable directing mind (as I interpret – the mindfulness-based mind using prajna/wisdom skills).  He also reminds us that we are an integrated part of the force of NATURE that governs all worldly and universal activities (change, impermanence, our good/bad fortune). Since we have no independent origination, and since we are subject to all forces tied to cause and effect in NATURE, Marcus tells us to deal with our tasks in a diligent manner – but a diligent manner including dignity, sympathy and dispassionate justice.  It does appear that Marcus Aurelius had a touch of Buddhism and/or Taoism in his philosophy of life.

Recently Tricycle Magazine presented five other practices that may be helpful in reducing secondary suffering related to compulsive worry.  Zen teacher Barry Magid recommends that we learn to leave ourselves alone.  Do Tricycle-Mindful-Happinessyour utmost best to STOP self-criticism, self-devaluation, and feeling “less than” in your worldly activities and interactions.  Just sitting in zazen will open up your mind-doors to this possibility.  So do more meditation – just sitting and observing your thoughts go by like clouds in the sky.  Practice bare attention and pure awareness without any storylines or evaluations whatsoever.  Just be aware of what comes up (worry, reasons to worry, stories about your worrying), and LET IT GO as you bring attention back to your breath.  Do this over, and over, and over again.

Teacher Gil Fronsdal recommends that we practice more and more metta, loving kindness meditation.  This is my personally most favored meditation practice.  It can do wonders for one’s troubled mind.  It is both abuddhist-loving-kindness-meditation practice in self-compassion and compassion for others.  Since you are the one worrying, do your loving kindness meditation on yourself – and possibly for the person/s you are worrying about.  May I be safe.  May I be healthy, May I be free from suffering and worry. May I be happy. May I live with more ease.

The Sri Lankan monk, Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, recommends that we practice more and more vipassana meditation (insight meditation).  Practice on both your joy and your suffering.  Bring full attention then concentration to the very earliest arising of either joy or worry (suffering) in your awareness, and get to know their arising qualities.  Just pay concentrative attention to their arising and their falling away.  Do not go into storylines and memories about your joy or worry.  Just observe closely their arising and falling away while in meditation.  Do not track associations or causal thinking. Pay strong attention to only the arising and falling away of these mind-states.

Insight meditation teacher, Peter Doobinin, recommends that you do much more walking meditation.  Just walk inside or outside (better I think).  Walk at the pace you desire. Pay attention to your feet touching earth and the movement of your legs lifting, placing forward, and landing on the earth.  Hold mindfulhappiness_walkingmeditationyour hands by your sides, in front or behind you.  Just pay attention to the walking body movements.  Buddhist teacher,  Thich Nhat Hanh, sometimes add a more sensory approach to his famous standard walking meditation format.  After walking in meditation on your legs moving and your feet touching earth (complete stability in sensation), you may want to add paying attention to what your sense-doors perceive.  What do you see, hear, feel, taste, smell? Just notice and note it; do not evaluate it or judge yourself or others.

For more information refer to Marcus Aurelius (translation by M. Hammond, introduction by D. Clay). (2006). Meditations. New York: Penguin Classics, Book 2, page 14.  Also see http://www.tricycle.com/practice/five-practices-change-your-mind

By Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, VermontChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness

CLICK HERE to Order!

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Filed Under: Featured, Joy and Suffering, Meditation, Meditation Activities, Mindful Awareness, MIndfulness, MIndfulness Activities, Mindfulness Training, Stress Reduction, Training, Walking Meditation Tagged With: DR ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, LOVING KINDNESS, MEDITATION, METTA, MINDFULNESS, MINDFULNESS PRACTICES, WALKING MEDITATION

February 24, 2015 By Admin

Loving Kindness Meditation

Loving Kindness Meditation –

More Thoughts

Some less experienced meditators complain about how easily the mind’s wandering thoughts distract them from paying attention and deepening concentration.  This is a very common problem in meditation practice, and not always just for novices.  Here is a solution for you to try.  In Loving Kindness Meditation, you focus attention on specific thoughts – internal, subvocal, self-statements like “May I be Safe.”  Since the mind is the seat of thinking, and since thought, speech, and action are fundamental aspects of how you live your life – Buddhist or otherwise – MindfulHappiness_WhatisMindfulness-meditating-by-waterloving and kind thoughts may help improve your meditation skills.  In mindfulness traditions, thought is simply another aspect of processing sensory information – in fact one of the sensory processes.  Thinking leads to consciousness; consciousness may improve or distract your meditation practice.  Yes, Loving Kindness Meditation helps to improve the quality of your thoughts, speech and actions.  In this practice we soon learn that wishing the best for others also enhances our own joy; it is soothing and comforting.  When we open our soft hearts and wish safety, health, and happiness for others we engage in a basic bodhisattva action.  More active loving kindness and compassion practices take us a step further into doing things that help other reduce suffering and enhance happiness.  There are many compassion practices.  Here we will focus only on Loving Kindness Meditation.

Loving Kindness Meditation follows a recommended sequence. There are, however, variations.  Begin with yourself. For example:  “May I be safe.” Then move your attention to a significant other: “May … be safe.” We can include a good friend, benefactor, or mentor.  And then we do move to a neutral person, even a total stranger.  You can add a difficult person, and when ready (to forgive) move on to an enemy.  Do not include the enemy until you are ready to forgive that COMPASSION-mindful-happinessperson for their harmful actions.  You will see that once you do forgive them, they no longer hold power over your emotions and your suffering may end.  At this point in the sequence it is helpful to add all beings everywhere.  End your practice sequence by going back to yourself.  Each change in the object of your good wishes includes all statements before moving to another person.  For example: May I be safe. May I be Healthy, May I be happy. May I live with ease. Then you move to the next person.  There are other variations in what you say to yourself.  For example: May I experience safety and the causes of safety.  May I experience good health and the causes of good health.  May I experience happiness and the causes of happiness. May I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May I rest in great equanimity.  At some point people who do regular loving kindness meditations may make up their own words.

These words would clarify what best meets what your needs are, and what you think other people may need.

I recommend that you use ritual as a norm in this practice.  For example, light some incense, perhaps a candle, and ring a chime to begin and to end your practice.

1) Sit in a comfortable position, and relax yourself with a few deep, calm, slow breaths.

2) Begin with yourself.  Select the phrases you want to say to yourself.

3) To enhance practice effects, as you say the words feel the associated emotions in your body.  What does safety feel like? What does happiness feel like.  Do your best to introject the power of associated emotions and sensations.

4) When you move to another person, as you say the words do your best to project outwardly the associated emotions of the words.  Make an image of the recipient’s face, and send you words and emotions to them.

5) Continue through the sequences noted above.

6) End the sequence by going back to loving kindness for yourself.

I hope you enjoyed this practice.

Do it often – daily if possible. May you be successful in your loving kindness practices.

For more information refer to: Thondup, T. (2009). The Healing Power of Loving Kindness. Boston: Shambhala Publications. [CD].  Se also Chodron, P. (2009). Perfect Just as You Are. New York: Random House Audio. [CD].  And Salzburg, S. (1995). Loving – Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. Boston: Shambhala Publications.

By Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, VermontChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness

CLICK HERE to Order!

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

Filed Under: Featured, Meditation, Meditation Activities Tagged With: ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, LOVE AND KINDNESS, LOVING KINDNESS, MEDITATION, MEDITATION PRACTICES, MINDFULNESS

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