How You Can Participate in the World Day of Metta 2013

World Day of Metta, March 20, 2013!


On March 20, 2013, the organizers of the World Day of Metta are asking people all around the world to open their hearts and from 12 PM to 2 PM, local time, to meditate on and offer the following metta to all beings of the world:

THE METTA 

May all beings have fresh clean water to drink

May all beings have food to eat

May all beings have a home

May all beings have someone to share love with

May all beings know their true purpose

May all beings be well and happy

May all beings be free from suffering

Today, I shall do what I can to make this so.

The offering of metta, or loving-kindness, to others is a non-denominational act.   You don't have to believe in anything except the power of love to change the world! Compassionate hearts of all persuasions, or no persuasions, are invited to join others around the world in 2 hours of loving-kindness.

The goal of the World Day of Metta is to say this Metta at least once for each of the 7 billion plus humans on the planet, as well as all the sentient beings who share the Earth with us.  Visit the Web site for more information about participating!

At my main blog, Metta Refuge, those who are interested in learning more about the Buddhist practice of metta can find a wealth of information and dharma teachings on how to do loving-kindness, or metta, meditation.

A good place to start is the Basic Metta page, which gives beginning instruction explaining  how to do metta, or loving-kindness meditation as taught by the Buddha:

At the Basic Metta page you can download free PDFs by experienced dharma teachers for your personal study.  You will also find links to introductory articles by some outstanding Buddhist teachers:

Ajahn Brahmavamso Teaches Loving-kindness

Bringing Metta to Daily Life—A Talk by Bhante Vimalaramsi

Metta—The Healing Power of Visualizing and Radiating Love Toward Others
(Acharya Buddharakkhita)

May We All Be Happy—Beginning Metta
(Gil Fronsdal)

At Metta Refuge you will also find many articles about loving-kindness meditation that will help take your deeper into your metta practice.  You might want to look into some of these articles:

Metta Phrases for Dealing with Self-Hatred and Self-judgment

The Karaniya Metta Sutta and Healing Through Loving-kindness (with Music)

Audio Dharma-An Introduction to Metta by Gil Fronsdal

Metta in the Moment


Goodwill—Not a Pink Cloud of Cotton Candy Covering the World


I look forward to joining my brothers and sisters in every nation in this great world-wide metta on March 20, 12 PM to 2 PM local time!

The Great Aspiration of Metta

As a mother, at the risk of her life,

Watches over her only child,

Let him cherish an unbounded mind

For all living beings.

Let him have love for the whole world

And develop an unbounded mind

Above, below and all around,

Boundless heart of goodwill, free of hatred,

Standing, walking, sitting or lying down,

So long as he be awake,

Let him cherish this thought,

This is called divine abiding here.

~ Karaniyametta (Metta) Sutta

POSTSCRIPT:

You might enjoy reading a Metta Refuge essay I wrote after my two hours of metta for World Day of Metta.  I explain some of the ways I approached the metta and also share some insights I have learned over years of practicing loving-kindness meditation. You can read it here:

How Practice and Creativity Can Open Up Your Practice

For more in-depth dharma articles and instruction, visit: METTA REFUGE

♡♡♡

Simple, Skillful Instruction for Doing Loving-kindness (Metta) for Yourself

"When you practice loving kindness meditation, you first start by sending loving and kind thoughts to yourself. You remember times when you were happy. When that happy feeling arises, it's a warm glowing feeling in the center of your chest. And a radiating feeling. As soon as that feeling arises, then, you make a wish for your own happiness:  'May I be happy. May my mind be peaceful and calm. May I be filled with joy. May I be cheerful.'

Whatever wish you make for yourself, feel that wish. You know what it feels like to be peaceful and calm. Bring that feeling of peace and calm, put it into your heart, radiate that feeling to yourself. You know what it feels like to be happy. Bring that feeling into your heart, and radiate that feeling to yourself. Whatever wish you make for yourself, you want to feel that wish.

You can make the same wish over and over again, as long as it has meaning for you, or you can change the wish occasionally. But you don't make a wish like this, you don't say: 'May I be happy. May I be happy. May I be happy. May I be happy. May I be happy.' When you do a wish like that, it turns into, like trying to memorize something, and you start thinking about other things. You want to feel the wish. Make the wish, feel the peace and calm, if that's what your wish is, keep that feeling in your heart, when that feeling starts to fade, then you make another wish.

While you're sitting like this, your mind is going to wander. You're going to think about other things. As soon as you notice that your mind is thinking about other things, you simply let go of those thoughts. Don't continue thinking, even if you're in mid sentence let it go. Relax the tension and tightness caused by those thoughts in your head, in your mind, in your body. And gently come back to the feeling of loving kindness and making a wish for your own happiness.

It doesn't matter if your mind wanders fifty times during the sitting, and fifty times you see that, you let it go, you relax, you come back to your meditation object. That is a good sitting. A bad sitting would be, noticing that you're thinking about something, and to continue thinking, not letting it go.

When you're sitting, you want to sit with your back reasonably straight. Please don't move your body at all. Don't wiggle your toes, don't wiggle your fingers, don't scratch, don't rub, don't change your posture. Don't rock back and forth. Sit very still.

While you're sitting like this, there can be some sensations that arise in your body. You want to cough, and itch, heat, vibration, a painful feeling. As soon as that arises your mind will be drawn to it, and then you start thinking about that sensation: 'I wish it would stop. I really don't like this feeling when it happens. I wish it would just go away.' Every thought like that makes the feeling become bigger and more intense. So, the first thing you do is to let go of the thought about the sensation. And then, relax the tension or tightness in your head, in your mind.

Next you will notice that there is a tight mental fist wrapped around that sensation, you really don't like that sensation there, you really want it to go away. The truth is when a sensation arises, it's there. That's the truth. And it's OK for that sensation to be there. It has to be OK, because it's there. Anytime you try to fight with the truth, anytime you try to control the truth, anytime you try to make the truth be anything other than it is, that's the cause of suffering. Allow that sensation to be there. Make it OK for it to be there. Relax. Gently come back to the feeling of being happy and making a wish for your own happiness.

While you're doing this meditation, this is a smiling meditation. You want to put a smile in your mind. A little smile in your eyes, even though your eyes are closed. A smile on your lips, a little one, and a smile in your heart. Whenever you notice that you're not smiling, then start again. . ."

Bhante Vimalaramsi

For many more inspiring, skillful teachings from Bhante Vimalaramsi be sure to visit: Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center

♡♡♡

Dharma Practice - Commiserate with the Turtle in Trouble, Help the Sick Sparrow

"Working for the welfare of all beings means that you contrive to benefit all sentient beings, high and low.  In other words, you carefully investigate others's distant and near futures, and think of various means that will be the most congenial to their well-being.

Commiserate with a turtle in trouble, and take care of a sparrow suffering from injury. When you see the distressed turtle or watch the sick sparrow, you do not expect any repayment for your favor, but are moved entirely by your desire to help others.

Fools may think that if another's benefit is given priority, their own good must be lost.  This is not the case.  The practice of benefiting others is a total truth, hence it serve both self and others far and wide...

Therefore serve enemies and friends equally, and assist self and others without discrimination.   If you grasp this truth, [you will see that] this is the reason that even grasses and trees, wind and water are all naturally engaged in the activity of benefiting others, and your understanding will certainly serve others' benefit..."  Dōgen Zenji

Quoted in Eihei Dōgen: Mystical Realist
By Hee-Jin Kim, Taigen Daniel Leighton

For more in-depth dharma articles and instruction, visit:  METTA REFUGE

How to Personalize Your Loving-kindness Practice

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post:

Would You Like to Learn More about Loving-kindness Meditation?

I've written a new article explaining how I have "personalized" my metta practice to better address the issues of my own heart

Here's a short excerpt of the new post:

"To help you understand how you can “personalize” your metta practice, I thought I’d share some of the approaches I use in my own metta practice.  One thing I’ve found to be very helpful in doing self-metta is to use “customized” phrases—that is, phrases of that speak directly to areas where I need to express and feel more compassion and understanding toward myself.

As you probably know if you’ve done metta practice, traditionally one starts out with loving-kindness directed toward oneself.  But as many Western dharma teachers have pointed out, because many of us here in the West have deep issues of self-hatred and guilt that we are working out, sometimes self-loving is not the best place to begin metta.

We may need to begin where we can generate and feel some genuine good-will and affection—maybe toward a friend, or even a pet.  Then, when we can actually sense what unconditional good will feels like, we can go from that good place to more difficult objects of affection—which may mean, ourselves!"

You can read the entire article here:

Metta Phrases for Dealing with Self-Hatred and Self-judgment

May this sharing help and heal you!

Would You Like to Learn More about Loving-kindness Meditation?

If you've heard about the Buddhist practice called metta, or loving-kindness meditation, and would like to learn more about it, I invite you to investigate the my newly revised and expanded "Metta Instruction" page at Metta Refuge.

Here you will find some outstanding and easy-to-grasp instruction by outstanding dharma teachers such as Ajahn Brahmavmso, Bhante Vimalaramsi, Acharya Buddharakkhita, Ven. Dhammarakhita, dharma teacher Gregory Kramer, and Venerable Sujiva.

Like the facets of a diamond, each teacher's talks highlights a different aspect or way into the practice of loving-kindness.  There's even an article on teaching metta to children! And if you already have a loving-kindness practice, I think you will still find many skillful and useful insights into how to expand and deepen your metta practice.

So please stop by:  Metta Instructions and have a look around!

For more in-depth dharma articles and instruction, visit:  METTA REFUGE

♡♡♡

The Metta Sutta - The Sutta of Loving-kindness

May all beings be happy!

May all be joyous and live in safety!

Let no one deceive another, nor despise another, as weak as they may be.

Let no one by anger or by hate wish evil for another.

As a mother, in peril of her own life, watches and protects her only child, thus with a limitless spirit must one cherish all living beings.

Love the world in its entirety -- above, below and all around, without limitation, with an infinite goodness and with benevolence.

While standing or walking, sitting or lying down, as long as one is awake,
Let one cultivate Loving-Kindness.

For more in-depth dharma articles and instruction, visit:  METTA REFUGE

♡♡♡