iMEDITATION
Spiritual Living. Meditation Techniques. Contentment. Compassion. Insight. Awakening
Contemplating Loving-Kindness
Aversion is the second biggest hindrance to deep meditation. Whenever there is a subtle or strong aversion present prior to meditation, it is difficult for the mind to be peaceful, calm, and still. If it arises during the meditation, it can often pulls you out of whatever state you happen to be in. So we want to let go of any kind of aversion in our daily lives and meditation. One of the best antidote to aversion is conditioning the mind to dwell in loving-kindness instead. This helps us to become less judgmental of ourselves and others. Another thing you might also notice is that the seed of compassion grows in the mind. The inclination to practice generosity in the external world becomes natural in you. | Metta is love without a self, arising from inspiration, expecting nothing back in return, and without any conditions. For example, a mother might not always like her child or agree with everything it does, but she will always care for her child and wish it only happiness. In metta meditation the method is mostly the same as in breath meditation. The main difference is instead of focusing your attention on the breath you focus your attention on the feeling of loving-kindness, developing that delightful emotion until it fills the whole mind. You cannot expect to light the fire of loving-kindness by starting with a difficult object. Instead begin by spreading loving-kindness to something that is easy to ignite with loving-kindness. |
Metta (Loving-Kindness) Meditation
1. Prepare for metta meditation by bringing attention back to the present moment. For example, placing awareness on how your body feels right now. When the mind is settled in the body you will be able to hear the sounds that are happening right now more vividly than usual.
2.Initiate metta meditation by imagining a small favorite creature ,baby, or plant. For example, a small puppy, kitten, tree, or a favorite spot in nature. This is like the paper that you use to start a campfire. Whatever you choose as your first object of metta, make it an imaginary being and not a real one. Then , use your powers of imagination to create a story around that being that arouses your loving-kindness.
3. After the first flame of metta have been established , let go of the imaginary creature and put in its place a real person. It must be someone for whom it is easy to generate and sustain loving-kindness. It can be a partner, a well-loved relation, your best friend. Then let go of that image and substitute that of another close acquaintance, creating the feeling of metta around them by using your inner speech in the same way. Next substitute an entire group of people, perhaps all the people who live in your house. Allow that radiance of loving-kindness to expand in all directions, embracing more and more living beings until it becomes boundless, filling up all that you can imagine.
Formless Metta: The experience of Metta without the perception of separate beings, of subject or object.
You can even take metta meditation directly into jhana. When you have reached the stage described above where you are radiating this limitless golden glow of loving-kindness throughout the whole universe, drenching every sentient being with the immense power of your boundless love, then take the next step.
Forget about all beings and ignore where the power is coming from. Focus your attention instead on the experience of metta in itself. This step often happens automatically with no decision coming from you. The meditation object is being simplified, freed from the perception of separate beings. All that remains in your mind is the disembodied metta, similar to the end of stage 5 and the beginning of stage 6 in breath meditation , where the breath disappears and the nimitta appears. You experience this as a blissful sphere of gorgeous golden light in your mind's eye. It is a nimitta. It's the metta nimitta.
From Metta To Jhana
A nimitta that is generated through metta meditation is always incredibly beautiful, only sometimes it isn't so stable. Excitement is the usual problem. However, its nature is so alluring that you cannot resist hanging out with such intense bliss. Thus, in a short time the brilliant golden metta nimitta becomes still and you fall into jhana. This is how metta meditation takes you into jhana.
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