Metta Bhavana (Loving-Kindness Meditation)

Ajahn Brahm: full of metta

A wonderful exponent of metta (goodwill, or 'loving-kindness') is Ajahn Brahmavamso, an Englishman who is abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery in Australia. Ajahn Brahm (as he is affectionately known) is a very popular teacher amongst Buddhists in the Thai forest tradition, and is very skillful in his descriptions of the meditative life - his book, ‘Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond’ is the main source of inspiration for my own meditation practice these days. He has taught extensively on Buddhist teachings including meditation and many other topics such as everyday mindfulness. But here, I want to focus on his directions on how to practice metta meditation.

Ajahn Brahm advises starting off by visualizing a kitten, puppy, baby or any another helpless creature or thing (even a young plant), imagining it as needing our care, our love and attention, as it is not doing so well. We see that it is in a sorry state, and we imagine holding it, feeding it, and caring for it, perhaps telling it how we will look after it and protect it. With the feeling of kindness that we’ve developed, we next turn our attention to someone close to us; our partner, a friend or close relation. Extending the feeling of loving-kindness to this person, we wish them well, extending positive thoughts of goodwill towards them. When this feeling fills the mind, the next subject to receive our careful attention is an acquaintance whom we know but not as well as the previous person. Thirdly, metta is directed to someone that we don’t like, someone that causes us displeasure; an enemy, even, if we have one. No matter what bad things they have done to us, or bad habits they have that we dislike, we overcome our negative thoughts by wishing them well.

Ajahn Brahm next instructs us to emit loving-kindness to the people that we live with or work with, or to our neighbors, before sharing such positive feelings with all beings, as in the Metta Sutta quote: “May all beings be at ease!” Lastly, he tells us to extend metta towards...our own self. For, as Ajahn Brahm points out, how many of us, particularly in the West, have bad or guilty feelings towards ourselves? The one person that many of us don’t really like, at least subconsciously, is our own self, and this is why Ajahn Brahm instructs us to develop metta towards all beings first, filling the world with loving-kindness before turning our attention upon our own being. Having wished goodwill towards all others, we then do the same for ourselves, overcoming any latent self-criticism with the strength of well-developed metta. Ajahn Brahm has taught that metta meditation softens the mind, making full of goodwill as the meditator becomes more selfless and peaceful towards others. He has stated that metta is an emotion that is full of delight and pure in nature. When developed, it takes residence in the heart and the meditator becomes more compassionate with their kindness a source of great joy to all.

Footnote: Years back, I was experiencing difficulties getting to sleep at night. I’d read, or heard, somewhere that practicing metta meditation upon retiring to bed could help such a condition, enabling one to fall asleep and have a sound and comfortable night’s sleep. So I tried it, and it worked beautifully, really quickly. (In fact, I rarely got to extend loving- kindness to myself, as I’d fall asleep long before I got to that point of the meditation.) So,whether for the benefit of others or for oneself, or both, metta bhavana can have great results. Why not try it?

For more on metta, see the following;

Metta / Loving-Kindness

Karaniya Metta Sutta

Reflections on the Karaniya Metta Sutta
Review: Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond, by Ajahn Brahm

A Third Experiment in Awareness

Think you know who you are? Think again!

In recent posts, two experiments in awareness have been presented, the first centered on sights, the second on sounds. In this third experiment in awareness, the focus will be on thoughts. This will reveal that what the British philosopher Douglas Harding called ‘seeing-who-we-really-are’ isn't dependent upon the physical senses, despite being so efficacious when applied to them. So, as with previous experiments, please follow the instructions whilst keeping an open mind along the way.

• This experiment can be done with eyes opened or closed, although the latter method will probably work best for most experimenters, particularly at first. Take a few moments to quieten down and withdraw attention from the physical world. What are you thinking at this precise moment? Is it a quick succession of thoughts or is your thinking quite slow and steady?

• When awareness loses touch with the thinking process gently bring it back to the thought(s) arising at present. Again, analyze the nature of the thinking process; is it fast or slow, is it constructive or rambling? Try to remain with the present train of thought for a minute or so, maintaining aware of its nature. Note that thoughts, although not physical, still have particular ‘shapes’ or forms, and that they are things.

• Next, turn attention to that which is conscious of thoughts. Is it classifiable in the same way as its contents are? Is it fast, slow, systematic or rambling? Can it be said to have any shape or form? Here, I find a clear awareness that is awake to the thoughts that arise in it, but isn’t one of them. In fact, it is nothing like them, because it is not a thing – it is no thing at all!

In response to the previous experiments, the question arose, “What’s the point?” This question is very important, for if there’s no reason to experiment with awareness, then why bother? Well, speaking from my own experience with these techniques, I can vouch that they can be very effective in loosening the bonds of identifying with, and attachment to, the ego-self that I normally take myself to be. Not only is this a more accurate understanding of what we truly are, but it is also conducive to an increase in happiness or contentment.

Allied to the above benefits, which could be seen as somewhat selfish, even though they involve a reduction in self-identification, is the fact that other people may well benefit as well. This is because to practice this form of mindfulness results in the crumbling of the self-made barriers that usually separate human beings. Looking back here and finding nobody home means that there’s no self interest to get in the way of the perception of others. In fact, they are experienced as part of this awareness, and as such are not recipients of the usually self-centered attitudes that color our attitudes and actions towards other people.

These three experiments have featured three different elements of the human experience: vision, hearing, and thinking. There are other senses that can be explored in the light of awareness, which include touching, tasting and smelling. The Buddhist satipatthana mindfulness practices supply more potential subjects for us to view in relation to awareness, which encompass feelings (positive, negative and neutral), the state of the mind (greedy, generous, hateful, loving, etc.), The four noble truths (suffering, its cause, its ending, and the Path to its ending). No doubt you can think of other ways to experiment with awareness and its contents yourself. (For more on satipatthana, click here: 4 Focuses of Mindfulness)

So, all in all, ‘seeing-what-we-truly-are’ (a variant of Douglas’ well known description of this technique quoted above) can be an effective way to practice insight. It can transform our relationship to the world and the myriad beings that we encounter in it. Above all, it gives us a valuable, simple, and direct method to let go of greed, hatred, and delusion, leading to a more awakened life. Give it a go and let me know how you get along.