One of my favorites, and the one that I find most students enjoying the most, is the <\/span>metta-bhavana<\/span>, cultivation of loving-kindness. <\/span>This year the \u201cCampus Sangha\u201d that I facilitate has been doing that meditation for about 6 weeks now, with really wonderful results. We\u2019ve built a strong community of regulars and a fairly good group of rotating once-in-a-whilers and just-oncers. On some nights we have 10, others nearly 20 and I know almost <\/span>all of the regulars names.<\/p>\n Afterward we always congregate in the kitchen; it\u2019s at the home of Linda and Larry. Larry was a student of mine when I taught at the U. 3 years ago and has since been a good friend;<\/span> he\u2019s a man who has lived a dozen lives in this one and now spends his retirement busier that me on my best days. We drink tea, we eat cookies, or dates or treats that Linda has decided to bake.<\/p>\n All very mundane perhaps, but this is all after a long session of metta-bhavana.<\/span><\/p>\n Reading Buddhaghosa\u2019s commentary on this practice in his Vissudhimagga in recent weeks -I\u2019m using it for a conference paper to be given next Monday- has added great depth to the practice for me. This week I pondered that Buddhaghosa spends just 3 pages (in the English translation, that is) introducing the meditation and getting you through the basics. He then spends 9 pages<\/span> discussing overcoming resentment<\/span> toward the \u201cdifficult person\u201d (or enemy<\/span>) in your meditation.<\/p>\n In abridged and glossed form, here are his suggestions (try each one and move to the next if it doesn\u2019t work):<\/p>\n I especially like the last one. When all else fails, give a gift!<\/p>\n After tonight\u2019s meditation, a couple hugs from an old professor, many smiles and delicious snacks, I thought this is it \u2013 Joy<\/span>. <\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure if it was the joy of community<\/span>, circles of old friends all coming back together (including news that one particular old friend and student will be back in town quite soon) and new friendships blossoming. Or if it was the joy of having <\/span>given back<\/span> a bit through the service of leading the meditation. Or of the meditation itself<\/span>: actively cultivating positive emotional states for about 30 minutes. Perhaps the joy of integrating academics (head-stuff) into experience in a way that so obviously benefits both myself and others\u2026<\/p>\n Or perhaps a bit of it all.<\/p>\n Either way, it was great. I still sit kind of \u201ccoasting\u201d down from the experience. Soon the dull ache in my jaw or the paperwork I need to deal with will get the best of me\u2026<\/p>\n But until then: joy.<\/span><\/p>\n When I\u2019m not busy being a crotchety academic, marathon runner, meditation poster-boy, autumn-leaf photographer, one of the things I like to do is teach meditation. I\u2019ve done it in a somewhat official form for about six years. I mostly work with college kids who are intersted, but I\u2019ve taught retirees, housemates, last year our college […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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