This summer we will be focusing on metta<\/span>, the Buddhist practice of loving-kindness. The schedule (with fuller details below) will be as follows:<\/p>\n 6-17: <\/span>phases of the practice, <\/span>understanding why the practice proceeds as it does and how to work with difficult parts for each of us.<\/p>\n 6-24: <\/span>visualizations<\/span>, <\/span>using the imagination to deepen your experience of loving-kindness.<\/p>\n 7-1: <\/span>causes and conditions<\/span>,<\/span> understanding the basis for our negative emotions to overcome them, and how our practice will set the foundation for positive feelings.<\/p>\n 7-8: <\/span>taking care of yourself<\/span>,<\/span> the first stage of metta bhavana<\/span> focuses on cultivating loving-kindness toward yourself. See why taking care of yourself is a central Buddhist practice.<\/p>\n 7-15: <\/span>practicing joy<\/span>,<\/span> we will focus on bringing joy into your meditation and meditation (awareness) into your joy.<\/p>\n 7-22: <\/span>gratitude, <\/span>turning the mind to what we are grateful for in this world of flux helps to keep us on track through difficult times in life. Here we will discuss practices of gratitude.<\/p>\n 7-29: <\/span>metta and mindfulness<\/span>, <\/span>we will explore the interplay of these two foundations of Buddhist meditation.<\/p>\n 8-5: <\/span>clinging and labels<\/span><\/span>,<\/span> it is typical for us to try hard to control things (and people) in life by clinging to ideas of them and placing labels on them. This, however brings us suffering when things and people naturally behave outside those labels and ideas. We\u2019ll explore our relationships with clinging and labels, how they may be useful, and how they may bring us suffering.<\/p>\n 8-12: <\/span>the conceit I-am<\/span>,<\/span> this central Buddhist teaching asks us to look closely at who\/what we think <\/span>we are, we will dig into the labels (again) we have heaped upon ourselves that often bring us out of tune with reality.<\/p>\n 8-19: <\/span>the Karaniya Metta Sutta<\/span><\/a>, reading the text as a source of inspiration and contemplation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n (6\/17) This week we will look at particular phases of the practice. Some people have difficulty with the first phase, cultivating loving-kindness to yourself, but most common is the fourth phase, dealing with the \u2018difficult\u2019 person<\/span>. We\u2019ll explore strategies for the real difficulties faced in this practice. Some people have had to reverse orders a bit, starting with a good friend, which then opens their heart to shift to themselves. Others will find that they need to leave the most difficult<\/span> people in their lives out of their meditation for a while so as to avoid getting caught up in old cycles of hurtful emotion.<\/p>\n (6\/24) Next week we will discuss visualizations<\/span>, engaging the imagination to deepen the emotional impact of the practice. Visualizations include imagining a lotus or rose at one\u2019s heart with a diamond in it, representing our innate purity, and allowing light and warmth to grow from that pure center as we cultivate loving-kindness for ourselves<\/span>. We then imagine our good friend (and then others) joining us, and our own light and warmth embracing them, bringing out the same pure qualities that in turn embrace the meditator in a reciprocal flow of metta<\/span>. How much do these help? How might they become a distraction? We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n (note, there will be a Puja<\/span>, a devotional ceremony, held at the Rocky Mountain Buddhist Center<\/a> on Wednesday, June 25, at 7pm that I will attend and encourage others to attend as well)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n (7\/1) After that we will look at the theme of causes and conditions<\/span>, central to Buddhist psychology. We see that our own pain and trauma is based on causes and conditions, allowing blame and self-labeling to dissipate. We also see that the the joy brought to us by friends is based on causes and conditions, allowing us to not cling to it. Likewise with our \u2018difficult\u2019 person, we see that he or she has caused us pain based on his\/her own causes and conditions, bringing forth <\/span>forgiveness<\/a> and <\/span>reconciliation<\/a>, crucial steps in developing an open heart toward those who have harmed us. We can then work to set new causes and conditions, ones of acceptance and open-heartedness, to bring more goodness and joy to our lives.<\/p>\n
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