Morning “Check In” — What is present and what is arising? When I awake in the morning, the first thing I do is “check in” to myself to see what’s going on. I consciously breathe in and out, center myself, and just listen and watch to see what arises. I try not to get snagged […]
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Metta-the Healing Power of Visualizing and Radiating Love Toward Others
Here is a unique teaching on metta, or loving-kindness meditation, by Acharya Buddharakkhita from “Mettá: The Philosophy and Practice of Universal Love.” In this teaching, Buddharakkhita focuses specifically on how to use visualization and thought-radiation to embrace others in universal love and goodwill. This teaching presents the classic sequence of beginning with loving oneself, and […]
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The Karaniya Metta Sutta and Healing Through Loving-kindness (with Music)
Over the years, I have collected many wonderful translation of the Metta Sutta, the Buddha’s sutta (sutra) on loving-kindness. But of all of them, I believe this one, from the Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery, is my favorite. I have it printed out and taped to my wall, and I often turn to it for inspiration. I […]
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Prayer and Metta for all beings affected by the BP Gulf oil disaster
Like millions of others in the United States, and around the world, I’ve been keeping a close watch on the tragic situation with the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. I don’t live in the Gulf area, but I’ve tried to help by various forms of advocacy and by getting good, solid scientific and technical information […]
Continue readingEngaged Buddhism-How to Help with the Gulf Oil Disaster
One of the things that attracted me to Thich Nhat Hanh was his embodiment of what he called “engaged Buddhism.” While Buddhist monastic life and retreats have their crucial place, our day-to-day actions and their kamma are what show whether we are developing sila—the moral and ethical awakening this is every bit as important as […]
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An Overview of Loving-kindness Meditation
May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness! May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering! May all beings never be separated from the supreme joy that is beyond all sorrow! May all beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion! Going through the Buddhadharma teachings I’ve collected […]
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Bringing Metta to Daily Life-A Talk by Bhante Vimalaramsi
You will find no finer or deeper teaching on Loving-Kindness than that of Ven. Bhante Vimalaramsi. I hope this short excerpt from a talk he gave on bringing loving-kindness to daily life will send you to his website to read the whole article. (Link below) Metta in Daily Life Ven.Bhante Vimalaramsi What we need to […]
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Audio Dharma-An Introduction to Metta by Gil Fronsdal
One of the reasons I upgraded my blog for audio capability was so that I could include talks by Gil Fronsdal. Along with Thanissaro Bhikkhu, he was one of the very first dharma teachers I listened to, and he had a huge impact on my understanding and practice of Buddhism. I’ll always be grateful to […]
Continue readingAudio Dharma-The Karaniya Metta Sutta
In order to expand my ability to share the dharma, I’ve upgraded my blog so that I can now share audio talks with my readers. I’m very excited about this, because there are many wonderful dharma teachers whose teachings are mainly available as audio recordings. Because of the nature and purpose of this blog, it […]
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Finding the True Face of the Universe in an Innocent Fox
If you have followed this blog, you know that the naturalist and anthropologist Loren Eiseley is one of my favorite writers and thinkers. Decades ago, when I read a collection of his essays called The Unexpected Universe, it changed my life forever, and I think, for the better. In a prior post, I shared some […]
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The Selfish King and the Compassion of the Tree Spirit
Doing some dharma study this weekend, I came upon this wonderful story in a document I downloaded from internet years ago. I regret that I no longer know the source of this, but the message is a relevant as ever: A long time ago there lived a selfish king. He wanted to build a large […]
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Breathing in Peace-Breathing out Love (music)
With so much pain and suffering in the news, I wanted to share this guided metta meditation that I’ve used for years. It’s from the book Who is My Self: A Guide to Buddhist Meditation by Ayya Khema, a wonderfully skillful nun in the Theravada tradition. This particular guided meditation has been especially helpful in […]
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All-Embracing Compassion-The Heart-Practice of Tonglen
The devastating earthquake in Haiti is a terrible blow to good hearts everywhere. Already there has been a huge outpouring of physical aid and spiritual support to the suffering people of Haiti. In the days and months ahead, this support will need to grow and continue to help bring recovery and healing to Haiti. As […]
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Ajahn Brahmavamso teaches Loving-kindness Meditation
Ajahn Brahmavamso is a wonderful Theravadan monk whose wit and humor help bring the dharma alive. Because of his courageous stand on the ordination of women as Buddhist nuns, I thought it would be good to give people who are not familiar with him a feel for Ajahn Brahm’s skill as a teacher. I think […]
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Taking Care of Our Heart Donkey
Visitors to this blog know that I am a great admirer of Sufi mystic and poet Rumi, as these posts show: Rumi Poem-Quietness and No Longer Mourn for Me (music) Learn the Alchemy True Human Beings Know! This Being Human is a Guest House Recently, poking around the Internet, I found a very fine rendition of Rumi’s “The […]
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Krishnamurti Talks about Nature
Krishnamurti Talks about Nature If you want to get a feel for the kind of mindfulness and love Krishnamurti is pointing to with his radical teaching, see how he wrote about his own enjoyment of nature near his home in Ojai, California. Take a look at “Krishnamurti on a Nature Walk” at my Berkeley, Naturally […]
Continue readingChristmas Metta 2009-The Four Immeasurables
My Christmas gift to all is this wonderful explanation of The Four Immeasurables from the wonderful Naljor Prison Dharma Service, located in Boulder, Colorado. Metta is one of the four sides of the Four Immeasurables, and though this site’s emphasis is on metta, or loving-kindness, you can no more separate metta from compassion, sympathetic joy, […]
Continue readingThe wisdom of a fox and the compassion of a woman
Today, I’m going to do something slightly unusual and refer to a post of mine at one of my other blogs, Berkeley, Naturally, entitled: Gray Fox in Strawberry Canyon and a Mother Fox’s Wisdom Although my posts there are nature oriented, all the posts there arise from my great love of our natural world, and […]
Continue readingThe Moral Math of Climate Change « Goodheart’s Extreme Science
The Moral Math of Climate Change « Goodheart’s Extreme Science “…The future of the world depends on each one of us broadening and deepening our understanding of what is environmentally moral. The future depends on our moral imagination as a species.” This is a follow-up post to “Global Warming and the Loss of Earth’s Coral […]
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