Loving-kindness

How to discover the love, kindness and friendship within.

“Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.” – Buddha (from the Karaniya Metta Sutta)

Buddha taught that the next Buddha would be Maitreya, the Buddha of Love. ‘Maitreya’ comes from the Sanskrit word maitri, meaning “friendliness”. In Japanese Maitreya is known as Miroku and in Tibet Byams-pa (“kind,” or “loving”).

When we practice loving-kindness meditation, we water the seeds of this future Buddha and strengthen the love, kindness and friendship within ourselves.

Loving-kindness is known as metta in Pali, maitri in Sanskrit and Ji in Japanese.

The traditional sutra or teaching text, uses the motto ‘may all beings be happy, well and at ease’, wishing everyone boundless and unlimited wellbeing. With these words we send a wish for all beings to blossom, to be well and to be filled with happiness.

We can develop loving-kindness within ourselves through our meditation practice and discover how it feels to connect with this precious gift. If you would like to give it a try, please take a moment to listen to this loving-kindness meditation, my gift to you.

Feeling loving-kindness

Loving-kindness is a heart-felt plea for your true essence to find that which is bigger than human love. Human love can can be limited, it adds conditions and expectations, it can bring disappointment and heart-break. Loving-kindness is bigger, fuller and more expansive than this. It fills your heart with unconditional love and it’s always kind, even when you are not being kind to yourself. It reminds you that you are worthy, you are loved and that you deserve the kindness that it offers. It will never leave you, because loving-kindness is part of you, it fills your heart with warmth and allows you to glow from the inside, filling your body and mind with glorious light, which shines out of you in a wonderful radiance. Trust this part of yourself, the light is always there even when you can’t feel it, with practise you will feel it more, sense it more and be able to shine your light of loving-kindness outwards, lighting up the hearts and minds of others, bringing more love and kindness into the world.

When loving-kindness is present, you feel whole, complete and utterly loved. You feel safe, cared for and warm-hearted, there is no fear, worry or sadness, you are entirely surrounded and full of boundless loving energy, you become completely who you are meant to be.

This connection may come and go at times, but with practise you can adjust to feeling, sensing and connecting with loving-kindness, which helps to transform your worries and bring the kindness that you need. Be brave, allow your light to shine, feel the warmth within your heart and be your own best friend. Your whole being will welcome and embrace this feeling and will wish for all beings to feel the presence of loving-kindness too. We all deserve to feel loved.

The light of loving-kindness is a treasured gift that we can give ourselves. This wish to be well and happy is a wonderful and kind act. You may like to light a candle, make a wish and shine the light of loving-kindness out from your heart. Fill your body and mind with words of kindness, letting your mind think kind and loving thoughts and your body to act with kindness and love. The light that shines within can heal and soften, freeing your body, mind and energy, so it can flow with warmth and surround you with this joyful gift of lightness, peace, freedom and unconditional love. Expand your inner light outwards, so that you radiate boundless love, wishing for all beings to be well and happy, so they too can receive this glorious gift.

Don’t dim your light, instead hold up a lamp and shine your light to show others the way. Be kind dear ones and keep radiating love.

If you would like to develop this loving-kindness, along with compassion, joy and peace, you may like to try my online course; Zen Compassion Meditation - The heart of loving-kindness. Thank you for reading.

Photo above from Unsplash