From an online retreat at Wat Marp Jan | Day-3 Afternoon All questions précised 34:28 Q1 Regarding metta, do we keep repeating and radiating out the metta until we achieve concentration? 36:29 Q2 When your mind is not pure, how effective is that loving kindness to others? How pure do we have to be to spread metta? 38:48 Q3 When I meet difficult persons, it seems very difficult to generate loving kindness Online questions read out: 43:03 Q4 How can I know if I have really forgiven myself? 44:34 Q5 Can you please elaborate on using gestures to forgive ourselves 46:28 Q6 In metta practice, may we include teachers who have passed away, as well as beings in nibanna? 47:40 Q7 Is it OK to meditate using metta for a little while and then anapanasati for 40-45 minutes and finish with Buddha anussati? 48:08 Q8 I am a busy wife and mother and I feel angry with myself when I cannot find the time to cultivate. How can I find the balance?

Each action of body & speech infused with mettā is like handing out a mettā-candy. Fake mettā can lead to genuine kindness.

Guided Meditation - Anattā, and Mettā to Anattā

Settling Meditation; Talk - No Self to be Found & Mettā to Phenomena

Unblocking the opening of a spring, staying within while cultivating metta for another person/being, not spacing out when concentration gets deep, it is always possible to be friendly and kind

Exploring the characteristics of aversion or ill will, how "averting" can at times be skilful, and if an antidote to aversion is needed, compassion and particularly self-compassion can sometimes be more effective than mettā NOTE: recording cuts out after 30 minutes due to a technical error, sorry

The benevolent attitude of metta is based on the understanding that others are just like me

Wishing well for all beings in a variety of ways

Kevin Griffin explores the Metta Sutta, the Buddha's words on Loving-Kindness. How can we actually live this teaching in an embodied way? Kevin's new book is Living Kindness: Metta Practice for the Whole of Our Lives. From Publisher’s Weekly: “The lucid analysis of Buddhist texts and the jargon-free examination of metta make this an ideal primer on a core element of Buddhist thought and practice."

In this second talk on Metta (lovingkindness) practice, we first review the foundational nature of the practice and its connection with the cultivation of wisdom and bring our practice into our lives and action in the world, with a reading of a poem from one of the early Buddhist nuns. We examine in some depth some of the challenges to Metta practice, what makes it challenging to manifest kindness and love, and point to some of the way to practice Metta in daily life.

We start with a short overview of practicing metta practice with phrases, followed by about 8-9 minutes of settling with mindfulness practice. Then we practice metta with phrases with beings with whom the metta flows most easily. This is followed by a period of guided practice of radiating metta.

2-hour practice period ('module'); includes instruction and guided and silent practice. One of four modules each day on the daily retreat theme, with Howard Cohn, Leslie Booker or Genevieve Tregor.

Basic instructions for the practice of metta meditation

Mettā to phenomena.

The aim of our practice is to develop wisdom, love, and skillful action in our lives. We commonly cultivate these capacities separately and then integrate them. In this session, we first explore the nature of Metta, its etymology in words suggesting "friendliness" and "friendship," and the ancient vocation, found in multiple spiritual traditions of cultivating Metta or love or kindness. We then look at the multiple ways of developing Metta, both in formal practice and in daily life, and examine briefly some of the challenges in cultivating Metta. Then we have a guided meditation the last 15 minutes exploring "Radiating Metta," a way of practicing likely closer to how the Buddha taught Metta. We follow this with discussion.

We start with a short introduction to Metta (Lovingkindness) Practice, working with phrases that tend to evoke Metta, kindness, good will, etc. Then there's a 10-minute period of settling (with mindfulness practice), followed by about 20 minutes of Metta Practice, with beings with whom Metta flows well.