Metta practice carries a profound intention: To bring kindness and an awakened heart to all beings and all situations in our lives. We explore the nature of this intention, and some of the main ways that metta develops: through a basic stabilizing of our lives and awareness, particularly in living ethically, and in formal practice, as concentration develops; through a process of purification of that which blocks or stands in the way of metta; and through an integration of metta in our lives, to the point where metta is less a doing and practice, and more a way of being, which we then bring into the world.

coming out of self view; bringing forth energy; recalling the spiritual faculties; applying wise energy regardless of the system used; calm as a consequence of faith and confidence; two recollections; don’t let the citta be bound by historical or domestic considerations; willingness to do the work; feeding the citta; mindfulness of the body, the inevitable decay of the body; what is it that evades or finds truth uncomfortable; differing views of Samadhi; the” I-am” looking for support; learning to push away the hindrances through experience; noticing craving, ill will and resistance; using metta, compassion, mudita, upekkha to approach unification of the citta by removal of the 5 hindrances; now is the time to rise up to it; restlessness, boredom, doubt; know them as they are not as myself; this is not worthy of this citta; using the wisdom factor to find appropriate attention; who is that?; feel how it is; going beyond thought; discernment of the release of grasping; the shift moment and the growth of confidence in it; noticing the struggle to find something; what about the measurelessness/ the sign-less?

metta (good will/ loving kindness –the experience of the lovability of beings), karuna (compassion – sees the vulnerability of beings), mudita (sympathetic joy - experience of the enjoyment of one’s own and others’ good states)and upekkha (equaminity – the ability to be present with the ups and downs of phenomena); the citta has 2 inputs – feelings(from body or mental perception) and associations/ images/ impressions; skillful intention and the associated joy; volition and sustaining volition as a characteristic of the citta; to others as to myself; the citta adopts various clothes, one of which is “me”; the citta is abundant, rich, calm, exhaulted, measureless/ suffusing, free from hostility and ill will; the significance of the metaphors of language; the measureless empathy of the Buddha; “just like me”, we are all like this as a source of the volition; it’s not so much object oriented as cultivating states of mind and freeing the citta from any state of ill will; identifying the signs that lead to the bonding with / settling of the citta and unification of the mind; find one that works for you; the object one chooses to facilitate this is not important; pitfalls and sidetracks to be avoided in the cultivation – the story of other particular people and of the self, thinking of the past and the future ; finding satisfaction and comfort; the wisdom faculty sees it has been identified and sustained and not owned personally

need to take a long view of spiritual development; caution with idealism; moving from head to heart; the importance of checking in with yourself; listening sympathetically internally; trusting the retreat form; taking it steady to steady the citta; patience; recalling, it’s like “this” now; dukka is not personal, not ‘mine ‘; good will points to the exit; Christian sin /guilt and Buddhist “bap”/ bad karma; going into the head closes down the heart; gestures and offerings of courtesies to others; dana – the spirit of the heart; sila – manufacturing mutual harmlessness; metta, karuna, enjoying gladness and goodness; anumodana; dissolving the boundaries of self and other; seeing what the citta responds to; equanimity – it’s like this now; the citta can be bigger than the conditions it meets; the measurelessness of awareness; living in the wide sphere; thanking mistakes as a necessary way of learning

Instructions and guided meditation

This talk explores some of the many facets of this beautiful and liberating quality of heart and also offers some different ways of approaching metta as a meditation practice.

In the spirit of beginning again and with a renewed zeal for the promised goal of a mind liberated from suffering and a heart available for impartial compassionate response, this day is spent practicing Mindfulness and Metta Meditation.

In the spirit of beginning again and with a renewed zeal for the promised goal of a mind liberated from suffering and a heart available for impartial compassionate response, this day is spent practicing Mindfulness and Metta Meditation.

In this guided offering, we explore Metta as a technology — a software upgrade we put into the hardwiring of our conditioning that requires a learning curve AKA practice.

A talk about love, eros, metta, and the Dharma; about our sense of the Earth, and a sense of the sacred.

A talk about love, eros, metta, and the Dharma; about our sense of the Earth, and a sense of the sacred.

A talk about love, eros, metta, and the Dharma; about our sense of the Earth, and a sense of the sacred.

A talk about love, eros, metta, and the Dharma; about our sense of the Earth, and a sense of the sacred.

The foundation & the guiding principles of the confluence of the dharmic streams of metta practice & qigong.

Can we create a metta practice using phrases, the energetic felt-sense of friendliness/warmth and our imagination/visualization to live courageously and creatively?

An exploration of the importance, personally and socially, of practicing with fear. We work especially with these tools: (1) mindfulness and the study of fear (What is fear? How does it manifest in the body, emotions, and thinking); (2) heart practices like metta and compassion; and (3) developing wise and skillful responses.

An opening night talk of a metta retreat combining Loving-Kindness practice and Qi Gong.

Satipanna Insight Meditation Toronto (SIMT)

Wohlwollen, Freundlichkeit, Liebende Güte

A brief exploration arising out of the Buddha's instructions: "It is in this way that we must train ourselves, by liberation of the self through love. We will develop love. We will practice it. We will make it both a way and a basis, take our stand upon it, store it up and thoroughly set it going." Samutta Nikaya

This talk explores a few of the difficult or afflictive states of mind that arise in our human experience and some effective way to work with them through the powerful tools in our practice of concentration, mindfulness, metta and compassion.

Compassion for ourselves in our childhood, teenage years, adulthood + aging process.

Lovingkindness (Metta) meditation begins with a smile meditation, then proceeds with calling on loving presence with someone easy to love, then self, others and extending out to the world.

Oneself, benefactor, dear friend and neutral person

Description of kindness/friendliness as a state of heart/heart and guided practice

Last week we spoke of practice as a process of purification, refining impurities of mind like a goldsmith refines and purifies gold. This week we’ll explore how the mind is refined by understanding how to balance three qualities that all need to work together. With Metta, James

Metta

Satipanna Insight Meditation Toronto (SIMT) Retreat

Metta for the different stages/ages in our lives. Optional strategies when metta is difficult