Day 24 - The Immeasurable Mind of Loving-Kindness
Living Christ Sangha - Advent Ango Practice Period
Readings
(click the header to view the readings)
Isaiah 35:1-10
Revelation 22:12-17,21
Luke 1:67-80
Reflection
By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1: 78-79
Today is the final day of Advent and our practice of seeking to be awake and watchful in our lives. We will close the Advent reflections by considering the final immeasurable mind, which is loving-kindness. Loving-kindness is the desire to see other beings have joy and happiness. It is the counterpart to compassion, which is the desire to relieve others of their suffering.
Just as we can cultivate the other immeasurable minds, we can also cultivate loving-kindness. The meditation techniques for doing this are well known, both inside and outside of Buddhist circles. The instructions are simple.
Find a quiet place to sit. Start by following your breath, and allowing your mind to settle down.
Once you are in a stable frame of mind, begin to offer loving-kindness as follows via the verses below the instructions.
The technique starts with generating loving-kindness for ourselves. This is so we have the stability to generate it for others, and this aligns with the biblical command to love our neighbors as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:31, and others). These verses all presumes a love of self.
After we generate loving-kindness for ourselves, we next offer it to someone we love deeply.
After that, we offer loving-kindness to someone who is an acquaintance.
Next we offer it to a stranger, such as someone we recall whom we encountered recently.
Next we offer it to an “enemy,” meaning someone we dislike or toward whom we feel hatred.
We close by offering loving-kindness to all of creation.
This practice waters the seed of loving-kindness within us, which gives rise to loving-kindness in the mind, and loving actions in the world.
The practice involves four verses: a wish for happiness, a wish for freedom from suffering, a wish for abiding in freedom’s true joy, and a wish for dwelling in equanimity. Here are the verses, with the middle section being repeated for each of the four people we have chosen to practice with at this time (loved one, acquaintance, stranger, enemy.) For the stranger we don’t know, just use something that identifies them in your mind, such as “the woman on the subway.”
Repeat the lines slowly, visualizing the person and saying each line in one in-breath and out-breath cycle. You may want to repeat the stanza for a given person a few times before moving on to the next person. We seek to visualize in our hearts what it would really be like for that person to attain the states described in the prayers.
May I have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May I never be parted from freedom’s true joy.
May I dwell in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.
May <NAME> have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May <NAME> be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May <NAME> never be parted from freedom’s true joy.
May <NAME> dwell in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.
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 parted from freedom’s true joy.
May all beings dwell in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.
The immeasurable minds are present when we are awake and aware of the deep need that all people have to be loved and to love. If you look carefully, you’ll notice that the four verses in each stanza are closely aligned with the four immeasurable minds of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. What we are actually doing in the practice is asking for the people we call to mind to be filled with love themselves, which is a beautiful wish.
Prayer
Loving God, renew me as Christmas arrives and expand my mind beyond measure so that I may unreservedly offer loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity to everyone I meet. Amen.