Buddhist meditations such as the one that focuses on Loving Kindness can bring about changes in the way we think and act, says DR SANJAY TEOTIA
The state of ‘Loving Kindness’ is often thought of as a mental state or attitude that can be cultivated and maintained by a practice of meditation in Buddhism. Developing loving-kindness is essential to do away with the kind of self-clinging thoughts that bind us to suffering, His Holiness the fourteenth Dalai Lama says that our own brain and our own heart is our temple.
He says that if we practise the philosophy of loving-kindness in it, everyone and everything can flower again from within. Because so many of us struggle with doubts and self-loathing, we have a tendency to think negatively about ourselves. That’s where the practice of Loving-Kindness meditation comes in. It is a popular self-care technique that can be used to boost well-being and reduce stress and anger. After a regular practice of this meditation, practitioners have reported that they have been able to increase their capacity for forgiveness, and have been able to establish a connection to others, besides working on their self-acceptance and more.
This technique definitely needs repeated practice as it is not easy to persuade oneself to send kindness to ourselves and to others. It takes practice to allow yourself to receive your own love or to send it to others. During loving kindness meditation, you focus benevolent and loving energy towards your own self and others. Some studies have concluded that loving kindness meditation is found to be beneficial in the management of anger, and is often useful in curing chronic pain and borderline personality disorders but studies on this aspect are still ongoing.
Some published studies have noted that this meditation technique may also be useful in the management of social anxiety, marital conflict, anger and coping with the demands of long-term care-giving. Loving kindness meditation can enhance the activation of certain areas of the brain involved in emotional processing and empathy. As a result, a sense of positivity is boosted and negativity is reduced. There are different ways to practice this form of meditation, each based on different Buddhist traditions, but each variation uses the same core psychological operation.
Loving Kindness Meditation Technique
During your meditation, your aim is to generate kind intentions toward certain targets including yourself. The following is a simple and effective loving kindness meditation technique to try. Once you are assured of some quiet time, (even if it just a few minutes) find a place to sit comfortably and close your eyes. Relax your muscles and take a few deep breaths. Imagine yourself experiencing complete physical and emotional wellness and loads of inner peace. In this state, you can feel perfect love for yourself. In this stage, thank yourself for all that you are, and tell yourself that you are perfect just as you are. Focus on the inner peace that will flow through you as you focus on feeling that you are perfect. Together with this thought, imagine that you are breathing out all your tension and breathing in feelings of love. At this point, repeat a couple of affirmative and reassuring phrases to yourself. Now, bask in the feeling of warmth and self-compassion that will wash over you.
Your focus may shift to other extraneous thoughts, but as soon as you become aware of this, you can gently redirect your thoughts back to these feelings of loving kindness. Let these feelings envelop you. Eventually, this loving-kindness meditation will begin to transform your feelings of anger, hate or indifference into compassion and friendliness.
Four Attitudes to Peace:
Loving friendliness and Joy towards All
Compassion for the Melancholic
Remaining undisturbed by events
Not feeling contempt or judging others
This popular Buddhist practice boosts our well-being and reduces stress. Loving kindness, friendliness and joy towards all, compassion for the melancholic, and feelings of equanimity or the capacity of remaining undisturbed by events and not being drawn into judgement or contempt are the four attitudes that will bring us peace of mind. Add to this: benevolence towards all living beings, joy at the sight of the virtuous, compassion and sympathy for the afflicted and tolerance towards the insolent and ill-behaved… and you will be firmly on the path of loving kindness.
Dr. Sanjay Teotia is Joint Director, Medical & Health, Lucknow. He is a prolific spiritual writer and his articles appear regularly in Navbharat Times and in Times of India, apart from YoursPositively
Photo of woman meditating on the beach by Tima Miroshnichenko
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