May You Be at Ease: Metta Meditation
In class recently we brought mettā (loving-kindness) meditation into the close of practice and folks have asked for the phrases we used.
It’s sometimes said that the mettā practice of kindly wishing wellbeing for ourselves and others is the yoga of the heart, and this powerful practice is a positive feedback loop that builds upon itself. Bringing up feelings of kindness allows for softening. In a more gentle and tranquil state, we are less likely to be reactive; we’re less judgmental (toward others and ourselves). When we aren’t so consumed with immediate reactions of liking and disliking (clinging and aversion), there is a greater openness. And in this space, we’re more apt to make astute, wise choices in life. More discernment in how we go about our lives leads to greater happiness, to more joy in life, and to the blossoming of further mettā.
Of course there are many ways that we might wish someone well, and it isn’t so important that we invoke “exact” phrasing in this meditation practice. It’s more about cultivating and allowing the feeling of loving-kindness to permeate our being, building like a wave that started as a whisper on the wind until it is big enough to encompass all beings. We begin with offering loving-kindness to ourselves, cultivating the fertile ground from which mettā can bloom. We next offer mettā to someone we hold dear, and then to a “neutral” individual (someone we aren’t either inclined or disinclined toward). Eventually our offering includes all beings, including those individuals with whom we have a difficult relationship.
That said, it can be helpful to have phrases to follow as we’re starting out. And we must always give ourselves the leeway to work with as little or as much of the practice as feels appropriate.
The following phrasing is what we used in the mettā meditation in classes this week, and if you find it to be helpful guidance, please make use of it in your own practice. This phrasing comes from mettā chanting at an Insight Meditation Society retreat I attended with Joseph Goldstein.
May I be filled with loving-kindness. May I be well. May I be peaceful and at ease. May I be happy.
May you be filled with loving-kindness. May you be well. May you be peaceful and at ease. May you be happy.
May we be filled with loving-kindness. May we be well. May we be peaceful and at ease. May we be happy.
May all be filled with loving-kindness. May all be well. May all be peaceful and at ease. May all be happy.
