Lightly edited transcript Filler words and caption errors removed by machine; the meaning is unchanged.
Delson leads a 60-minute guided loving-kindness (metta) meditation with no talk or teaching section. He starts with posture, a smile, breath and a body scan to release tension, then brings up warmth in the heart, suggesting an image of a smiling baby. He extends the feeling outward in stages: to oneself, then forward, behind, right, left, below and above, then to all beings in the room, building, city, globe and galaxy, and finally without limit.
Key points
- Begin by settling the body: sit comfortably with a straight back, smile in the mind and heart, attend to the breath and relax tension, especially in the shoulders and back.
- Generate metta toward yourself by repeating phrases such as 'May I be happy, may I be well', and by imagining a smiling baby to bring up warmth in the heart.
- Extend the feeling in directions one at a time (forward, behind, right, left, down to beings in the ground, water and lower realms, and up through the deva and brahma realms), sharing it without pushing.
- When the mind wanders or strains, recognize it, let it go, soften, come back to the smile and the feeling; Delson repeatedly says this is the nature of the mind.
- Let the feeling expand beyond the body and room to the city, globe and galaxy, with the reminder that there is nothing to achieve, nowhere to go and no one to become.
Themes
Where this talk sits on the path
This talk belongs to a thread that runs along the whole path. It follows the thread of Guided meditations.
Transcript
Settling into Loving Kindness
I want you all to find a comfortable sitting position. If it's in a chair or on a cushion, whatever works for you. Keep your body straight. Don't slouch. Close your eyes. Put a little smile on your face. A little smile in your mind and in your eyes and in your heart. Pay attention to your breath as you inhale. And exhale. And relax.
We're going to do a little body scan. Just pay attention to parts of your body. Notice any tension anywhere throughout your body. And just let it go. Soften it. Relax. Notice any tightness in the shoulders, in the back. And just let it go. Now we're going to bring up the feeling of loving kindness. You can say in your mind, may I be happy. May I be happy. May I be well.
May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be free of suffering. And just notice, just imagine a little baby in your arms. Just smiling at you. Giggling, laughing. Just looking at you with innocent eyes. And feel the warmth that comes in your heart. Let the mind just stay there. If you notice any tension, just relax. Let it go. Soften. Soften. Feel the warmth in your heart. Soften. Feel the warmth in your heart. Feel the warmth in your heart.
Throughout your heart. Just bask in that. Just bask in that. Just pay attention to that feeling. Just pay attention to that feeling. Just let it go. If you notice the mind wandering. Just recognize that. Just recognize that. Let it go. Come back to your body. Soften. Relax. Relax. Come back to your smile. Come back to your smile. And bring up that warmth again. Bring up that feeling.
Stay with the feeling. Stay with the feeling. Stay with the feeling. Stay with the feeling. Stay with the feeling. Stay with the feeling. Stay with the feeling. Like a candle flame. Like a candle flame. Just glowing. Like a candle flame. Just glowing. Just glowing. If your mind drifts. That's okay. If your mind drifts. That's okay. It's fine. It's fine. That's the nature of the mind. That's the nature of the mind. Just recognize that. Just recognize that.
Let it go. Relax. Come back to your smile. Come back to the feeling. And let the feeling grow. Let the energy pervade your entire heart. Let it glow. Go outward. Throughout your torso. Feel the warmth throughout the torso. Feel the warmth throughout the torso. Feel the warmth throughout the torso. And let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let it go. Relax. Let the mind. Let the mind expand. Let the feeling expand. Let the feeling expand. Let the feeling expand. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let it be.
Just come back to the feeling of loving kindness. Just come back to the feeling of loving kindness. The good wishes to yourself. The desire to be happy. And to be well. Just stay with that warmth. With that loving and kind energy. Let the mind settle. Don't do anything. Don't do anything. Just watch. Just watch. Just watch. Just watch.
Just watch the mind sink into that feeling. There's nowhere to go. Nothing to do. No one to be. All is well. I'm going to be a little bit. going to be a little bit. in your mind. And just say, may all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be safe. May all beings be free of suffering.
Radiating Loving Kindness in Directions
And share your loving kindness. Let it pervade the forward direction. Let it expand. Don't push it. Just share it. Allow it to be there. Allow it to be there. Allow it to go in the forward direction. And just feel that. Just observe it. That's it. And as the loving kindness spreads ahead of you. Feel the expansion. Now we are no longer in our bodies. Now we are no longer in our bodies.
Now we are in a conscious space. Beyond the body. Just let the feeling continue. Don't do anything. You are a source of loving kindness. You are a light, a lamp of loving kindness. If your mind is wandering or pushing too hard, just recognize it. It's okay. Let it go. Soften. Come back to your smile. And just let the loving kindness flow again. That's it. Just feel the expansion.
Now, bring your attention behind you. And let the feeling of loving kindness spread backwards behind your head. May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be free of suffering. May all beings be filled with loving kindness. Don't push. Just let it flow in the backward direction. If you feel sloth and torpor, if you feel like the mind is wandering around, it's okay. Recognize it. Let it go.
Soften. Let the mind expand. Relax. Let the energy flow. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Now we're going to bring our attention to our right. Now we're going to bring our attention to our right. Let the feeling of loving kindness. Let the feeling of loving kindness flow out of you. Let the feeling of loving kindness flow out of you. Towards the right direction.
May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be safe. May all beings be free of suffering. May all beings be filled with loving kindness. May all beings be filled with loving kindness. Feel that warm, loving and kind energy. Just flow out. Allow it to spread. Don't push it. Let it pervade.
All through the right. All through the right. All through the right. If you notice the mind pushing. If you notice the mind pushing. If you notice any tightness. Just soften. Just relax. Let go. Come back to the feeling. Just let go. Come back to the feeling. Just keep your attention there. That's it. Just let the mind settle into it. Just let the mind settle into it. Let it go. Now bring your attention to your left. Now bring your attention to your left. Let your loving kindness. Let your loving kindness flow out to the left. May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be safe. May all beings be free of suffering.
May all beings be free of suffering. Just let it flow. Just let it flow. No pushing. Let it shine out of you in the left direction. Let it go. Let it go. Relax. Come back to the feeling. Don't push. Just soften. Relax. Relax. Relax. Relax. Relax. Relax. Relax. I'm going to go. Now. Bring your attention. And the blue. Let your loving kindness. Let your loving kindness flow. Let your loving kindness flow. Downward.
Sending Loving Kindness Downward
To all beings. In the ground. In the water. In the water. To all beings. To all animals. To all birds and reptiles and insects. To hungry ghosts. To beings in the hell realms. May all beings be free of suffering. May all beings come out of their suffering. May all beings be happy and safe. Let your loving kindness pervade all the lower realms below you. Experience your loving kindness. Share it with them. Let them experience it.
If you notice your mind wandering around, it's okay. Let it go. Relax. Come back to the feeling. Going out to the lower realms. May they all be happy. Let it go. Let it go. Soften. Let the mind remain expansive. Let the feeling of loving kindness pervade all lower beings. Let it go. Bring a little focus in your mind.
Sending Loving Kindness Upward
Straighten up. Relax. Settle into it. Let the feeling pervade below you. Let's go. Now we're going to turn our attention upwards. Let the feeling of loving kindness flow out through the top of your head. Out into the sky. Now into space. Just feel it flow. Don't push it. Let the feeling go up. Let the feeling go up. To the realm of the four great kings. To the deva realms.
Let the feeling go up. Let the feeling go up to the first brahma loka. Out into space. Out into space. Out into infinity. Beyond space. Out into the second brahma loka. Out into the third. Out into the third. The world. Out into space. Out into infinity. The mind. Let the mind. Let the mind be spacious. Let the mind be spacious. Let the feeling flow. Let the feeling flow. To the right. If you notice the mind pushing. Relax. Soften. Soften. Expand your awareness. Let it go. Let the feeling flow out. Soften.
Expand your awareness. Let it go. Let the feeling flow out. Remember, there's nothing to achieve here. Nothing you have to be. Nothing you have to reach. Just let the mind be settled. That's it. To be a good idea. In a radiant sphere of loving kindness. An aura of loving kindness. Let that feeling. Let that feeling expand in all directions. May the person in front of you. Behind you.
To the right of you. In the right. Through you, within you, outside of you, outside of you, throughout this room. Feel the loving kindness flow through you. Feel the loving kindness flow through you. Feel the other's loving kindness in you. Now you have become one symbiotic aura of loving kindness. Allow that feeling to expand. If the mind is trying too hard. Relax.
Expanding Beyond the Body and Room
Soften. Soften. Feel the expansion of loving kindness. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. Let it go. Just feel the expansion. Just feel the expansion. Soften. Relax into it. Move beyond the body. Beyond the mind. Beyond this room. Let the feeling go outward. Let the feeling go outward in all directions at the same time. Beyond this building. May all beings in this building.
May all beings in this building feel your loving kindness. Feel the expansion. Feel the expansion. Now there is no border between your body and the space around you. It's all just loving kindness. It's all just loving kindness. There's nothing else but the feeling. There's nothing else but the feeling. Let the feeling flow out throughout the city. Keep expanding. Let the feeling flow out throughout the city. Keep expanding.
Let it pervade all around you in all directions. Let's pray. Let's pray. The entire globe with a powerful aura of loving kindness. You are that source of loving kindness. You are that source of loving kindness. You are that source of loving kindness. Expanding outward in all directions. Out into space. Out to all the planets. Out to all the planets in this system. Out to all the planets in this system. Out in the solar system. Outward. Even further out. Out into space. Out into space. Out into space. Pervading the entire galaxy. Out into space.
Pervading the entire galaxy. Just keep it going. There is no limit. If you notice your mind drifting, relax. Soften. Come back to the feeling. Come back to the feeling. You. Allow the flow of the loving kindness. Allow the flow of the loving kindness to soften. To soften. To relax. To relax. To become space itself. To become space itself.
Let it all go. No expectations. No goals. No goals. Just the feeling. Allow the mind. Allow the mind to be suffused with it. Allow the mind to be suffused with it. To be quenched by it. To release into it. To release into it. To relax into it. To do it. Nothing to do it. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go.
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