Buddha taught five “Boundless Mind States” of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. He likely put loving-kindness first because it is an open hearted goodwill toward all beings. By placing compassion second he facilitated the open hearted good will of loving-kindness seamlessly turning toward the suffering of others. What a masterful juxtaposition of mind states!
There are many standard and modern meditations for loving-kindness. The ancient Buddhist texts, however, are not so creative. They are directed in a one pointed fashion toward freeing the mind. The loving-kindness and compassion meditations are focused firstly on calming the mind (even before we begin the meditations on kindness and compassion). We are urged to develop our concentration practice to the point of mental calm then we move to more focused meditations.
Loving-kindness meditation begins with kind thoughts toward our self “May I be free from danger, may I be free of physical harm, may I be free from mental harm, may I be well, happy and peaceful”. We start with our self so that we begin to break down the barriers between self and others. The purpose is not to make us feel good nor is it a prayer. The purpose is to see that our wishes are identical to all beings. Then we move to someone we hold dear (someone who is alive and we are not romantically inclined toward).
The compassion meditation begins differently. We first envision someone who we know who is suffering in some way. We place the mental image in such a way that we see this person in our minds eye. Then we offer them loving-kindness using the same phrases we used in the loving-kindness meditation. We repeat these phrases several times resting in the space of the breath between phrases. Then we move to the compassion phrases of “may this good person be free of suffering” and repeat this many times also resting in the space of the breath between the phrases. Then we offer compassion to our self “may I be free from suffering”. And slowly moving on to those we love and care about “May these good people be free of suffering”. The point here is that these people (all people and all beings really) will eventually suffer. They will get sick, age, and die. They are the owners of their karma, which you may already have noticed by the ripening of your karma!
But what about off the cushion? How do we put compassion into action? One way is to open the heart to the pain of others. The reason we close down so often is that seeing others suffer is difficult. We tend to pull away from suffering in others and in ourselves. We also pull away from difficult circumstances and difficult people! And when we pull back we often lash out in thoughts, words and deeds. The end result is cruelty. We may not think of it as cruelty but it is. Compassion is the antidote for cruelty. It removes the filter from our experience. We experience situations without the filter of apathy, denial, resentment, or pulling away.
A second practice is to thoroughly examine the intentions behind our speech and actions. What are our intentions? In Buddhist teachings it is the intention that matter more than the results because our intention condition our mental habits, which condition our words, which condition our actions.
The next practice is the most deep. It involves using seven mental qualities (factors) to become more connected to others. When we encounter the suffering of someone we bring each factor into conscious awareness;
1. Mindfulness. We mindfully experience what it feels like in the mind and body to be connected with this person’s suffering. We don’t judge or comment. We mindfully become aware of the direct experience of empathy and compassion in the present moment.
2. Interest. Take interest in the person. Don’t pull away or ignore the situation. Commit the mind to that moment of experience. It is in that moment that the heart opens to the suffering of others. Compassion is an experience of moving the heart into action to alleviate suffering. Compassion is a verb!
3. Effort. It takes courage and effort as well as energy to face suffering. It’s no coincidence that the root word from which courage is derived is cor (Latin for heart).
4. Joy. When we make the effort to help someone, the mental quality of joy arises. It is for this reason that compassion has a joyful component. It is especially joyful when we let go of any judgments and commentary.
5.Tranquility. When the heart opens there is a peace of mind that is calm and collected. Compassion is the moving of the heart to action but the action itself comes from a place of peace. Have you noticed this? Please notice this!
6. Concentration/One pointed awareness. When we are moved by the suffering of others we have a concentrated and one pointed intention to alleviate their suffering. It’s important to point out that no act of compassion is too small. NO ACT OF COMPASSION IS TOO SMALL!
7. Equanimity. Practicing with the first six mental above qualities brings a perspective on suffering. Without wisdom, witnessing the suffering of others can overwhelm us. Wisdom sees the causes and conditions for suffering. Many times these are the deeply rooted afflictive emotions of greed, hatred and delusion. Sometime all three, seemingly at once. When we combine the clarity of wisdom with the action of compassion we directly experience equanimity. And it is equanimity that is the culmination of the practice of the six other mind states.
So give these a try! We all want to be more compassionate. And you get there the same way you get to Carnegie hall. Practice, Practice Practice. Peace, Floyd
