Llewellyn's Little Book of Meditation by David Pond

Author:David Pond
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: CVR09062017;meditation;meditation for beginners;little book of meditation;llewellyns little book of meditation;llewellyn's little books;llewellyns little books;llewellyn's little book series;little book series
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2018-02-02T14:02:47+00:00

Many people are naturally empathetic

to the degree that they are not able

to separate themselves from the

suffering of others and find it

necessary to avoid suffering at all costs.

Learning the practice of Tonglen

can help restore a sense of well-being

in you and energetically help others

in the face of suffering.

Tonglen is a skillful extension of empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and feel what others are experiencing from their frame of reference. Many people are naturally empathetic to the degree that they are not able to separate themselves from the suffering of others and find it necessary to avoid suffering at all costs. Learning the practice of Tonglen can help restore a sense of well-being in you and energetically help others in the face of suffering.

Tonglen is the practice of exchanging oneself for another—feeling directly the suffering and pain of another, and then doing the work of alleviating this pain within yourself. You breathe in the pain or suffering of the other person as if it were your own, and then picture the dark energy moving through you and dissolving into the emptiness of the void. You then return to your heart and breathe out the compassionate wish that the other person may become liberated from all pain and suffering.

Tonglen is the inverse of the practice of breathing in the light and breathing out the dark. With Tonglen, you breathe in the suffering, darkness, and pain of others, feel this dissolve into emptiness, and then breathe out light, love, and a compassionate wish that others may be free of suffering. By dissolving the pain of others into the void, you free your psyche from carrying any attachment to the pain or darkness you are breathing in.

You first picture the other person as another you. You essentially empathize with the person to such a degree that you can feel their emotions within you. Then you picture these emotions dissolving in the emptiness, and send back love and compassion.

Tonglen is a beautiful practice to engage in when you are with a dying person. It allows you to be fully present with the person and the truth of the experience while simultaneously doing a tremendous service.

• exercise 9 •

Tonglen Meditation

This exercise has been adapted from my book Western Seeker, Eastern Paths. First, sit quietly and focus on awakening your heart/mind to compassion and loving-kindness. Once you feel this love and compassion, imagine someone you know who is going through a difficult time. Imagine the other person’s pain and suffering as a dark cloud of negative energy.

Now breathe this dark, smoky pain into yourself and imagine that you are taking away the pain of your friend. Feel this dark cloud move right through you and dissolve into emptiness. Or you could picture this dark cloud of energy being dissolved in the compassionate heart of the Buddha or Jesus. In this way, there is no personal attachment to the darkness and it moves through you.

After you have dissolved the darkness, reconnect to your heart of loving-kindness and send

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.