What does that really mean ? It certainly sounds good but … what ?
Do you have to be a practicing Buddhist ? Or ? In the yoga community, this concept, the words, gets tossed around a lot but what does it really mean?
“For someone to develop genuine compassion towards others,
first he or she must have a basis upon which to cultivate compassion,
and that basis is the ability to connect to one’s own feelings and to care for one’s own welfare…
Caring for others requires caring for oneself.“
– Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama –
So the words of Dalai Lama encapsulates this central idea of “Metta” in the Buddhist teachings.
In a sense, practice of yoga, not the driven gymnastics (not discounting the great benefits for that kind of practice – really admire those because it’s a about fierce commitment and passion to the practice – but physical limberness, flexibility, strength and prowess is not a sign of any greater spiritual enlightenment is all I am getting at – how about someone entrapped in a wheel chair or someone who suffers from chronic pain, going through whatever kind of treatments, etc.) but the kind that treats oneself with compassion …for lasting health. THAT is the practice of Loving Kindness and the basis of the studies I am most engaged in. Love to have a circle with those who also practice this, because as such circle enlarges, so will our hearts SWELL WITH LOVE for the entire world and …each, this very own life, a gift we must cherish no matter the suffering we feel so stuck with.
We can wake up and then … refine the “art” of living a bit …see the brush strokes, the colors, the design, the contrasting shapes and forms from different perspectives, the subtle nuances of light and shadows – refining and shifting ever so slightly – in spite of the toxicity, the disease, the envy, fear… all those icky, yukky stuff we best get rid of with this year coming to an end. As long as there is a spark of that iron “will”, a determination, a sense of purpose and meaning … then, a positive change is possible. I believe. Healing is possible if you are willing. Believe it. We were placed on this earth to “evolve”. It’s our saga.
