Aug 22, 2005 09:01 PM
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(Updated Aug 23, 2005 05:40 PM)
Metta
The August issue of Health & Nutrition magazine carried a snippet (page66) on the Metta Meditation and the 4 simple and practical steps to inner peace. My mind raced back to 1976, when as a young Sqn. Ldr. I was enjoying my study tour to North East as a student member of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Ootty. Our travel took us to Tenga Valley, Bomdilla and beyond. Brooding in solitary splendour, with a grand view of the snowy Himalayas, is the Tawang Buddhist Monastery nestling in the scenic, almost hidden Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The hill town of Tawang is well connected to Tibet in the north by Bum La and Tulung La passes. The journey is tough, steep and peppered with hairpin bends but the scenery is alpine and the Himalayan ranges are lush with pine, oak and rhododendron forests. ( Hope they are not ravaged by now) There is also an abundant growth of bamboo shoots too. (If you are lucky you may see red pandas eating them too). Located [approx. 10,000 feet] above sea level, Tawang is the second oldest monastery in Asia which explains the rush of tourists to this remote settlement. (If you have not visited it do so now). The magnificent monastery overlooks a valley and is surrounded by mountains that seem to be towering around it like guards. The monastery’s enormous yellow roof and white walls stand out like a beacon. The place seems completely isolated from the world.
“Sir, founded in 1645 by Mera Lama, a contemporary of the fifth Dalai Lama, this Gelugpa [Yellow Hat] establishment is home to a community of 500 lamas who live in its 65 residential buildings and do their daily rituals of chanting, praying, meditating and advancing Buddhist thought”, our guide, (Namgayal???) had told us then, perhaps repeating for the umpteenth time out of sheer practice.
Yeah, but what has that to do with “Metta”, you may ask.
Well Vippassana and Metta were the two meditation practices explained to us by a senior monk there through Namgayal. Of the two Metta is the simplest; Just 4 simple steps.
Find a quiet place and sit comfortably. Breathe gently and repeat the following phrases to yourself. “ May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be free from danger. May I live with ease”. If these don’t work for you, substitute phrases that do. Whatever you choose, the idea is to encourage a state of friendship and generosity-toward yourself. “Metta” is like giving yourself a gift. If feelings of unworthiness come up, simply reflect on your right to be happy. Continue for 5 to 10 minutes.
Call to mind someone you love or for whom you feel great respect or gratitude. Reflect on that person’s goodness, repeat the phrases you used earlier, substituting the word YOU for I (May you be happy.. healthy etc..). Try to connect with each phrase one at a time. Continue for about 5 mts. That is you are gifting Metta to him.
Focus on a neutral person. A stranger on the street, a milkman, a bus-driver, any one. Repeat the process. In an instant that third person becomes fully human to you with the same wish for peace and happiness that you have.
The last and most challenging Metta recipient: a person who has caused you difficulty. If you become mired in sorrow or anger, return to sending metta to yourself or someone you love and try again another time. But do send Metta to him too.
The (Pali??) word metta is a multi-significant term meaning loving-kindness, friendliness, goodwill, benevolence, fellowship, amity, concord, inoffensiveness and non-violence. It is defined as the strong wish for the welfare and happiness of others (parahita-parasukha-kamana). Essentially metta is an altruistic attitude of love and friendliness as distinguished from mere amiability based on self-interest. Through metta one refuses to be offensive and renounces bitterness, resentment and animosity of every kind, developing instead a mind of friendliness, accommodativeness and benevolence which seeks the well-being and happiness of others. True metta is devoid of self-interest. It evokes within a warm-hearted feeling of fellowship, sympathy and love, which grows boundless with practice and overcomes all social, religious, racial, political and economic barriers. Metta is indeed a universal, unselfish and all-embracing love. You know how these guides are? They always have some enlivening stories up their sleeves depending upon how much you tip them. Here is what Namagayal had to say:
Once the Buddha was returning from his alms-round together with his retinue of monks. As they were nearing the prison, in consideration of a handsome bribe from Devadatta, the Buddha's evil and ambitious cousin, the executioner let loose the fierce elephant Nalagiri, which was used for the execution of criminals. As the intoxicated elephant rushed towards the Buddha trumpeting fearfully, the Buddha projected powerful thoughts of Metta towards it. Venerable Ananda, the Buddha's attendant, was so deeply concerned about the Buddha's safety that he ran in front of the Buddha to shield him, but the Buddha asked him to stand aside since the projection of love itself was quite sufficient. The impact of the Buddha's Metta-radiation was so immediate and overwhelming that by the time the animal neared the Buddha it was completely tamed as though a drunken wretch had suddenly become sober by the magical power of a spell. The tusker, it is said, bowed down in reverence in the way trained elephants do in a circus.
Do try Metta. Who knows you may change to a new person!!
You mean “did I?” Well. I was reborn!
V V R
22nd Aug
