Spring is the season of growth and is ruled by the wood element. Wood has a rising quality of energy that penetrates the earth and expands to the sun. The organs associated with Wood are the Liver and Gall Bladder. This means that Spring is the most optimal time of year to balance the Liver Qi and strengthen the wood element.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Liver is affected by the emotional of anger Nu 怒. Anger, and its more subtle aspect frustration, are Yang frequencies. Yang is a rising movement of energy. When wood rises too fast this is called excess and generates heat. Anger causes the Qi to rise to the head; the face becomes red, the eyes bulge and the mind is overactive. The heat from anger can damage the Liver, blood and bile. Since the Liver rules the blood, stagnation in the flow of Liver qi can also cause menstrual cramps and irregular menstruation. Anger is considered the most damaging emotion because of it also harms the Heart, blood, and Qi. Therefore in Spring, it is advised to calm the Liver and prevent anger by cultivating states of kindness and good will.

This season I am pleased to share the YOQI Metta Meditation. Metta is one of the four sublime states in Buddhism and is therefore a powerful frequency of alchemy. For those who have excess Liver Qi, it is a purging practice. For those who have deficiency, it is a healing and protecting practice. Metta meditation can be practiced anywhere, anytime. You can use this meditation in traffic jams, in public spaces and silently among friends. As you extend your loving kindness, even for a minute or two, people will immediately feel a transformation in the environment. This is the power of loving kindness. The more you practice, the more it will grow like the universal tree of life, filling your being with peace and protection.

WHAT IS THE METTA?

Metta meditation comes from the Buddhist tradition of radiating Universal Kindness towards oneself and others. It can be used daily to raise the frequency on the planet and invoke protection. It is also helpful if you tend to feel anger and frustration or have negative thoughts and reactions towards others.

I learned Metta in Thailand during my training in the Buddhist lineage of Vipassana (Insight Meditation). At immersions, the guided Metta Meditation session was my favorite moment of the day. Wherever I was in my practice, whether I was frustrated or calm, tired or energized, Metta Meditation tuned me into the sublime state of perfect peace. Later, when the Taoist Master Mantak Chia guided us through the Inner Smile at his Qigong trainings, I saw a powerful parallel between the two practices. Therefore the YOQI version of the Metta Meditation that we will do today follows the traditional Buddhist method of radiating loving kindness and uses the Inner Smile as the means to arouse the Metta state.

The Metta Meditation is a discourse of the Buddha written in the Karaniya Metta Sutta. This story was first told to me by my meditation master Ajarn Helen Jandamit. The story goes thus:

While the Buddha was staying at Savatthi a large group of monks came together for their annual rainy season retreat at the base of the Himalayas. But the deities that lived in the forest were not pleased with the monks being there, so they began to harass the monks and distract them so they would leave. The monks could not meditate in such conditions and went to the Buddha to ask for advice. Instead of telling them to move locations, the Buddha taught them the Karaniya Metta Sutta and urged the monks to return to the forest and recite the Sutta as a meditation and for protection. When the deities heard the monks chanting they were so entrained by the high vibration of loving kindness, they welcomed them to stay and meditate in peace.

This story contains some beautiful messages. The first is that we do not live on this planet alone, we live in relationship. Even if we leave society to live alone in the forest there are also spirits and animals that live there too! And just as some spirits and animals in the forest may not like our presence, in society there are also humans that may not be compatible with our presence - or we may not like theirs. The Buddha taught that the way to live in harmony is through Metta.

The Pali word Metta means kindness, friendliness or good will. It is often translated as loving kindness, but this is not accurate. Metta does not need to be endearing or intimate, although it can be if the relationship warrants such a connection. Metta also does not mean that we are responsible to take care of the person or make sure they are happy. Metta is simply the sincere wish for happiness and well-being, As the Buddhist monk Thanissaro Bhikku explains, “Metta recognizes that people will become truly happy not as a result of your caring for them but as a result of their own skillful actions, and that the happiness of self-reliance is greater than any happiness that comes from dependency….In this way Metta is an attitude that you can express for everyone without fear of being hypocritical or unrealistic.”

I like the translation of Metta as ‘good will’. In the Taoist tradition, will power is our motivation and drive - it is energy. Our will power is generated by the kidneys or water element. Water is the mother of wood. Just like winter nourishes the seeds that grow in spring, water nourishes wood to grow. Therefore our will power comes from the kidneys and our kindness takes action and rises through the Liver.

When we send good will we are directing our energy towards goodness and positivity that all beings be happy and free from suffering. Therefore, Metta is a frequency of energy that we can tap into within ourselves. The Buddha called this sublime state of being Brahmavihara, the realm of creation. Through daily cultivation, the high vibration of Metta can pervade the motivation for everything in your life. Committing to this attitude also ensures that you do not harm others and as a result you are protected by the light of this positive energy.

But what if we come across injustice or someone who is doing harm? Should we be kind to evil? In the Karaniya Sutta it is interesting that the Buddha did not tell the monks to leave the forest and find another location. Rather he told them to go back and radiate Metta. The moral is that when we are in a negative situation whether we are in public or at home, the Buddha advises that we do not run away from it, but rather face it with good will. This does not mean that you should stay in a situation that is harmful, especially if your intuition is guiding you to leave. But the Buddha does propose a radical idea. If others are doing harm with their words or actions the Buddha says:

“Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil words. We will remain sympathetic, with a mind of goodwill, and with no inner hate. We will keep pervading these people with an awareness imbued with goodwill and, beginning with them, we will keep pervading the all-encompassing world with an awareness imbued with goodwill — abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.”— MN 21

Thanissaro Bhikku explains that by doing this, “You make your mind as expansive as the River Ganges or as large as the earth — in other words, larger than the harm those people are doing or threatening to do to you….When you can maintain this enlarged state of mind in the face of pain, the harm that others can do to you doesn't seem so overwhelming, and you're less likely to respond in unskillful ways. You provide protection — both for yourself and for others — against any unskillful things you otherwise might be tempted to do. The Buddha explicitly recommends developing thoughts of Metta in two situations where it's especially important — and especially difficult — to maintain skillful motivation: when others are hurting you, and when you realize that you've hurt others. You should be devoted to cultivating and protecting your goodwill to make sure that your virtuous intentions don't harm anyone.”

THE OPTIMAL CONDITIONS TO GENERATE METTA

The Buddha explains that the optimal conditions in which to cultivate Metta are living a simple, uncomplicated life and following basic moral precepts. Living a simple life and uncomplicated life is a common theme of both Buddhist and Taoist sages. The more projects we take on, the more fortune, material things and fame we seek, the more we put ourselves in situations of stress and adversity. When our emotions and energy are balanced it is much easier to cultivate high vibrational states. In addition, the moral precepts of Buddhism are designed to support our practice. They are to avoid killing, stealing, lying, abusing sense pleasures and using intoxicants. While it is obvious that if we want to cultivate kindness, we should avoid doing harm to ourselves and others, many people are unaware of how the media and entertainment industry promotes subconscious messages of unskillful behavior that works against all the precepts.

METTA MEDITATION METHOD

So what is the meditation that the Buddha taught the monks? How do we do it? The Buddha emphasized three important aspects that make up a Metta meditation practice:

· AROUSING THE METTA STATE WITHIN

· A MEDITATION OBJECT - WHICH IN THIS CASE IS THE PERSON RECEIVING METTA.

· A METHOD FOR RADIATING METTĀ OUTWARDS IN ALL DIRECTIONS

AROUSING THE METTA STATE WITHIN

The first step is to arouse the state of Metta within ourselves. There are many options and you can choose which one suits you. The first is to visualize any positive mental image that arouses kindness within you. For this we will be using the Inner Smile meditation. Smiling sends a message to the brain that you are safe and happy and opens our heart.

The second device to arouse the Metta state within is to remember a time when you were kind to someone or someone was kind to you. This will automatically generate the feeling and frequency of Metta in your heart. You can use this device anytime throughout the meditation if you feel like your mind has drifted or you lost the connection.

The third way is the use of an intentional affirmation that focuses on generating mettā like repeating a mantra or phrase such as good will, good will, good will. The intentional affirmation that is commonly said in Pali is: sukhino vā khemino hontu; English: "May all beings be happy and safe" or “May all beings be happy, may all beings be peaceful, may all beings be free from suffering, may all beings protect their happiness”.

In the Metta meditation will be using all three of these methods - visualization, reflection and all repetition of mantra - to help you arouse positive emotional feelings. In your own practice you can use all of them or the one that works best for you. Also with practice over time, you can let go of the visualizations and just sit and focus on the feeling of Metta itself. Keep the mind fixed on the feeling. If it strays, gently bring it back to the systematic guided meditation method to bring back or strengthen the feeling.

THE MEANS TO DEVELOP THE OBJECT OF METTA IS BY DIRECTING THE INTENTION TO THE OBJECT

Once we have aroused the Metta state, we will focus the energy on an object such as a person, animal, or nature. The way I was taught Metta Meditation in Thailand is to begin with sending Metta to oneself, then someone you respect, then family members and loved ones, then neutral people, and finally to your enemies or someone whom you feel negativity.

This is the way I was taught in Thailand:

· Metta begins by developing loving kindness and acceptance towards yourself. We can only give what we have cultivated within. If you feel any resistance that indicates feelings of unworthiness, this is showing you where you need to focus your practice.

· The Second object of the meditation is a someone that you respect, such as a spiritual teacher or someone who you hold in high virtue. This helps to anchor your belief in the existence of Metta in the external world.

· The third object of the meditation is your daily beloved, a close family member, mother, father or best friend. You can send to one or to all one by one. In Thai tradition we always begin this step with the our mother and father. Asians have a deep respect for their ancestors regardless of their relationship issues. But in the west, many people have not resolved the trauma in their relationships with their parents. I encourage people to take the Eastern perspective, that regardless of any harm experienced with ones parents, we can’t escape the fact that we carry the Jing Qi of our parents, the DNA, and there is no way to deny that we are made of their energy. If we carry the lineage of our parents, how can we truly accept ourselves if we don’t accept our parents? The practice of Metta towards our parents can bring a cathartic release and healing without ever having to see them in person and even if they are deceased.

· The fourth object of the meditation is a neutral person, which is somebody you know who you have no special feelings towards, for example, the bank teller or check out girl at the grocery store.

· The fifth object of the meditation is a hostile person that you are currently having difficulty with or have not resolved some negative issue from the past. The Buddha teaches us that a mind filled with ill will and hatred is a mind entangled with suffering. It serves no benefit to hold onto grudges and anger towards others, and this step is also very healing.

RADIATING METTĀ OUTWARDS IN ALL DIRECTIONS

The last phase of the meditation is to radiate mettā outwards. This involves systematically projecting Metta in all directions NSEW, and all dimensions high and low, seen and unseen. We will begin with our home, surrounding nature, town, city, country, continent, all countries, mother earth and the universe. This is done without any discrimination of good or evil. Always finish the meditation by bringing your awareness back into your physical body.

As you become more proficient in the meditation, the vibration of Metta will create a resonant frequency with the universal wave of Metta and can result in a very powerful charge in your aura. At this point the view of subject object duality fades away and it is possible to merge with the field of Metta all around you. Metta meditation was my favorite part of the meditation retreats in Thailand with Ajarn Helen because of her ability to create this resonant frequency in the space. The experience I had each time was pretty much the same- I could feel when the frequency arrived because the air would suddenly become thick and charged with a wave of magnetism, then I would get goodbumps, my heart would open and a voice in my head would bow down and say “thank you thank you thank you” as if I was receiving a blessing. Each time was a reminder to me how powerful we are when we fully surrender and accept ourselves and others.

APPLYING METTA IN DAILY LIFE

The Buddha advises us to stay determined to practice this form of mindfulness, keeping in mind our wish that all beings be happy and to make sure that it pervades the motivation for everything we do. He also says to protect and cherish Metta like a mother would care for her child. Metta is not just another popular meditation or something nice to do. It is a Brahmavihara, a vibration of the realm of the Gods! Metta is Universal – it is Kindness for all, without judgement or discrimination. Imagine how this world can be when all of humanity shares, promotes and takes action to protect the value of Universal Goodness like a mother protects her child. The first step begins with ourselves. As you practice, if there are feelings of frustration or irritation, allow this to be part of the practice and be kind to yourself. whatever arises it's important to accept the emotions with the same loving kindness, to be patient and allow all that arises to be met with friendliness. So are you ready to take a journey into the light of Metta?

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REFERENCES

Good Will, translation of Sn 1.8 by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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