Perspectives on Loving-kindness Meditation

My explorations on the meaning and experience of Love has finally guided me to the benefits of Loving-kindness meditation. So when the Communes began on November 15, 2008, it has been our tradition to end the sharing with a meditation on intending Loving-kindness. This practice has left a profound impact on my spiritual process since 2007, and sharing this to others has led me to see how Loving-kindness affects people positively in their lives, and in turn opens doors to immense possibilities of Love. The meditation is very simple: one must begin developing intentions of Love towards oneself, then to others and all beings. These intentions transform judgmental thoughts against oneself and others into unconditional thoughts of Love.

I have witnessed astonishing changes among people whom I have shared this practice, and they have learned it likewise. But most of all, I have seen greater changes in myself, the way I see my life and my world through the lens of Loving-kindness. A number of perspectives have helped me to see the power of Loving-kindness meditation. My aim is to look into these perspectives with understanding of their possibilities, not necessarily to compare them, however they may differ from one another.


First Perspective
The First perspective seeks to define the original translations from the Buddhist tradition. The example of this perspective is best known from the writings of Sharon Salzberg, an American Buddhist meditation teacher, who wrote a book entitled Loving-kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. Through her personal exploration on the Buddha's teaching, she has profoundly concentrated on the art of cultivating Metta, the Pali (Buddha's ancient language) for Loving-kindness. The following preliminary phrases recited for the Metta meditation refer to the Loving-kindness towards oneself are:

May I be free from harm and danger
May I be free from physical suffering
May I be free from mental suffering
May I always be happy.

Then on the following phrases pronoun I is changed to you so one can begin to send Metta to others, starting from teachers or benefactors, then to loved ones, strangers and difficult people.

May you be free from harm and danger
May you be free from physical suffering
May you be free from mental suffering
May you always be happy.

The meditation has a litany of Loving intentions generated towards all visible and invisible beings, all material blessings and all directions. The subjects are changing, but the exact intentions (freedom from harm and danger, physical and mental suffering, and being happy) are clearly anchored to guide the meditator's universal blessing towards his or her subjects.

The word may as the beginning of the phrases is actually the distinct characteristic of the first perspective. In the English language, may is a modal verb, or a word that modifies the mood of a statement. As a western concept, may implies that something is lacking, uncertain of possibilities and must be wished for intently. This is the main reason why in the West may is apparently a weak word, comparable to the Filipino word sana or loosely translated as "how I wish." Western perception has a great emphasis on the power of words, therefore those words that may subtly imbibe uncertainty in motivating people are commonly avoided. As opposed to the Eastern concept where intentions are not limited by words, the word may is not capable of denoting a certain degree of impossibility, because for an Eastern meditator he or she already implies intentions as seeds of possibility, regardless of the words used.


Second Perspective
I remember a common motivation lesson (perhaps originated from the likes of great American motivation exponents such as Norman Vincent Peale, Napoleon Hill, Wallace Wattles, Anthony Robbins and Bob Proctor) that every wish must always be in the present tense. This kind of motivation purportedly stresses the importance of intending with full faith,and certain words can specifically limit or expand possibility.

If you are wishing for success, instead of saying "May I be successful", it is much better to claim that success as something that is right here and now: "I am successful." Most people find this technique difficult, for they define their experience as feigned rather than affirmative. This particular dilemma has also stemmed from the need of the western mind to articulate its experience before truly experiencing them. Simply put, a person tends to rationalize his or her experience and the act of claiming something yet to happen is an irrational pretense, a childish make-believe. "I am successful" is always followed by buts and ifs, because of the belief that one is not deserving of certain success, especially amid life's struggles and difficulties.

This shift from the modal may to the outright pronouns I and you shows the main quality of the second perspective. Here are the changes:

I am free from harm and danger
I am free from physical suffering
I am free from mental suffering
I am always happy.

You are free from harm and danger
You are free from physical suffering
You are free from mental suffering
You are always happy.

This is a comfortable concept in the western paradigm, for the acknowledgment of a wish in a straightforward manner is believed to be much more effective. In this perspective, affirmation can see the possibility happening here and now, not some wish from a distant future. Affirmative phrasing is the best antidote to the poison of pretense.

Third Perspective
In 2006, Australian producer Rhonda Byrne launched The Secret a documentary film featuring luminaries of modern spirituality who discussed the Law of Attraction. In one segment of the film, Abraham, a nonphysical entity conveyed by Esther Hicks, focused on the power of repeated negative words in attracting possibilities. The words used, according to Abraham, are signals to the universe (which is apparently another emphasis on words).

For instance, a person who suffers from debts or unwanted incidents is definitely unconscious of the words and thoughts she is using. She has kept on saying or thinking them that eventually causing those negativity to manifest. So a phrase such as "I won't have a bad day" is always counterintuitive, unlike if somebody says "I have a good day." Your wish not to have a bad day unconsciously suggest that a bad day can be possible because of a resistance to it using the word "won't". Again, the third perspective has a lot of thing to do with words, their uses and emphases. Having a good day suggest more fun and freedom, no limitations of negative concepts like bad and won't. The Law of attraction sees this positivity as viable to happen.

The third perspective suggests the changes of negative words into positive words. The following are my own equivalents.

I am safe and sound
I am healthy and alive
I am calm and peaceful
I am always happy.

You are safe and sound
You are healthy and alive
You are calm and peaceful
You are always happy.

Now, these positive words evoke the true nature of freedom from negativity. Instead of the phrase "free from harm", the words "safe and sound" empower that positive wish. Same goes for the rest of the intentions.


Fourth perspective
Under the principles of teaching second language, Stephen Krashen proposed The Natural Method, an approach wherein language is learned naturally. It allows the learner to listen, speak and imitate the sounds and words in an environment conducive to experiencing the language. Let say a kid who learns to speak English is tripped to the zoo where she acquires new animal names. She repeats the names with unbelievable precision because she has found meanings on her experience. The approach is crystal-clear: words are combination of distinct sounds naturally expressed to define a human experience. Words cannot appear nowhere. They are born out of experiential learning. I remember what my teacher said, "Experience always precedes meaning." Otherwise, the words will remain unlearned, dull symbols and sounds.

Both positive and negative words came out to represent the deepest need of humans to understand and share experiences. Abstract nouns like Love, Loving-kindness, Peace, Joy, etc., are not invented words, but rather have substantial connections to the feelings, situations, and contexts when the words were created. Likewise, negative words such as fear, anger, frustration, and guilt have the same source of experience.

The experience of these words, or rather intentions, calls for the possibility of the fourth perspective. While meditating Loving-kindness, the interactive rhythm of thoughts, feelings, imagination enlarges the power of intentions. As I intend safety for a friend, I imagine her sleeping tightly on her bed, having sweet dreams. Or if I intend health, I imagine my father as robust and strong even if he has come down with osteoarthritis. If I want to be happy, I can imagine the glowing light of Loving-kindness pumped like blood throughout my arteries and veins, nourishing my body with inner Love. Together with these imaginations I can feel the feeling and affirm my intentions that they are really happening and let them linger in my consciousness without forcing any results. I can only have faith to the power of Love that works without any expectations, and trust that everything I intend is now taking place. The fourth perspective needs no words. It only needs the experience of one's intention, transforming every lack of Love into a moving force of its presence.


The Possibilities of Four Perspectives
There is no greater perspective than the other because all of them have the same possibilities. They all share a common denominator: the intention of Loving-kindness. Words are but ways to define. Still, the intention itself, intangible and invisible, determines the effects and the results. In the realm of Love, whatever names and labels all collapse to the same essence, the inherent truth that we can intend and share the Love within.