Mettā comes from allowing things to be just what they are, and seeing clearly the conditioned nature of all of it. Start where you are, by bringing mindfulness to present moment experience, whatever it is. We all have difficult emotions! When we can be present with what is, with the support of the precepts, we can hold that experience and allow ourselves to be cooked soft—transformed through the turmoil of that energy. Going through the fire, allow yourself to be cooked, with the clear knowing that this is going to change—because it always does.
Ayya Santacitta
Spirit Rock Residential Teacher/Monastic
Santacitta Bhikkhuni trained as a nun in England and Asia, primarily in the lineage of Ajahn Chah, and has also received teachings in the Shechen lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. She is committed to our planet as a living being and resides at Aloka Earth Room, currently in San Rafael, California.