Mettā is a quality of heart-mind that traditionally is talked about as to be cultivated. I like to think of it much more as accessed. We have a sense of what kindness, goodwill, friendliness, peacefulness, happiness is, and yet sometimes it's hard to connect to that, especially during challenging times. So in this meditation the phrases will be “May I…” or “Let it be possible…,” or some version of that. Mettā is something you already have. It’s a muscle you have, and you’re just pumping your muscle. You’re strengthening it. So then when you need it, you have the strength for it.
Talks
March 15, 2019
| 1 hr 20 min.
Bringing Intentions Into Action: Embodying Wise Kindness
Rev. Liên Shutt
Rev. Liên Shutt
Guest Teacher
Rev. Keiryu Liên Shutt (she/they) draws from her monastic practices in the U.S. and overseas to share ways in which the deep settledness of traditional practices can be brought into everyday life. She is the Guiding Teacher of Access to Zen Sangha and SF Bay Area sanghas.