Your Quantum of Kindness
Activating your quantum of kindness and care
There is a slightly different way to evoke the positive quality of kindness which can refresh traditional Metta meditation without replacing it in the long term. In meditation, start with clearing thoughts and focusing the mind on the body and breath. Then, bringing awareness into the whole front of the torso and using imagination bringing to mind a time over the last few days where someone to some degree was kind or generous to you, then when you were kind or generous to others in some way, including animals. Also bringing to mind any times when you were quite clearly kind to yourself in the way you looked after your health and mental welfare. Then asking yourself who do I need to be more kind to? Then at the end just having a general broad sense of yourself sitting there and being open to the underlying quality of kindness which could express itself in many ways.
The everyday experience of kindness
A very good way of activating and stimulating your quantum of kindness is the intention and expression of being considerate of others including strangers. This can become a very active stimulation and expression of kindness in small ways, all of which goes to build up your potential for kindness.
An analogy for your potential for kindness is a gong which is just sitting there, it has the potential for making sound but for the moment it is just quiet. When you ring the gong the sound resounds out. In the same way, as your mindfulness takes in your qualities of kindness over time your quantum of kindness grows deeper and when there is a need for it to be expressed it is felt directly and comes out in the particular situations you find yourself in.
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Vajradaka is one of the most experienced meditation teachers in Triratna and is continuously developing fresh approaches to maintaining and developing a vibrant meditation practice. He is known for easy to relate to ways of teaching which come across as clear, practical and relevant. He is a regular guest teacher on Dharma Night.
