Title
Kindness, Rejoicing, Compassion
The set of Buddhist love meditations, the brahma vihāras or 'divine abodes' are kindness (mettā bhāvanā), compassion (karunā bhāvanā), appreciative joy (muditā bhāvanā) and (upekkhā bhāvanā). In a way they are a meditative preparation for real life, all those encounters with real human beings in the midst of their joys and sorrows. They culminate in upekkhā bhāvanā which is a contemplation of the human condition, how everyone is embodied within a flow of conditions and continually making the choices that create their future. On the retreat we can get familiar with the whole range of emotions that human encounters stir up, from envy and resentment to anxiety, pity and gloom to craving, anger and possessiveness. All through, our ideal will be to access our innate humanity and respond from that deeper level. My own style of teaching is to introduce each of the brahma vihāras in a simplified three-stage form initially and then the longer version after we've had some practice. I also like to relate and combine them so that, for example, we positively rejoice in the strength and courage of someone who is able to respond really well to their own suffering. The meditations start and finish with T.A.R.A: that Tender All-Receiving Awareness which forms the foundation of mindfulness, the receptive awareness which underlies all other meditations and is the basis of love itself.
For more information read the retreat information sheet.