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Nine-Line Loving-Kindness to Transform Suffering
The Four Noble Truths—suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering—are qualified as noble because the true understanding of them is holy. Looking deeply into the nature of the first truth, dukkha, naturally leads to finding the others. To cultivate this deep understanding and prevent mistaking suffering for happiness, a nine-line meditation practice is offered:
- May I be peaceful, happy, and light in body and in mind.
- May I be safe and free from accidents.
- May I be free from anger.
- May I be free from unwholesome states of mind, fear, and worries.
- May I know how to look at myself with the eyes of understanding and love.
- May I be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness within myself.
- May I learn how to nourish myself with joy each day.
- May I be able to stay fresh, solid, and free.
- May I not fall into the state of indifference, nor be caught in the extremes of attachment and aversion.
Peace is a practice enacted through daily activities like walking, drinking tea, and mindful breathing, which the Buddha stated prevents the body and eyes from fatigue while bringing the joy of dwelling in purity. Accidents often arise from a lack of mindfulness, where one mistakes dukkha for sukha like a fish biting plastic bait, or from internal formations like anger and fear. The Sangha offers a safety net, as seen in retreats for war veterans, where collective mindfulness prevents accidents. This meditation on love begins with oneself, as the capacity to love others depends on self-love. Once one is solid and free, the practice extends to a respected person, a neutral person, and finally a person who has caused suffering. Reconciliation is described as unilateral disarmament; by transforming anger and hatred within, one reconciles without needing the other person present.
Practicing without intelligence is likened to a story from the Sutra of One Hundred Parables, where a fool tries to cure an illness by repeating the name of a bird or eating a drawing of it, rather than making the soup prescribed by the doctor. True practice requires understanding, not mechanical repetition. Deep looking and loving kindness lead to the death of the self-centered, self-sufficient ego and the birth of a liberated self, abandoning the notions of body and lifetime. This preparation paves the way for the next Buddha, Maitreya, the Buddha of Love, who may appear not as a person, but as a Sangha.
Part of the following collection
"Seeing with Original Eyes: Mindfulness and the Path to Compassion"