Cultivate an Open Heart
The practice of Metta or Lovingkindness reflection helps us to develop and sustain a felt sense and attitude of lovingkindness toward ourselves, others, and all beings everywhere.
Metta is a part of the Buddha’s heart teachings about lovingkindness, or the Brahma Viharas – compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity, and “unbounded friendship” – often called as a group the “Heavenly Abodes.” This workshop will bring participants into experiences of lovingkindness and focus on how to bring about compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity, and “unbounded friendship” in one’s daily life. The workshop will consider sila (virtue), samadhi (concentration), and pañña (wisdom) as they relate to lovingkindness. Since the purpose is to cultivate lovingkindness and good will, the workshop will be of benefit to anyone who is interested in the topic, no matter what spiritual tradition you might be interested in, or, for that matter, whether you are interested or involved in any spiritual tradition at all. The focus will simply be on how a person can cultivate a felt sense and attitude of lovingkindness toward themselves, others, and all beings everywhere.
Workshop Leader: Fred Martinson