Sympathetic Joy - Liberating the Mind

As usual, we will begin with meditation, and a reading of The Metta Suta (page vii). We will then continue our discussion of Chapter 8, Liberating the Mind Through Sympathetic Joy. This is the third of the 4 Brahma Viharas. Each are an essential practice for our times!! Join us to see how these build on each other, widening our view and increasing our capacity to love others... even the "difficult" ones.

We'll start on page 106, the section on Demeaning. These are interesting ways we sabotage ourselves out of lovingkindness, usually unconsciously. Discussions are rich and deep; we allow plenty of time to mine the gold in these pages.

Here is a link to 21 Translations of the Metta Sutta

Lovingkindness: the Revolutionary Art of Happiness, (find a copy by clicking the title link) by Sharon Salzburg.

This text is based on The Four Immeasurables of Love, Compassion, Empathetic Joy and Equanimity, which are the qualities of enlightenment that we aspire to accomplish through study, reflection and practice. Each week we will begin our sessions with an aspiration prayer and the Metta Suta before discussing the text.

We are the Buddhist Meditation and Study Group. Our community celebrates insight, debate, analysis, fun, and laughter. Some of us have been practicing for 20 years and others are brand new to Buddhist teachings. We love beginners. Feel free to sign in early to enjoy some social time with our Sangha. Through our lively discussions we seek to unpack the nature of reality through the Buddhist perspective. We value your presence and any contributions you may offer. Hope to see you on Thursday!