Awakening the Kind Heart

31 Pages·2014·0.19 MB·English

BUDDHISM
“Kathleen McDonald is a remarkably skilled meditation teacher.”
“Thisbookwillhelpyoufindhappinessandtruesatisfaction,
—John Makransky, author of Awakening Through Love
M
andhelpyoulivealifeofbenefittoothers.”—LamaZopaRinpoche,
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authorofHow to Be Happy and Wholesome Fear
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Awakening the Kind Heart offers powerful and inviting
N AWA K E N I N G
meditation techniques to activate the heart of kindness
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within us all—a modern and motivating interpretation of L
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traditional and powerful practices.
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“Throughclearexplanations,straightforwardpractices,andbasic
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goodheartedness,thisbookexplainshowtonavigatethepathtolove,
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evenunderverytryingcircumstances.Truly,thereisnothingmore
K
neededatthistime—ourveryfuturemaydependuponit.” E
—SusanPiver,authorofTheWisdomofaBrokenHeart N
I
N
“KathleenMcDonaldisaremarkablyskilledmeditationteacher.
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Inthispreciousgemofabook,sheshowsushowtoopenourheartsinto
deepestsolidaritywithothersandtherebyuncoverourtruestselves.” T
H
—JohnMakransky,authorofAwakeningThroughLove
E
“Abrilliantbookandamust-readforallseekers.” K
—TulkuThondupRinpoche,authorofBoundlessHealing I
N
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HOW TO
KATHLEEN MCDONALD wasordainedasa
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TibetanBuddhistnunin1974.She’staughtfordecades
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aspartoftheFoundationforthePreservationofthe MEDITATE ON
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MahayanaTradition(FPMT),aworldwideorganization
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ofBuddhistteachingandmeditationcenters.Sheisthe
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COMPASSION
authorofthebestsellingHowtoMeditateandthe
coauthor,withLamaZopaRinpoche,ofWholesome
Fear.
K AT H L E E N M C D O N A L D
ISBN978-086171-695-1 $15.95
Wisdom Publications / Boston
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Awakening the Kind Heart
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A W A K E N I N G
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WISDOM PUBLICATIONS • BOSTON
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©2010KathleenMcDonald
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McDonald,Kathleen,1952–
Awakeningthekindheart:howtomeditateoncompassion/KathleenMcDonald
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ISBN0-86171-695-7(pbk.:alk.paper)
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Table of Contents
Preface vii
The Metta Sutta:The Buddha’sWords on Loving-Kindness xi
Section One
1. It’sTime to ChangeYour Mind 3
2. Immeasurable Love 19
3. Meditations on Loving-Kindness 39
4. Immeasurable Compassion 57
5. Meditations for Cultivating Compassion 79
6. Immeasurable Joy 91
7. Immeasurable Equanimity 103
SectionTwo
An Exploration of The EightVerses ofThoughtTransformation 117
Notes 149
Other Books about Loving-Kindness,Compassion,
andThoughtTransformation 151
About the Author 153
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Publisher’s Acknowledgment
ThepublishergratefullyacknowledgesthegeneroushelpoftheHershey
Family Foundation in sponsoring the publication of this book.
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Preface
Whether one believes in a religion or not,and whether one believes in
rebirth or not,there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and
compassion.
—His Holiness the Dalai Lama1
E
veryoneappreciateskindness.Asmile,afewfriendlywords,ashow
of concern when we’re troubled or feeling unwell, an offer of
help—gesturesofkindnesslikethesebrightenourdayandeasewhatever
sadnesswemayfeelinourhearts.Feelingthat“someonecaresaboutme”
fulfillsaverydeepneedthatweallhave.Andjustasweappreciateother
people being kind to us,others appreciate it when we are kind to them.
Thatiswhyitisimportanttolearntobekind,becauseitwillhelpmake
our relationships and interactions with others more satisfying and more
problem-free.
But it’s not always easy to be kind.Sometimes our hearts are filled
withangerorhatred,jealousy,orpride,andbeingkindisthelastthingwe
feel like doing.Or we get so caught up in our work and responsibilities
thatwefindnotimetothinkofothersandtheirneeds,notimetobekind
andgentle.However,theseproblemscanberemedied.TheBuddhisttra-
ditionoffersawealthofmethodsthatcanbeusedtoovercomewhatever
prevents us from being kind,such as anger or selfishness,and to practice
kindnessmoreinourdailylife.AsHisHolinesstheDalaiLamasays,“My
religion is kindness.”
Some of these methods are explored and explained in this book—in
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viii awakening the kind heart
awaythatwillallowyoutopracticetheminyourdailylife.Twomaintra-
ditions of practicing kind-heartedness are introduced here. The four
immeasurable thoughts—love, compassion, joy, and equanimity—are
essentialpracticesinalltraditionsofBuddhism.Insectionone,onechap-
terisdevotedtoeachofthese,withmeditationsonloveandcompassion
included in separate chapters and meditations on joy and equanimity at
theendoftheirrespectivechapterstohelpyouactualizethesefourpro-
found thoughts in your day-to-day life.
The second type of practice explored in this book,thought transfor-
mation(lojonginTibetan),isapowerfulmethodofpracticeintheIndo-
Tibetan tradition that is becoming better known in the West.We will
exploreitinsectiontwousingTheEightVersesofThoughtTransformation,
composed by the eleventh-century Tibetan meditation master Geshe
Langri Tangpa.2 The Eight Verses is a beautiful little text,easily memo-
rized,thatoffersuspreciousgemsofwisdomonhowtotransformdiffi-
cultsituationsintoopportunitiesforspiritualgrowth—totransformpain
into joy and lightness.
The explanations of these compassion teachings are not scholarly
commentaries.Rather,IamsimplysharingsomethingsIhavelearnedin
mystudiesofBuddhism,aswellasinmyattemptstopracticetheseteach-
ingsinmylife.Ihavefoundtheseteachingsveryhelpful,andIhopeand
expect others will too.
AwakeningtheKindHeartwasoriginallypublishedbyAmitabhaBud-
dhist Centre,Singapore,in 1995,as a small booklet for free distribution.
Forthispresentedition,Irevisedandexpandedtheoriginalmaterialand
added a number of meditations.
This book has come about through the kindness of many people.I
would first of all like to thank from the depths of my heart my teachers,
especially His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Thubten Yeshe, Lama
Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Geshe Jampa
Tegchog,Ribur Rinpoche,and the many other precious masters from
whom I learned about kindness and compassion,not only from their
teachings but from their perfect,living example.I also give my heartfelt
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