Feb 15, 2020
This episode is devoted to the meditation of loving-kindness, a profound method to develop love for all living beings. It creates immeasurable good karma, diminishes ill will toward others and creates the cause of our own enlightenment. Scientific research has also been done on the results of people practicing this meditation.
Research indicates these benefits:
- Increases positive emotions. One study showed that seven weeks of practicing the loving-kindness meditation increased multiple positive emotions including love, joy, contentment, gratitude, pride, hope, interest, amusement, and awe.
- Quiets your inner critic
- Strengthens capacity for empathy
- Decreases migraines
- Increases compassion
- Slows the aging process. In another eye-opening study researchers found that women with experience in loving-kindness meditation had relatively longer telomere length (a biological marker of aging) when compared to age-matched controls.
Loving-kindness Prayer Within the Meditation
May you be happy
May you be well
May your body and mind be at ease
May all good fortune and successes in life come to you
May you be healthy
May you have all the wealth you need
May your happiness increase day by day
May you never know a day of sadness
May you experience the supreme happiness of enlightenment.
Verse 206-208 of The Dhammapada
It’s good to see the noble ones;
Their company is always a delight.
Free from the sight of fools,
One would constantly be happy.
One who keeps company with fools
Will grieve for a long, long time.
Living with fools is painful,
As is living with foes.
Living with the wise is delightful,
Like relatives gathered together.
Therefore:
You should always follow a good, intelligent person
Who is wise, insightful, learned,
Committed to virtue, dutiful and noble,
As the moon follows the path of the stars. (208)
—Buddha, The Dhammapada
References
Abrahmson, L. 6 Amazing Benefits of Loving Kindness Meditation Backed by Science. Lifehack (blog post). Retrieved from https://www.lifehack.org/361244/6-amazing-benefits-loving-kindness-meditation-backed-science
Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 54-55.