Compassion Meditation: How To Show True Compassion Towards Yourself And Your Loved Ones

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Known amongst Buddhists as Karuna Meditation, ( karuna means loving kindness) the compassion meditation as it is universally referred, originates from Buddhist philosophies that encourage the devout Buddhists to have a compassionate attitude towards everyone. Firstly you need to connect with the suffering, of others as well as of your own, and then activating the compassion that we all have by birth. Compassion meditation reduces the incidence of mind wandering, It makes you a more caring person.

How Do You Practice Compassion?

This kind of meditation teaches you to be compassionate towards all beings including yourself. Here are two compassion guiding meditations for you to benefit from.

Showing Compassion To yourself

Think of a time when you endured a great deal of suffering. It might have been due to the indifference of someone you deeply care about, or your failure at doing something you so badly wanted, or when you were very sick. What are your feelings at this stage? Register them in your memory. Did you feel warmth or aching sensation? Now wish for your suffering to end. Visualise that this pain that had entered your life has left you to allow you some happiness. Now visualize a white light from your heart that comes out to ease your suffering. Exhale and feel the light every time, and wish strongly that you should be free from the suffering, Tell yourself "May I be free from this suffering. May I have happiness. "Repeat this to yourself several times. Now see how it feels. Notice all the changes in your feelings from the time you started the meditation to the time you stopped it.

Think of this person, at the time he was going through immense suffering. He might have had an accident, or an illness or a disappointment in a relationship. When you think of his suffering, how do you feel? Do you feel warmth or ache? Now visualise your loved one as you keep on breathing. Imagine the white light from your heart is reaching out to your loved one and bringing down their suffering., Extend this light towards them while you exhale every time, and feel strongly that they get out of the suffering. Tell him in your mind" may you be free from this suffering. May you have happiness. Repeat this several times and see how you feel now. Did you feel ache, or warmth or did you wish to reduce his suffering?

"Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam"

This exercise helps a lot in developing compassion towards yourself and towards others in your life. Slowly learn to extend this love towards others, and those who do not matter much to you, and those enemies and those who are neutral towards you. Finally feel compassion towards one and all. This is the principle behind the famous Vedic saying " Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" which roughly means" the entire world is your family."

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