Live Be Yoga | Tonglen Meditation with David Magone

Transcript

so am i tradition there there's a wonderful practice called dung one night online means sending and taking what was very interesting about tonglen practice is is that I think that it helps to reverse our attitudes so here in the States you know everything is about me we have the iPod we have me time that you know there's always different things focused on their individual in the eye and in a some given point I think because that message is constantly reinforced we can at some point start to put ourselves above everybody else so Tanglin is a beautiful practice in that it helps us to mentally reverse the process by quite literally putting ourselves in somebody else's shoes now in the practice you know the cultivation of love and compassion is really important so you essentially cultivate love on your exhales by sending all of your love and all of your kindness out to different people and then on your inhales you cultivate compassion for them by literally imagining you could draw their pain into your body and as it enters your body it basically touches the your ego at the center of your chest and you imagine basically your ego dissolving and all that energy there solving and then you repeat the process over and over again you sound loved with your exhales you draw on that painful energy with your inhales and then at some point it makes it easier to shift perspective so that at some point you see other people as being just as relevant and important as we are as we are so the practice is profound you know His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a great tongue long practitioner and I think that when people see him lecture they assume that he was just born that way but he's become that way by doing this practice over and over again I think he practices in some form every single day so it's only nasai think is a great example of what can be expected or somebody dedicates themselves to a lifetime of the practice well we're excited to get started and try this so you can say in any way that's comfortable for you for the next few moments just close your eyes and mentally refocus all of your awareness on your bra and then they begin bring to my somebody in your life who you really love can be a person if you want but animal friends are important too so you can think about a favorite pad if you wish or somebody that you've known from the past as well to see that person in your mind's eye and for the next few moments reflect on how amazing and wonderful would be if that person could be truly happy and if they could be freed of all their pain and suffering this meditation with our AK sales will take love onto the path of awakening their inhales will take compassion on to the path of awakening so the next time you exhale send all of your love and all of your kindness to your person ascends it in a beautiful stream of white colored air and imagine them receiving happiness and healing as you inhale literally draw all their pain and suffering into your body you know thick cloud of dark smoke as that smoke enters the center of your chests just imagine the smoke dissolving and disappearing in repeat over and over and send all of your love and kindness with your exhales imagine your person receiving healing and then as you inhale draw all their suffering into your body in a thick cloud of smoke and as that smoke goes into your lungs and into the center of your chest just imagine the smoke dissolving repeat over and over again I'm gonna for the moment let your mind relax and think of someone who rubs you the wrong way someone who pushes your buttons and again just visualize them in your mind's eye everybody of course wishes to be happy and everybody of course wishes to overcome pain and suffering so just take a moment to reflect on how amazing and wonderful it would be if that person could to receive healing could overcome all their pain and obstacles and then do the same Patras for them send your love and your kindness with your Axios and beautiful streamers of white color - imagine them receiving happiness and healing as you inhale draw all their physical and mental afflictions into your body - quite literally put yourself in their shoes you know thick clouds of smoke enter your chest just imagine the smoke does always use your exhales to send love your inhales to draw pain into your body to cultivate compassion every time that smoke enters the center of your chest just imagine it dissolving whatever you ready that open your eyes so last time I'm practice you have any questions about that one do you think that this would be a great place for people to start you said a daily same time maybe same time same place do you think this is a great place to start it feels very accessible yeah one of the first things we do in the Buddhist tradition is uh you were encouraged to do certain meditations one hundred thousand times to uh to cultivate um you know things like a warm and open heart in one of the the first most important things our first important meditations help with that is something like the tonglen practice you know it helps to to generate something called bodhichitta which is the wish to achieve enlightenment for the sake of other sentient beings so on Tumlin practice is wonderful you know if you can do that one every single day without expecting anything at all on return and I think it's its potential for transformation is is huge and potentially amazing amazing so I think if people have resonance without meditation I think there's a wonderful place to start David thank you so much for being here with us and for sharing this practice with us we are so grateful thank you for having me it's been really fun thank you