55 Loving-kindness (3)
Teaching: When you understand the causality of how others contribute to your well-being, a sense of happy indebtedness can arise. “How can I do more to repay their kindness?” We can contribute to others’ well-being hedonically and/or eudaimonically. Most altruism in the world is focused on hedonic happiness/suffering, yet eudaimonia is real and can be cultivated. Following Atisha’s advice, we need to achieve shamatha in order to help others find genuine happiness. Genuine happiness is a symptom of a meaningful way of life, a balanced mind, and knowing reality as it is. Someone who acts in accord with genuine happiness—as the center of his/her own mandala—is living in a utopia. Meditation: loving-kindness. Motivated by loving-kindness, settling body, speech, and mind in the natural state. Envision your own well-being, both hedonic and eudaimonic, and attend to its causes. In eudaimonia, your potential is limitless, its very source being primordial consciousness. Imagine it as an orb of white light at your heart chakra. With every out breath, “May I be happy and find the causes of happiness.” Light fills your body, dispelling all obstacles. Light entirely consumes the materiality of your body as it settles in its natural state, becoming the pure energy of primordial consciousness. Only a body of light, luminous but empty, remains. Now, with every out breath, extend the light in all directions until it embraces all sentient beings on the planet. “May we find happiness and the causes of happiness.” Expand exponentially in all directions, stretching the mind to 100 billion galaxies and all the beings who dwell there, each one realizing full awakening. Meditation starts at 21:55