Metta and Karuna
Luyao Zhang
San Diego State University
Introductory Research
Metta is a religious terminology used to refer to a state of friendliness, kindness, amity and a non clinging love based on Buddhism. The sole aim behind cultivation of kindness and love in this case is to facilitate Buddhism meditation (Richard, 2002). Metta begins by cultivation of loving – kindness towards the mediator themselves. After the mediator themselves, the process extends to capture on the loved ones, then to friends, enemies and finally towards all the other sentient beings. The whole process of Metta helps the one practicing it to have a sense of mental purification, a sense of well wishing as well as extending to love with kindness in all directions (Trungpa, 1993).
Karuna, on the other hand, symbolizes a concept of compassion and courage as used by Buddhism religion (Davidson, 2010). From this aspect, Karuna helps individuals who deal with various forms of losses in ways that can easily enrich and transform their lives. The basic focus of Karuna is to offer strength care to reduce pain and fear for those dealing with loss of life (Harvey, 2007). Additionally, this concept helps transform the entire perception of death as looked at by individuals, as well as the society at large.
Act
Having participated in this research exercise, I realized a lot of personal reactions. These reactions comprised of mental, emotional, and physical responses to the exercise.
Mentally, I realized that showing acts of compassion to others had a great influence on my mind. First, my way of thinking changed soon after the exercise. In this case, I started realizing that all people are equal and should be entitled to love just like we need. A c...
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...sign of appreciation to the love and compassion that I displayed towards them.
Capitalized on the new ideologies that I learnt about a new world of compassion and love, I would wish to make this exercise part of my regular life. I desire to take part in helping people revive their hopes as well as feel important in the society. I have also realized that much of my free leisure time would be spent carrying out such social activities. The main reason is that the exercise is quite fulfilling.
Conclusion
Having come to the end of this class exercise, I have realized that Metta and Karuna are quite important social tools. These tools should not just be limited to the Buddhists but their practice should extend beyond religious boundaries. Their main strength is based in the aspect of love, compassion and courage offered to those who go through life discouragements.
Individuals often experience unfortunate sufferings and difficulties through their life; some may continue to persevere and endure these arduous circumstances in hopes of achieving a more desirable, comfortable way of living. While attempting to fulfill their own objectives, individuals may also unexpectedly receive the attention and assistance from others which instigates a change in their previous attitude towards life. In the short story “Divisadero”, Michael Ondaatje suggests that when individuals receive unexpected forms of kindness and understanding from others, they may suddenly realize their own individual potential and capabilities they possess as they aspire to attain greater possibilities and goals. These unforeseen acts of compassion
So if we want joy, love, and empathy in our lives, we need to let vulnerability into our hearts.... ... middle of paper ... ... But instead of reacting negatively, I was pleased to see that Anabella and Francisco and Santos – and all my other students – understood. They saw that I was trying my best, and that for any positive change to occur, we, all, had to put ourselves at risk in the arena.
In a world of suffering and pain the Dalai Lama said, “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive”. The Dalai Lama has become a figurehead for Buddhism worldwide for his compassion and warm smiles. Buddhism has extended beyond meditation and even monks such as the Dalai Lama. The basic concepts of compassion and mindfulness in Buddhism are being applied in the daily lives of lay people who need it the most.
For example, the Four Noble Truths are understood in a humanistic, secular, and modern manner. The sangha can be a group of people engaging in meditation together, a community of people that practice the same tradition, or even the whole Buddhist community. Even a new view of the sangha has arised, the cyber-sangha, a Buddhist community that communicates virtually, through dharma group chats, list servers, etc. This is an obvious example of how technology, a factor of great importance to the American culture, has been used to integrate ad practice Buddhism among the American society.
According to a study, many difficult cultures have the tendency to establish their methods of coping, whether it is through religion, culture, or/and personal ideologies (Chen, 2012). Mourning and burial ceremonies play a pivotal role for Lossography due to individuals having the ability and liberty to express melancholy and sometimes jubilation during the times they once had with their loved one. These types of beliefs and practices used as coping mechanisms can be very meaningful and profound for the comfort of the individual who’s going through a mournful experience (Chen, 2012). These types of coping mechanisms is important for Lossography, due to the fact that individuals are able to convey emotions through traditional practices, archaic arts and crafts, and spiritual rituals to fully find meaning with the death of their loved one. In addition, having established beliefs can definitely change the perception of what death signifies based upon religious and cultural expectations of the afterlife. However, not all cultures and religions put much emphasis into the afterlife. For instance, the monotheistic religion Judaism does not contain any interpretation of what happens after someone dies. Judaists believe that nothing happens after death, death is considered a taboo and not something that is commonly talked about for these religious individuals. Lossography, in religion may take on many forms for how death is perceived and for what actions can people take to ensure that their death will bring them to a place of peace, joy, and everlasting life. Lossography regarding religion, gives individuals hope that death is not the end, it gives them hope that knowing that person may not be here with us in the flesh, but that person is somewhere smiling down. Lossography in religion,
One such philosophy that has been growing in popularity throughout the West is Tibetan Buddhism. I believe that Western society has reached a point where we must try something new in order to help increase the happiness of its citizens and that Tibetan Buddhism may hold the answer. After studying and examining the similarities and differences between Buddhist and Western psychotherapy philosophies and goals, there is st...
This paper is a comparison between two very different religions. Specifically Christianity and Buddhism. Coming from opposite sides of the globe these two religions could not be any farther apart in any aspect. I will discuss who Christ is for Christians and who Buddha is for Buddhists. I will also get into the aspects of charity, love, and compassion in both religions and I will be looking at the individual self and how christians see resurrection where the buddhists feel about the afterlife. One thing to keep in mind is that the two religions are very different but they seem to have a very similar underlying pattern. Both believe that there was a savior of their people, Buddha and Christ, and both believe that there is something good that happens to us when our time is done here on earth. This is a very generalized summarization but in order to go in to depth I need to explain the two religions more to fully convey this theory.
Ever since I was a young student, teachers knew that I was not a normal kid. These teachers saw qualities in me that they could not see in many students at that age level. They saw a child who had a profound love to know more and had the ambition of a decorated Olympic swimmer to learn not just the material that was being taught but why it is being taught and how I can I use this information to make people’s lives better. Fast-forward to today, and you can clearly see that not much has changed except my determination to learn and my love to help others has done nothing but expanded.
Ramaswami, S. & Sheikh, A. (1989). Buddhist psychology: Implications for healing, In A. Sheikh & S. Sheikh's Eastern and western approaches to healing: Ancient wisdom & modern knowledge, NY: John Wiley
Around the time of the exercises was also the time I was focusing on fitness, watching my food portions, and positivity. Mentally, the exercises helped with my confidence, and created room to be social and love myself. When the class initially was given the abstinence challenge, I felt it would be easy to give up something you desire but overall it was a huge challenge giving up some things. I decided to abstain from my desires because I wanted to see a difference in my body, and also my stability to maintain from unneeded
There are many benefits to exercise. Physical activity can help increase self-esteem and reduce stress an...
Spiritual empathy has been said to be the key element in providing spiritual care for the client’s spiritual well-being (Chism, 2007). The idea of spiritual empathy is to feel another person’s spiritual needs regardless of religious beliefs or not. This is different from sympathy whereas one is able to understand what another is going through. Buddhist believes in spiritual direction. This is a teacher student relationship where the teacher uses empathy and wisdom to be a spiritual friend. Spiritual direction’s are said to be able to provide a deeper level of empathy. A spiritual director is able to tell a student aspect of their feeling that they did not even realize. This act can be done by anyone who has a heighten level of empathy.
To reach enlightenment in Buddhism, one must overcome attachment to the pleasure of peace. Gampopa defines the pleasure of peace as “the desire to achieve nirvana only for oneself without the altruistic mind for sentient beings, and because of it, one does not benefit others” which is also termed as the lesser vehicle (Gampopa, 126). The remedy for this is the practices of loving-kindness and compassion. When one develops this loving-kindness and compassion, then one will have a mind that wants all sentient beings to meet with happiness as well as be free from suffering and its cause. When one achieves this, then one is attached to all sentient beings and no longer wants to attain liberation only for oneself. Compassion is so heavily ingrained in Buddhist practices, that it has been noted that the Buddha had said “the cultivation of loving kindness and compassion is not just part of our practice, it is all of our practice” (Strain, “Compassion & Stoic Philosophy”). Compassion is not just a crucial aspect of the path to Enlightenment; practicing and training in compassion can function to improve the lives of those unconcerned with achieving Buddahood through means of improving health, well-being and increasing self-motivation. Considering the benefits that can come from compassion, everyone should take part in practicing and experiencing compassion as its benefits extend into other aspects of life.
When we sacrifice our time to help someone in need, whether it is a great or small need, we become a part of their life and can help alleviate heavy burdens. We feel good for looking outside ourselves and contributin...
BuddhaNet - Worldwide Buddhist Information and Education Network. N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 7 Mar. 2014.