Using the brahma viharas to work with their near enemies. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of the near and far enemies of the four immeasurables, because sometimes it is easier to learn about something by getting a grip on what it is not. The far enemy or complete opposite of loving kindness is ill will or hatred towards another being. In buddhist teachings, the four brahmaviharas, translated as the immeasurables, divine abodes, or divine abidings are. Indifference, for example, might masquerade as equanimity, looking very balanced and even, but representing, in fact, the very. Brahmaviharas research project measuring the immeasurables. Near enemy is a quality that can masquerade as the original, but is not the original. Far enemy of lovingkindness is hatred and contempt, near enemy is desire. I made a diagram for remembering the near and far enemies of the four immeasurables. May all sentient beings not be separated from sorrowless bliss. It always cuts out the superficial and directs the reader to the heart of the practice. The near enemy of equanimity is stupid indifference, and the far enemy is attraction and repulsion, in which the heart reaches towards some and rejects others. Perhaps the most important of these to note is that pity is the near enemy of compassion. The near and far enemies of loving kindness namchak.
The first of the four immeasurables is lovingkindness. The near enemy of love, or a quality which appears similar, but is more an opposite is conditionallove selfish love, see also attachment. Near enemy can be seen as mindlessness coupled with the brahma vihara. The four states are metta loving kindness, karuna compassion, mudita sympathetic joy or empathy, and upekkha equanimity, and in many buddhist traditions, these four states are cultivated through meditation. The near enemy of love, or a quality which appears similar, but is. U is listed last, but it helps to do it first because it makes the next three accessible. The brahmaviharas, or four immeasurables, are a list of four buddhist virtues that we can cultivate through our meditation practice. This talk contains guided meditations on equanimity. The near enemy is a state of mind that is close to the brahmavihara and is sometimes mistaken as the good emotion, but is actually a near enemy. The near enemy is a deceptive substitute which we can settle for or confuse with the real thing. Buddhism has a set of virtues called the four immeasurables. The four immeasurables meet your next favorite book.
One definition of love in buddhism is wanting others to be happy. Lovingkindness metta is a prayer, aspiration, and wishing for genuine happiness for self and other. And as above, it helps to guard against doubt and tf to direct meditative effort to. Sem chen tham che duk ngel dang duk ngel gyi gyu dang drel war gyur chig may all sentient beings be free from suffering and its causes. That sounds easy, but it is supposed to include everyone, not just our friends and people we know, but everyone.
Each of the four immeasurables has a near and far enemy. May all sentient beings enjoy happiness and the causes of happiness, be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. It is tempting to think that just not caring is equanimity, but that is just a form of egotism. The book presented to the western world for the first time a clear and concise autobiographical account. This can separate us from the true feeling, rather than connecting us to it, so we need mindfulness to avoid it. The four immeasurables, also known as the brahma viharas skt. These four immeasurables are underlying essentials on the path of freedom. The opposite is anxiety, worry, stress and paranoia caused by dividing people into good and bad.
The four immeasurable minds are some of my favorite insights that have come from the buddha. This is something we can forget sometimes if we are studying some of the really deep teachings. Mudita should not be confused with pride, as a person feeling mudita may not have any interest or direct income from the accomplishments of the other. Equanimity upekkha fourth of the four immeasurables. I made a diagram for remembering the near and far enemies. Mandala, editors choice this book is written in a very simple and direct style. These are things that can be easily be mistaken for the four immeasurables.
The author of more than two dozen books, she established buddhist. From his holiness the dalai lamas the little book of buddhism compassion and love are not mere luxuries. The four immeasurable sublime attitudes are genuinely worth developing because they are qualities that soothe the hearts of living beings in general throughout the worldour parents, relatives, friends, companions, and all living beings of every sort. Each of these four immeasurables has a far enemy its opposite and a near enemy a deceptive substitute. Think of a far enemy as a complete opposite in this context. Each of the four immeasurables has near and far enemies. Any person on a spiritual path, buddhist or not, will find in this book fresh, practical insights for cultivating a boundless heart. He spent his earlier years there and later, in lahore, in the punjab of british india. I recently spent 8 days at a retreat on the topic of the brahma viharas also known as the four divine abodes, or the four immeasurables in buddhism, which are. Longchenpa went on to explain that the aspirational bodhichitta is actually based on the four immeasurables.
If we had only these four emotions at our disposal, we would have paradise on. The four immeasurables practices to open the heart. Because sentient beings are as limitless as space, our practice of these four virtues must also be immeasurable. Practice of the four immeasurables and shamatha meditation. The four immeasurables in tibetan buddhism the idea of compassion is talked about by using the idea of bodhicitta. The enemy of shared joy is comparison and jealousy. The four immeasurables prayer gepost door invincibleunicorn op 03. There is a sense of one person having or being in a position to give, and another one being needy. The jefferson tibetan society of charlottesville, va was pleased to host author, scholar and accomplished buddhist practitioner dr. Sep 16, 2010 a thoughtprovoking, useful, encouraging read.
They are often practiced by taking each of the immeasurables in turn and applying it to oneself a practice taught by many contemporary teachers and monastics that was established after. Theyre also called the brahmavihara, which means the abodes of brahma, and they can be found in various buddhist texts as well as the yoga sutras of patanjali the four immeasurables are unconditional and so are boundless. The third quality, sympathetic joy, is the ability to feel joy in the happiness of others. Clinging is thus called the near enemy, because it looks like real love. Sep 16, 2010 the four immeasurablesthe cultivation of lovingkindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimityis a rich suite of practices that open the heart, counter the distortions in our relationships to ourselves, and deepen our relationships to others. As well as the four brahmaviharas, we also describe their near enemies with which they can easily be confused and their far enemies opposites.
May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes, may. Love is something we can experience quite easily, and therefore through practice it can become profound and vast. May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes, may all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes, may all sentient beings not be separated from sorrowless bliss, may all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger. Each of the four brahmaviharas has what is called a near enemy and a far enemy. Im illustrating a childrens book about guanyin and it is a blessing. Compassionate communication and four immeasurables retreat. Essence of love in buddhism have you wondered what are the ingredients of happiness in buddhism.
Loving kindness sue loving kindness course version compassion course version page updated. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of the near and far enemies of the four immeasurables, because sometimes it is easier to learn about something by getting a grip the four immeasurable qualities lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity cannot surface fully unless we can understand and soften the unsavory tendencies that. Mudita is a pure joy unadulterated by selfinterest. Thats usually pretty evident and easy to identify, so we wont spend a lot of time diving into it. The opposite is wanting others to be unhappy anger, hatred. The buddha taught the following to his son rahula the four immeasurables. This love is unconditional and it requires a lot of courage and acceptance including selfacceptance. The four immeasurables are four virtues that are cultivated in meditation practice. The four immeasurables padmasambhava buddhist center. On the rewards of the four immeasurables the craft of the heart. The near enemy of equanimity is stupid indifference, and the far enemy is attraction and repulsion, in. Each immeasurable also has a direct opposite, its far enemy. The four immeasurables shambhala publications books. The buddha said, i teach only suffering and the end of suffering.
I just finished the four immeasurables and i will gladly proclaim that it is my favorite of b. They are loving kindnesss, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. Compassion karuna is aspiration and prayer for beings to be free from suffering and a faith that liberation from suffering is possible. Recite the first line and feel the intention that all beings have unconditional love, and include. Consciousness, freedom, home videos 1, unknown, video, tags. Lovingkindness, or metta active benevolence, friendliness. Beware of lurking near enemies by marguerite theophil, november 3, 2009. Indifference, pity, envy, and jealousy are what the buddha called the near enemies of the brahmaviharas. These four states are sometimes called the four immeasurables or the four perfect virtues. Joys near enemy, the quality which superficially resembles joy but is in fact more subtly in opposition to it, is exhilaration, described as a grasping at pleasant experience out of a sense of insufficiency or lack.
The four immeasurablesthe cultivation of lovingkindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimityis a rich suite of practices that open the heart, counter the distortions in our relationships to ourselves, and deepen our relationships to others. I can remember a time when i had muscle invasive bladder cancer for the first time in 1997. The near enemy of love, or a quality which appears similar, but is more an opposite is. The four immeasurable minds meditation practices for. To have a rewarding relationship with people, we need to cultivate the four immeasurables. Each of the four practices were focusing on in our 100 days of lovingkindness metta lovingkindness, karuna compassion, mudita joyful appreciation, and upekkha evenminded love collectively known as the divine abidings brahma viharas or the four immeasurables has a near enemy. The immeasurable looking beyond the limits of knowledge. New delhi, india in buddhist teachings, the four brahmaviharas, translated as the immeasurables, divine abodes, or divine abidings are.
When we can be happy of the joys other beings feel, it is called mudita. An interesting point about this books is that less than half of the book is dedicated to the four immeasurables, shamatha is given more than equal billing along with some very interesting questions and answers where i. As long as the mind holds on to the known, it will always be frightened of the unknown. May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes. But the near enemies are things that look so close to what youre trying to cultivate, but are actually fundamentally different in a dangerous way. The four immeasurables are practices to dissolve mental afflictions and create mental balance. The four immeasurables the cultivation of lovingkindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimityis a rich suite of practices that open the heart, counter the distortions in our relationships to ourselves, and deepen our relationships to. Equanimity upeksha fourth of the four immeasurables. It is the first of the four sublime states brahmaviharas and one of the ten paramis of the theravada school of buddhism.
The four immeasurablesthe cultivation of lovingkindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimityis a rich suite of practices that open the heart, counter the distortions in our relationships to ourselves, and deepen our relationships to. Then, kalamas, that noble disciple, who is thus devoid of longing, devoid of ill will, unconfused, clearly comprehending, ever mindful, dwells pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with lovingkindness with a mind imbued with compassion with a mind imbued with altruistic joy with a mind imbued with equanimity, likewise the second. May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger. Four brahmaviharas highest attitudesemotions heavenly or sublime abodes best home. It is also called the heart of enlightenment because it expresses the very conditions for the mahayana objective. As the source both of inner and external peace, they are fundamental to the continued survival of our species. This prayer is known as the four immeasurables tib. Presently our lovingkindness is very partial, because we just love ourselves and our close friends, family members and relatives. Sep 16, 2016 the four immeasurables are practices to dissolve mental afflictions and create mental balance.
In one of the most interesting chapters, wallace discusses the near and the far enemies of the four immeasurables. For example, the near enemy of empathetic joy is frivolity, while the far enemy consists of cynicism and despair combined. The four immeasurables goodreads meet your next favorite book. Three of the four immeasurables, namely maitri, karuna and upeksha, are found in the later upanishads of hinduism, while all four are found with slight variations such as pramoda instead of mudita in jainism literature, states wiltshire. We are looking for people who have experience with practicing the four immeasurables, and we would be very grateful if you could take the time to leave us a comment about what they mean to you, and in particular if you could share any examples you have from your own experience, others experience, from stories and teachings, books, films, imagination, and anything else that seems. Alan wallace for a 2day meditation retreat, balancing the heart and mind.
Four immeasurables prayer translation and explanation. The sanskrit title of this prayer is brahmavihara which refers to the base or foundation of indian temples with their 4 levels representing the virtues. Metta, often translated to english as lovingkindness, refers to the innate desire for the true happiness of all beings including ourselves. You might consider pausing during the reading of the talk to do this practice. The four immeasurable thoughts lama yeshe wisdom archive.
The four immeasurables are explained in the path of purification visuddhimagga, written in the fifth century ce by the scholar and commentator buddhagho. I was watching my daughter, rachael, in a tennis match. Far enemy of compassion is cruelty, near enemy is grief. Before engaging in this meditation one should clean the meditation room, set up an altar with beautifully arranged offerings, sit in the correct position and generate a good motivation. Earlier in the book when the two compatriots of gamache are discussing superintendent arnout sp. Bodhicitta actually means compassion, but for westerners, the idea of compassion is often that the haves give to the havenots. The far enemies of joy are jealousy and greed, mindstates in obvious opposition.
Page contents introduction love compassion sympathetic joy equanimity. May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes, may all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes. The 4 immeasurables, or brahmaviharas, by sylvia boorstein. By zoketsu norman fischer may 27, 2010 editors note. When a buddhist takes the bodhisattva vow, they dedicate their entire life to. Foreword magazine we are in very good hands when alan wallace takes us on a journey with the four immeasurables. The pauses and bells that end certain stages are indicated in the text. If others have it, there will not be enough for us. His holiness the dalai lama from the little book of buddhism. I made a diagram for remembering the near and far enemies of the. The four immeasurables practice is performed as part of the third of the six preparatory practices. The four immeasurables are found in one brief and beautiful prayer.
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