Cattāri Brahmavihārā

This morning I didn’t have the presence or strength of mind to sit for more than fifteen minutes being worn out from packing up the business for the move all day and expecting another day of the same. So, I opted for simple anapanasati to calm the mind and still the racing heart. At first I simply counted breaths but I kept noting a tensionn, a strong sense of dukkha. Fabricating compassion for the suffering I found some relief but this soon shifted to the remembrance of my intention to practice meditation out of love and compassion for myself. Allowing my mind to proceed along these lines I recollected the infinite compassion of the Lord Buddha and I settled into the rhythm of “bud-dho” with my attention moving between a recollection of the Buddha and the breath. Even now I’m somewhat overcome by the upswelling of gratitude, devotion and awe but these kind of displays don’t do so well on crosstown buses so I’m trying to be discrete. Nonetheless, if nothing else this morning’s short sit has reminded me of the preciousness of the Tathagatha and of the meaning of true compassion.

Namo buddhaya!