Section 1.33 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is an interesting case in point.

By generating and cultivating the intent and deep feelings (bhavanatas) of friendliness and loving kindness (maitri), love and compassion (karuna), happiness (mudita), equanimity (upeksanam) and sympathetic joyfulness (sukha) in [all] conditions and events (visayanam) whether it be potentially joyful (sukha) or painful (dukha), auspicious (punya-apunya) or not, a sweet grace arises that establishes a clarity of the heartmind (citta-prasadanam).

In one blissful swoop, Patanjali establishes the four brahmaviharas (divine abodes). How they got their name is interesting. The story goes that Buddha was asked about how to be reborn in the heavenly (brahma) realms. His response, in short, was to cultivate loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.

Now, I’m not a Sanskrit scholar of any kind of merit, but I find it interesting that Patanjali has chosen the work upeksanam, when I would have expected samatA, but what do I know. Upeksa is Pali for equanimity, but my understanding of Upeksana in Sanskrit is that it has a sense of neglect. What I think this indicates, and it runs contrary to some of the teachings I’ve had over the years in terms of when Patanjali existed, is that Patanjali was refering to Buddha’s teaching, otherwise he’d have chosen a more neutral Sanskrit work.

What’s also interesting is this reference to four cultivations. Mostly we’re used to mettabhavana (the cultivation of loving kindness). And I do like the Dalia Lama’s view that his religion is loving kindess. But there are three more cultivations:- karuna, mudita and upeksa.

In a separate discussion Buddha did offer a practice, known as mettabhavana, which as far as I can tell has its origins in the Karaniya Metta Sutta.

This is to be done by one skilled in aims
who wants to break through to the state of peace:
Be capable, upright, & straightforward,
easy to instruct, gentle, & not conceited,
content & easy to support,
with few duties, living lightly,
with peaceful faculties, masterful,
modest, & no greed for supporters.

Do not do the slightest thing
that the wise would later censure.

Think: Happy, at rest,
may all beings be happy at heart.
Whatever beings there may be,
weak or strong, without exception,
long, large,
middling, short,
subtle, blatant,
seen & unseen,
near & far,
born & seeking birth:
May all beings be happy at heart.

Let no one deceive another
or despise anyone anywhere,
or through anger or irritation
wish for another to suffer.

As a mother would risk her life
to protect her child, her only child,
even so should one cultivate a limitless heart
with regard to all beings.
With good will for the entire cosmos,
cultivate a limitless heart:
Above, below, & all around,
unobstructed, without enmity or hate.
Whether standing, walking,
sitting, or lying down,
as long as one is alert,
one should be resolved on this mindfulness.
This is called a sublime abiding
here & now.

Not taken with views,
but virtuous & consummate in vision,
having subdued desire for sensual pleasures,
one never again
will lie in the womb.

What if we were to take the same approach for the other three bhavanas? And that’s what I’ve done with my metta bhavana practice, borrowing from Tara Brach. May I experience the joy of being alive, may I be filled with loving kindness, may I express compassion towards all beings. Or something like this. And of course the usual metta bhavana practice extends this from onesself through to all beings. And there’s the equanimity part.

However you look at it, the four brahmaviharas lead to a divine abode in this life. After all Samsara is Nirvana and Nirvana is Samsara.

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Then you look over your own life and see various patterns, karmic patterns perhaps. I suffered for twenty years from an obsessive compulsive disorder, triggered by an incredibly small incident. Was that karma? Are we rooting out more than the contents of a mind that has been conditioned in this life?

And then you do your best in a work situation, only to be caught in politics that have nothing to do with you. Yet on some level you feel this is of your own doing. Is that cogitations of an infantile mind believing itself to be more powerful than it is or a real insight into a karmic situation?

There is no doubt that we want to impose some kind of order onto what might otherwise seem to be a random life. Is the end of karma the beginning of the acceptance of randomness.

At the same time it does seem that we are beginning to anchor in a watchfulness, an ever present awareness. It is clear to me that dukka is caused by my own mind. I am awake to the extent that I realise this at least intellectually and awake enough to be doing something about it.

Is our faith that we can end the pain and suffering caused by our own minds? For the ever-present-awareness it strikes me that there is no death and certainly no physical nor mental pain.

But is there something else going on other than our own liberation? I think so and I think that it is the end of separation. A Tibetan once wrote that there is only one sin and that is the sin of separation. If that is true, and I tend to believe it is, then unity is surely the present goal. Surely that means dealing with not only our own karma but others’ karma as well because they are inextricably linked. Or perhaps that others’ karma is our karma. And that’s the root of compassion isn’t it. Don’t you think?

There is no doubt that there is group karma. If our greed, which has now cycled into global warming, continues to develop then we will have major global calamities on our hands. Group karma. Those of us who have modified our greed and our consumption patterns will be deeply involved in the consequences. I don’t believe for a second there will be some especial 144,000 secretly sequestered. We will suffer together.

And so we come back to the thought that we become enlightened not just for ourselves but for all beings. And the root of that enlightenment is compassion. Subhuti who was the other party in the Diamond Sutra, one of Zen’s foundation scriptures, before this enlightening discussion with buddha had developed his root in Metta – loving kindness.

Dhyana and Metta. It seems to be the only way through this cycle of karma that the world faces, that we the speaking monkeys have brought. Are we up to stopping this looming cycle of pain and suffering before it’s too late.

Anyway, the Sopranos are a very interesting lesson in not letting go, in not forgiving. It’s curious all the stuff you keep finding that you haven’t let go of.

I was reading some paper I found online the other day which mentioned that Hui Neng’s initial stanza, you know the there is no bodhi tree nor stand of a mirror bright one. The author suggested that the I wipe my mind hour by hour was necessary to establish Hui Neng’s response.

I agree. I haven’t yet established emptiness. So there is a wiping required.

A recent thought of mine is that this is to hold one’s attention to breathing lightly and to open up one’s awareness without discourse. And that was the nature of some of this morning’s meditation. Is this getting close to Zen?

This evening’s metta on the other hand had a much darker quality. Some part of myself coming up for forgiveness.

Anyway, earlier this week I was watching a television programme in which one of the minor characters had one of the same compulsions that I have had, one that I had for twenty years or so. A long time indeed. I’d never really recognised it as such until this programme..
I looked up obsessive compulsive disorder in Wikipedia from which I learned that it arises as a way of dealing with anxiety.

So I took this into therapy this morning. My therapist mentioned that obsessive compuslive behaviour as he called it also tends to go hand in hand with some kind of social difficulty. Well, up until this middle part of my life I’ve certainly experienced that. What I discovered that I was preferring my own company already by the age of six. It was looking like the cap was fitting for sure.

When my great grandfather died somewhere around the age of 6 he left me an etymological dictionary. This was to become a life long interest and a distraction from other things. I also got into programming which too requires a whole bunch of obsessive thinking.

Fast forward to the present and in meditation I am now dealing with letting go of becoming obsessed by trains of thought. What struck me in the session this morning was how much Metta practice is important in dealing with this. Accepting oneself just as one is. Forgiving oneself, forgiving others.

To paraphrase from the Metta meditation offered by the Insight Meditation Community of Washington:

May all beings be filled with loving kindness.
May all beings be held in loving kindness.
May all beings be accepted just as they are.
May all beings find great and natural peace.
May all beings experience the natural joy of being alive.
May all beings awaken and be free.

What’s interesting is that meditation is a kind of conditioning in that respect, but a conditioning that is setting up the mental space for the unconditioned.

And on that note in Personal Power II, Day 6 Anthony Robbins talks about the power of focus, which he uses to direct the state of mind and emotion. The object for him is still how you feel.

This to some extent is a Buddhist’s objective. Metta bhavana is at least to some extent choosing to focus on loving kindness towards all beings. And Anthony Robbins in his hour of power suggests that a person focuses on gratitude. How dissimilar is that from appreciation?

He further suggests that’s it’s how you’re evaluating things that determines what you focus on, i.e. the questions you ask. This reminds me of the Zen Koan, e.g. What was your original face before you were born, or the more common what is the sound of one hand clapping? The difference is that these questions are meant to bring the stuff of mind (citta) to calm

Thinking = evaluation. That’s true, Anthony Robbins. Duality arises in the mind. But perhaps there is a focus which has its root in Buddhi and is non-dualistic.

I skipped Metta for the past couple of weeks and it’s absence is really noticeable.

Not getting
Not arriving
It is.
Not giving
Not appreciating
It is.
No concept of self
No concept of other
It is just so.

So, it’s back to Metta practise. Perhaps taking 20 minutes off dhyana on the breath in the morning. That’s the best way I think to get it into daily practise.