I attended a talk on the Four Limitless Ones last night. I've heard Pema (Chodron) repeat this buddhist prayer/chant many times but never realized it contains what she also calls the Four Limitless qualities we might all aspire to: loving-kindness (Maitri), compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. Happiness and the root of happiness is considered Maitri. Being free from suffering and the root of suffering is Compassion. Sympathetic joy helps us overcome jealousy at others' achievements and good fortune. Equanimity is the prayer that everyone might be free of passion, aggression and prejudice.
May all sentient beings enjoy happinessActually here is the most important concept about cultivating these qualities: "We start with the amount we have, no matter how limited it is, and we begin to nurture what we have, and then it will expand by itself until it's actually limitless." (Pema quote, from this page the Four and Maitri.)
and the root of happiness.
May we be free from suffering
and the root of suffering.
May we not be separated from
the great happiness devoid of suffering.
May we dwell in the great equanimity
free from passion, aggression, and prejudice.
I'll post more in a Facebook note, but wanted to include Buddha and the iPad here ;) (compliments of another buddhist blogger Buddha and the Big C.) This gal knows a little something about ALL the Limitless Ones, given her struggle with stage four breast cancer. Namaste!
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From Pema's book, the Places that Scare us: "It's up to us. We can spend our lives cultivating our resentments and cravings or we can explore the path of the warrior -- nurturing open-mindedness and courage. Most of us keep strengthening our negative habits and therefore sow the seeds of our own suffering...
Particularly powerful are the aspiration practices of the four limitless qualities -- loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
In these practices we start close to home: we express the wish that we and our loved ones enjoy happiness and be free of suffering. Then we gradually extend that aspiration to a widening circle of relationships. We start just where we are, where the aspirations feel genuine. We begin by acknowledging where we already feel love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. We locate our current experience of these four boundless qualities, however limited they may be."
"Cultivating these four qualities gives us insight into our current experience. It gives us understanding of the state of our mind and heart right now."
"We never pretend that we feel anything we don't...
It might feel like stretching into make-believe to say, "May this person who is driving me crazy enjoy happiness and be free of suffering." Probably what we genuinely feel is anger. This practice is like a workout that stretches the heart beyond its current capabilities. We can expect to encounter resistance. We discover that we have our limits: we can stay open to some people, but we remain closed to others. We see both our clarity and our confusion. We are learning firsthand what everyone who has ever set out on this path has learned: we are all a paradoxical bundle of rich potential that consists of both neurosis and wisdom."
-- excerpt from, "The Places That Scare You" by Pema Chodron.
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