BUDDHISM “Kathleen McDonald is a remarkably skilled meditation teacher.” “Thisbookwillhelpyoufindhappinessandtruesatisfaction, —John Makransky, author of Awakening Through Love M andhelpyoulivealifeofbenefittoothers.”—LamaZopaRinpoche, C authorofHow to Be Happy and Wholesome Fear D O Awakening the Kind Heart offers powerful and inviting N AWA K E N I N G meditation techniques to activate the heart of kindness A within us all—a modern and motivating interpretation of L D traditional and powerful practices. A “Throughclearexplanations,straightforwardpractices,andbasic W goodheartedness,thisbookexplainshowtonavigatethepathtolove, A evenunderverytryingcircumstances.Truly,thereisnothingmore K neededatthistime—ourveryfuturemaydependuponit.” E —SusanPiver,authorofTheWisdomofaBrokenHeart N I N “KathleenMcDonaldisaremarkablyskilledmeditationteacher. G Inthispreciousgemofabook,sheshowsushowtoopenourheartsinto deepestsolidaritywithothersandtherebyuncoverourtruestselves.” T H —JohnMakransky,authorofAwakeningThroughLove E “Abrilliantbookandamust-readforallseekers.” K —TulkuThondupRinpoche,authorofBoundlessHealing I N D HOW TO KATHLEEN MCDONALD wasordainedasa H TibetanBuddhistnunin1974.She’staughtfordecades E aspartoftheFoundationforthePreservationofthe MEDITATE ON A MahayanaTradition(FPMT),aworldwideorganization R ofBuddhistteachingandmeditationcenters.Sheisthe T COMPASSION authorofthebestsellingHowtoMeditateandthe coauthor,withLamaZopaRinpoche,ofWholesome Fear. K AT H L E E N M C D O N A L D ISBN978-086171-695-1 $15.95 Wisdom Publications / Boston wisdompubs.org BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF HOW TO MEDITATE Wisdom ProducedwithEnvironmentalMindfulness A Note from the Publisher We hope you will enjoy this Wisdom book. For your conven- ience, this digital edition is delivered to you without “digital rights management” (DRM). This makes it easier for you to use across a variety of digital platforms, as well as preserve in your personal library for future device migration. Our nonprofit mission is to develop and deliver to you the very highest quality books on Buddhism and mindful living. We hope this book will be of benefit to you, and we sincerely appre- ciate your support of the author and Wisdom with your pur- chase. If you’d like to consider additional support of our mission, please visit our website at wisdompubs.org. Acquired at wisdompubs.org Awakening the Kind Heart Acquired at wisdompubs.org Acquired at wisdompubs.org A W A K E N I N G the FPO WISDOM PUBLICATIONS • BOSTON Acquired at wisdompubs.org WisdomPublications 199ElmStreet SomervilleMA02144USA www.wisdompubs.org ©2010KathleenMcDonald Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyanymeans,elec- tronicormechanical,includingphotography,recording,orbyanyinformation storage and retrieval system or technologies now known or later developed, withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData McDonald,Kathleen,1952– Awakeningthekindheart:howtomeditateoncompassion/KathleenMcDonald (SangyeKhadro). p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferences. ISBN0-86171-695-7(pbk.:alk.paper) ISBN978-0-86171-935-8(ebook) 1. Meditation—Buddhism.2. Compassion—Religiousaspects—Buddhism.3. Spiri- tuallife—Buddhism. I.Title. BQ5612.M3252010 294.3’4435—dc22 2010007993 1413121110 5 4 3 2 1 DrawingsofChenrezigandMaitreyabyRobertBeer.CoverdesignbyPhilPascuzzo. InteriordesignbyLC.SetinBembo11/15.5. WisdomPublications’booksareprintedonacid-freepaperandmeettheguide- lines for permanence and durability of the Production Guidelines for Book LongevityoftheCouncilonLibraryResources. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica. Thisbookwasproducedwithenvironmentalmindfulness.Wehaveelectedtoprint this title on 30% PCW recycled paper.As a result,we have saved the following resources:17trees,5millionBTUsofenergy,1,617lbs.ofgreenhousegases,7,795gal- lonsofwater,and472lbs.ofsolidwaste.Formoreinformation,pleasevisitourwebsite, www.wisdompubs.org.ThispaperisalsoFSCcertified.Formoreinformation,pleasevisit www.fscus.org. Acquired at wisdompubs.org Table of Contents Preface vii The Metta Sutta:The Buddha’sWords on Loving-Kindness xi Section One 1. It’sTime to ChangeYour Mind 3 2. Immeasurable Love 19 3. Meditations on Loving-Kindness 39 4. Immeasurable Compassion 57 5. Meditations for Cultivating Compassion 79 6. Immeasurable Joy 91 7. Immeasurable Equanimity 103 SectionTwo An Exploration of The EightVerses ofThoughtTransformation 117 Notes 149 Other Books about Loving-Kindness,Compassion, andThoughtTransformation 151 About the Author 153 Acquired at wisdompubs.org Publisher’s Acknowledgment ThepublishergratefullyacknowledgesthegeneroushelpoftheHershey Family Foundation in sponsoring the publication of this book. Acquired at wisdompubs.org Preface Whether one believes in a religion or not,and whether one believes in rebirth or not,there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion. —His Holiness the Dalai Lama1 E veryoneappreciateskindness.Asmile,afewfriendlywords,ashow of concern when we’re troubled or feeling unwell, an offer of help—gesturesofkindnesslikethesebrightenourdayandeasewhatever sadnesswemayfeelinourhearts.Feelingthat“someonecaresaboutme” fulfillsaverydeepneedthatweallhave.Andjustasweappreciateother people being kind to us,others appreciate it when we are kind to them. Thatiswhyitisimportanttolearntobekind,becauseitwillhelpmake our relationships and interactions with others more satisfying and more problem-free. But it’s not always easy to be kind.Sometimes our hearts are filled withangerorhatred,jealousy,orpride,andbeingkindisthelastthingwe feel like doing.Or we get so caught up in our work and responsibilities thatwefindnotimetothinkofothersandtheirneeds,notimetobekind andgentle.However,theseproblemscanberemedied.TheBuddhisttra- ditionoffersawealthofmethodsthatcanbeusedtoovercomewhatever prevents us from being kind,such as anger or selfishness,and to practice kindnessmoreinourdailylife.AsHisHolinesstheDalaiLamasays,“My religion is kindness.” Some of these methods are explored and explained in this book—in Acquired at wisdompubs.org viii awakening the kind heart awaythatwillallowyoutopracticetheminyourdailylife.Twomaintra- ditions of practicing kind-heartedness are introduced here. The four immeasurable thoughts—love, compassion, joy, and equanimity—are essentialpracticesinalltraditionsofBuddhism.Insectionone,onechap- terisdevotedtoeachofthese,withmeditationsonloveandcompassion included in separate chapters and meditations on joy and equanimity at theendoftheirrespectivechapterstohelpyouactualizethesefourpro- found thoughts in your day-to-day life. The second type of practice explored in this book,thought transfor- mation(lojonginTibetan),isapowerfulmethodofpracticeintheIndo- Tibetan tradition that is becoming better known in the West.We will exploreitinsectiontwousingTheEightVersesofThoughtTransformation, composed by the eleventh-century Tibetan meditation master Geshe Langri Tangpa.2 The Eight Verses is a beautiful little text,easily memo- rized,thatoffersuspreciousgemsofwisdomonhowtotransformdiffi- cultsituationsintoopportunitiesforspiritualgrowth—totransformpain into joy and lightness. The explanations of these compassion teachings are not scholarly commentaries.Rather,IamsimplysharingsomethingsIhavelearnedin mystudiesofBuddhism,aswellasinmyattemptstopracticetheseteach- ingsinmylife.Ihavefoundtheseteachingsveryhelpful,andIhopeand expect others will too. AwakeningtheKindHeartwasoriginallypublishedbyAmitabhaBud- dhist Centre,Singapore,in 1995,as a small booklet for free distribution. Forthispresentedition,Irevisedandexpandedtheoriginalmaterialand added a number of meditations. This book has come about through the kindness of many people.I would first of all like to thank from the depths of my heart my teachers, especially His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Thubten Yeshe, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Geshe Jampa Tegchog,Ribur Rinpoche,and the many other precious masters from whom I learned about kindness and compassion,not only from their teachings but from their perfect,living example.I also give my heartfelt Acquired at wisdompubs.org