Lovingkindness Meditation: Learning to Love Through Insight Meditation

by Sharon Salzberg

A Traditional Meditation for Applying Love As a Healing Force

The Insight Meditation Society is one of North America’s oldest institutions dedicated to bringing the life-changing gifts of mindfulness training to the West. On Lovingkindness Meditation, IMS cofounder and senior instructor Sharon Salzberg guides you through a six-step meditation designed to access the human heart’s own limitless source of supreme energy—the energy of love. Known traditionally as metta (an ancient Buddhist term meaning “lovingkindness”), this timeless practice is an easy-to-learn method for unlocking your greatest internal resource for healing others and yourself. Here is a universal meditation to help

Melt away feelings of isolation
Awaken true compassion, even for those who have hurt you
Find freedom from needless, self-created suffering
Learn to trust your own loving, intelligent heart

Among the world’s contemplative traditions, the meditation on how to love is perhaps the most basic—and most powerful. Lovingkindness Meditation is the perfect introduction to this enriching practice.

Audible Audio

Published November 9, 2015

About the author

One of America’s leading spiritual teachers and authors, Sharon Salzberg is cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts. She has played a crucial role in bringing Asian meditation practices to the West. The ancient Buddhist practices of vipassana (mindfulness) and metta (lovingkindness) are the foundations of her work.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharon always gets to the heart of things-how much more mental health would we all have if we followed her ways?