It has been a recent practice of mine to recite Metta at the end of each of my daily sits. I started doing this due to the Ukraine War. On Earth Day, 3 days ago I decided to recite Metta with the Earth in mind.
May It be free of suffering, may It feel safe and still
May It be free of enmity, may it be loving grateful and kind
May It be healthy and at ease with all Its ills
May It be at peace, embracing all conditions of life
I decided that It was the most appropriate pronoun.
Honestly for me this invoked a paradigm shift. Reciting Metta for the Earth and considering that It may suffer, may feel enmity, may be as ease with its ills, may embrace all conditions of life etc really moved the Earth from being some abstract thing to an sentient, living, breathing life form. Like reciting Metta for a difficult person helps to break the mental barriers that may dehumanize that person in our minds, I think that reciting Metta helped to break my abstraction of this planet. I have continued to recite Metta for the Earth and I think this will become a permanent part of my daily practice.
I wanted to share experience with this group and hope that maybe you find value in this as well.
Thank you all for your practice and your companionship in our study of Ecodharma.
Tairin
Sat today and lah
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