Cultivating Compassion

Metta meditation as a response to suffering

by Claire Law

Suitable for Whole School (Sec)

Aims

To reflect upon cultivating compassion as a response to suffering in our world.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Cultivating Compassion) and the means to display them.

Assembly

1. Have Slide 1 showing as the students arrive.
   
   I wonder how many of us have tuned in to global news recently. It can be difficult to connect with the news because we hear so many reports of suffering in our world. Already in 2024, there’s been considerable suffering, globally. Conflict and famine have affected millions.
   
   We probably know people in our own families and friendship groups who are suffering, but global news reports remind us that suffering also exists for people we’ve never even met.
   
   
2. Show Slide 2.
   
   We’ve seen distressing images of the continuing conflict in Ukraine.
   
   
3. Show Slide 3.
   
   We’ve also heard about the suffering of people affected by the Israel-Gaza war.
   
   
4. Show Slide 4.
   
   War has continued in Sudan too, with people experiencing starvation as a result.
   
   
5. Show Slide 5.
   
   I wonder how these images leave us feeling. For many people, watching the news can be a difficult experience. When we’re exposed to events that cause worry or uncertainty, it’s natural to feel fear, anxiety and even a sense of hopelessness about what we can do to change the situation. We might feel a sense of compassion and a desire to help in some way, but feel clueless about what we can do to effect change.
   
   
6. One response to feeling helpless in the face of suffering is the practice of Metta meditation, or loving-kindness meditation.
   
   Metta meditation has its roots in ancient Buddhist teachings and practices. It originated in India over 2,500 years ago and has been an important part of Buddhism for centuries. However, people from other religions practise Metta meditation too, to cultivate greater compassion as a response to suffering in our world.
   
   
7. Let’s look at what Metta meditation involves.
   
   Show Slide 6. 
   
   Here, we see a set of four phrases that are used in this type of meditation. The phrases are repeated several times.
   
   As we progress through the meditation, we insert the names of different people to reflect upon. The meditation starts with considering ourselves. Let’s hear how that sounds.
   
   May I be happy.
   May I be healthy.
   May I be safe.
   May I be at ease.
    
8. After several rounds of repeating the phrases with ourselves as the focus, the meditation progresses to considering someone we love or feel warm feelings towards. This could be a friend, parent or sibling, for example.
   
   If I were practising this meditation, I might choose my (insert description and name).
   
   May (insert name) be happy.
   May (insert name) be healthy.
   May (insert name) be safe.
   May (insert name) be at ease.
    
9. After several rounds of repeating the phrases with someone we love as the focus, the meditation progresses to considering someone we feel neutral about. This could be a neighbour, or someone we stood with at the bus stop today, for example.
   
   As before, we repeat the phrases, inserting the person’s name, or calling them to mind if we don’t know their name.
   
   
10. After several rounds of repeating the phrases with someone we feel neutral about, the meditation progresses to considering someone we have a difficult relationship with. This could be someone we’re angry with, or someone who has hurt us in some way.
    
    This is where the meditation can become more challenging: we are being asked to desire positive things for someone we might detest.
    
    
11. Finally, the meditation ends with all beings as the focus. Everyone in the world is held in mind as we repeat the standard phrases.
    
    May all beings be happy.
    May all beings be healthy.
    May all beings be safe.
    May all beings be at ease.
     
12. Practising Metta meditation can help us to develop greater compassion. By focusing our mind on feeling love for ourselves, then for friends and family, then for people we are indifferent about, then for people we dislike and finally for everyone in the world, we can increase our capacity for being loving towards others.
    
    
13. The idea of offering loving kindness not only to ourselves and people we love, but also to people we find it difficult to like, is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching.
    
    In the New Testament, we hear how Jesus encourages his followers to adopt an attitude of loving kindness by treating others as they would want to be treated.
    
    
14. We also hear Jesus setting his followers the difficult challenge of loving their enemies.
    
    Show Slide 7.
    
    ‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour, and hate your enemy.” But I tell you this: love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.’ (Matthew 5.43-44)
    
    Many Christians incorporate a loving-kindness reflection into their time of prayer so that they can pray for people they have a difficult relationship with.
    
    
15. Holding in mind all people - including those we dislike - and praying for them might seem like a strange way to help people at the heart of global news events. However, developing our own capacity to be loving, kind and compassionate can reduce suffering in our world. We are less likely to hurt others if we have a more compassionate outlook on life.

Time for reflection

Let’s take some time now to try cultivating greater compassion by holding in mind and perhaps praying for other people in our world, including those we find it hard to like.

Show Slide 8.

We could do this by using the Metta meditation practice on the slide, or by using our own words to pray silently for others. Let’s use this time to connect with feelings of compassion for others in a way that we feel comfortable with.

Pause to allow time for thought.

Prayer
Dear Lord,
There is suffering in our world.
We suffer, and people close to us suffer.
People who are distant from us also suffer.
When we feel helpless in the face of suffering, help us to remember that we can act by working on our own capacity for compassion.
Help us to develop a more compassionate, more loving and kinder approach to others.
Give us the courage to pray for others, including people we dislike, so that we can become more like you.
Amen.