the seven round compassion contemplation¶
- this chart assists memorization
graph LR
you
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dear & foes & neutral
dear
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elder_ & peer_ & junior_
foes
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_elder & _peer & _junior
neutral
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neuteral_this contemplation includes seven rounds.
each round has seven steps to reflect upon our relationship with seven groups of beings:
- our elders
- our peers
- our juniors
- our elders' enemies
- our and our peers' enemies
- our juniors' enemies, and finally
- neutral people, those who have not helped or harmed us or our loved ones
guided1¶
in this meditation practice, we move from a breath-counting technique to contemplation. through repentance and reflection we deepen our compassion. by practicing this deeper form of contemplation and meditation, we repent our misdeeds, dedicate ourselves to benefit others, and strengthen our own meditation practice. if we practice this contemplation every day, we will soon obtain many benefits: our anger will be replaced by tolerance, our minds will be more at peace, our social interactions will improve, and our friends and foes alike will be more amenable and open to buddhist cultivation. here is a model for this meditation practice.
read the compassion contemplation seven times in the following manner: first read the columns from top to bottom, then from bottom to top. repeat until you have sincerely read from top to bottom four times and bottom to top three times. during the contemplation, stay focused. do not be distracted such as conjuring the people’s faces in your mind. this counts as one session of the seven-round compassion contemplation.
step one¶
my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and teachers have done so much for me. i didn’t respect them or care of them. i might did some bad deed to them before. i am sincerely wish to make amends by dedicating to them all the merits of my buddhist cultivation, through meditation, and other good deeds.
may my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and teachers free themselves of greed, anger, and ignorance, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained. i also dedicate the merits to my elders of all my past lives. may my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and teachers of my past lives be reborn in better realms, free themselves of three poisons, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained.
step two¶
my siblings, colleagues and friends have been friendly, supporting and tolerant for me. i might have been jealous or hostile toward them. i am sincerely wish to make amends by dedicating to them all the merits from my cultivation.
may my siblings, spouse, cousins, colleagues, and friends free themselves of three poisons, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained. i also dedicate the merits to my peers of all my past lives. may my siblings, spouses, colleagues, and friends of my past lives be reborn in better realms, free themselves of three poisons, clear their karmic obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained.
step three¶
i should do my best to teach and guide my juniors, to spend time with them, be kind and patient toward them. i might have been irresponsible and unkind. now i sincerely repent and wish to make amends by dedicating to them all the merits from my cultivation.
may my children, grandchildren, relatives’ children, and students free themselves of three poisons, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained. i also make the same dedication to my juniors from all my past lives. may my younger siblings, children, relatives’ children, and students in my past lives be reborn in better realms, free themselves of three poisons, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained.
step four¶
there are some people who have had bad karmic relationships with my elders, who have been unfriendly, harmful or hostile to them, or whom my elders have disliked, resented, or harmed. i wish the bad karma between my elders and their foes will turn into good karma. i now sincerely dedicate to them all the merits from my cultivation.
may my elders’ foes free themselves of three poisons, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained. i also make the same dedication to the elder’s foes in my previous lifetimes. may they be reborn in better realms, free themselves of three poisons, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained.
step five¶
my siblings, spouse, cousins, colleagues, and friends might have built bad relationship with others, and so do i. for those who have done wrongs to my peers or me, i wish to forgive them and never think of retaliation. if my peers or i have done wrongs to them, i wish to repent and make amends.
may the foes of my peers and my own enemies free themselves of three poisons, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained. i also make the same dedication to my peers’ foes and my foes from all my past lives. may they be reborn in better realms, free themselves of three poisons, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained.
step six¶
my children, grandchildren, relatives’ children, and students might have built bad relationship with others. i now dedicate to them all the merits from my cultivation.
may my juniors’ foes free themselves of three poisons, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained. i also make the same dedication to my juniors’ foes from all my past lives. may they be reborn in better realms, free themselves of three poisons, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained.
step seven¶
there are some people who are neither dear nor hostile toward my elders, my peers, my juniors and me. there are also many people in the world i have never met before. i now dedicate all the merits from my cultivation to the “neutrals” from this life and all my previous lives.
may the neutral ones free themselves of three poisons, clear their obstacles, practice and support the dharma, gain blessings, true happiness and wisdom, bring forth the bodhi mind and never regress until perfect enlightenment is attained.