The Davis Shambhala Meditation Center is pleased to present the practice of Maitri Bhavana on the 4th Tuesday at 6pm of each month beginning 22. Please write down the names of those who suffering from serious illnesses or who have recently passed away on the list at the Center. This list will be read during the ceremony.

" In this practice we share health with other people-in fact, all sentient beings. It involves developing a sense of immense generosity and being willing to suffer for others. One's own personal gain and achievement could be shared-in fact, given up.

Generally sickness and unhealthiness occur from a problem with the environmental situation. People have no chance to express any sense of comfort because the space around them is so cramped. Consequently, one can get disordered in one's body and mind, and get sick because there is no accommodation to relax, open, and celebrate.

So this practice is a token gesture to provide lots of room, openness, and space for others, and not make demands on the environment itself. In order to change the environment, one has to create some seed from within oneself. If one is creating one's own spaciousness, that spaciousness becomes contagious and expands to others who are suffering, so they also could be helpful. That seems to be the basic meaning of generosity in this practice.

The technique of meditation here is very old, and has come down through generations of mahayana practitioners. It is similar to working on the in- and out-breath, but is more like contemplation, in that deliberate thoughts, mental objects, are used. As you breathe out, you breathe out your spaciousness and your goodness completely. As you breathe in, you breathe into yourself the sickness, neurosis, and problems of other people. This is the practice that we are going to do."

--Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche