07-12-23: Donald Rothberg,

Teaching Loving Kindness

00:01:51 – Sean welcomes Donald Rothberg

00:08:30 – Introduction from Donald Rothberg

00:10:10 – Outline of this session

00:17:47 – Practice period: Donald Rothberg teaches loving kindness as if he were teaching a group for the first time

00:18:22 – What is metta, or loving kindness?

00:21:32 – Often what comes up in loving kindness is what gets in the way of loving kindness (i.e. irritation, anger)

00:24:29 – Passage from Metta Sutta

00:26:09 – The sequence of a loving kindness practice

00:29:37 – Loving kindness (metta) phrases

00:34:14 – Loving kindness practice

00:51:19 – Ways of teaching loving kindness (i.e. use of phrases, body-based metta)

00:56:02 – Teaching loving kindness over a weeklong retreat

00:58:43 – Integrating loving kindness practice with daily life

01:03:30 – Challenges in teaching loving kindness

01:08:21 – Techniques for making loving kindness more emotional and body-based

01:11:02 – Radiating metta

01:11:38 – Mindfulness and loving kindness are not fundamentally different when they are both mature

01:13:40 – Working with a difficult person during metta practice (choosing a person/relationship of moderate difficulty)

01:15:18 – What can I do to become more authentic when offering metta to a very difficult person?

01:18:54 – With difficult or painful relationships, heart practices of compassion and forgiveness can be more effective than loving kindness

01:21:36 – How should we deal with purification and/or strong emotional responses during loving kindness practice?

01:25:45 – Varying your phrases to see what resonates with people

01:31:37 – Integrating and finding balance between mindfulness and loving kindness

01:33:01 – Doing a 6-week series and working with one person per session

01:34:08 – Visualizing loving kindness radiating out across the whole planet – and beyond

01:37:21 – How would you describe loving kindness in 30 seconds?

01:39:14 – The relationship between loving kindness practice and fear

01:42:52 – The relationship between loving kindness practice and concentration

01:47:08 – Are there any phrases we can use in federal workplace settings where we cannot reference faith or religion?

01:51:30 – How would I describe what purification is?

01:54:59 – How do you handle trauma that arises during loving kindness practice?

01:59:12 – Closing remarks

02:00:00 – Weeklong loving kindness retreat

ABOUT Donald Rothberg

Donald Rothberg

Donald Rothberg is a leading teacher and writer on meditation, the intersection of psychology and spirituality, and socially engaged spiritual practice. He has taught and practiced Buddhist meditation for over 45 years, and his teaching and trainings have helped to pioneer new ways of connecting inner and outer transformation.

He is a member of the Teacher's Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in the San Francisco Bay Area, a guiding teacher for the Marin Sangha, and a regular teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, Southern Dharma Retreat Center in North Carolina, the Louisville Vipassana Community, InsightLA, and New York Insight, and the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World