Karuna

Karuna, is the Pali word (The language scholars believe the Buddha taught in) for compassion.  Compassion is something that many of us with addictions have been lacking - especially towards ourselves, at least I was.  It is said that to truly have compassion for others one must have compassion for themselves.  Whether or not that is a true statement I'm not sure, but what I do know is the more compassion I generate for myself, the easier it is to have compassion for others.  

Compassion is learning to meet pain and suffering with love and caring.  Not something I was really good at when I was active.  In my using past I met my pain with anger and hatred.  These were not good tools.  Meeting pain with hatred just compounds it, so you end up angry and in pain.  A lose lose situation.  

So what can we do to generate compassion for ourselves?  Meditate, especially using the compassionate phrases such as , May you live with ease, may you be happy, may you be free from pain.    "Just as I wish to, may you be safe, may you be healthy, may you live with ease and happiness." and  "May your life be filled with happiness, health, and well-being."       You can use these phrases or others that have a similar intention.  there is also a Compassion meditation in the Refuge Recovery book in the back with the guided meditations.    

You can also download guided compassion meditations and follow along.  In the beginning sticking with compassion for yourself only.  then later on for others.  Many of us feel a little strange offering ourselves compassion, for me it felt a little selfish, but my teacher told me it was a really important practice for developing a heart filled with compassion.  So I took his advice and did the practices until it started to feel not so uncomfortable and eventually it felt natural.  

As my self compassion grew so did my ability to have true compassion for others.  A heart and mind of compassion makes such a difference in how we see and meet the world.  I hope you will give this practice some real attention and make Karuna a serious part of your daily meditation.