Four Viharas Meditation by Will Tuttle

This ancient practice originates in the Buddhist tradition, but it is universal, and is a wonderful meditation for beginning practitioners of ANY religion or persuasion. It is also excellent for more advanced and experienced meditators as well. Not only does the Four Viharas help our mind become more quiet, relaxed, poised, and centered in the truth of our being, it also helps purify negative emotions and brings emotional HEALING, which can lead to other types of healing, including physical healing.

On this CD, Will Tuttle has composed words and music to guide you along the path of this ancient practice. There are two tracks, each one being about 22 minutes in length. The first track has detailed guidance and effortlessly carries you along in the practice of the Four Viharas until you learn how to do it yourself. The solo piano background music is calming and relaxing, and helps deepen the experience. The second track has just a short guided section with words at the very beginning, and then is about 20 minutes of meditative music that you can use as background for the meditation after you have learned it from listening to track one.

"Vihara" is an old Sanskrit word meaning abode, dwelling, temple, sanctuary, home. This timeless and potent meditation helps us connect with the truth of our being-love, compassion, joy, and peace-and offers a path that has been tried and proven for over two thousand years to bring harmony into our feelings and into our daily lives. Part of its beauty is that it can be done anywhere at any time. Practicing the Four Viharas regularly will gradually and deeply transform your internal environment, healing and opening your heart to yourself, to others, to all of life.

The Four Viharas practice is excellent for people who are in transition, and for people who are in demanding relationships or careers. It is also excellent for those working with children or those who are disabled or disadvantaged. It is a wonderful resource to help bring more peace, patience, and understanding into stressful times and relationships. It is also a wonderful practice for those who have spiritual aspirations to become more enlightened, and for those who are involved in creative expression. The Four Viharas, by cleansing inner negativity, encourages the creative muse to celebrate and express!

The guided meditation on this CD is a tried and tested practice, originating in the profound wisdom of ancient wise beings, and is a gift to us in our modern world coping with stress and difficulties. It illuminates the four aspects of our inner home-the four abodes of enlightened consciousness. A deep and yet gentle way of ennobling and gladdening the mind and revealing the heart, these Four Abodes are the essence of our true home, our inner sanctuary. In the original Sanskrit they are "maitri," lovingkindness; "karuna," or compassion; "mudita," joy in the joy of others; and "upehka," peace and equanimity. These four abodes-love, compassion, joy, and peace-are also called the Four Immeasurables.

The practice of the Four Viharas involves consciously cultivating a mind of lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and peace, and affirms the principle that we can create a better world through creating a better inner world. By developing an inner environment that is healthy and caring, our whole life becomes more harmonious and we are less likely to find ourselves victims of the suffering caused by such internal states as frustration, envy, fear, depression, anger, and craving.

With regular and devoted practice of the Four Viharas, our true home is gradually regained and our life opens to and increasingly reflects benevolence, joy, goodwill, and serenity. From this inner home of deep peacefulness, we can launch our exploration into the depths of the mystery of Being!

As our hearts open to the basic goodness, beauty, and truth embodied and reflected in the Four Viharas, we find that inner purification is occurring! In our busy lives, how precious it is to consciously cultivate and create an inner environment that is harmonious, loving, peaceful, and joyous. And how precious it is to send this harmony and compassion into the world.

This Four Viharas practice is far from being another quick fix, but is rather an ancient and beloved practice that has helped transform the lives of countless people over the centuries. By practicing the Four Viharas, you will be tapping in to a field of healing and awakening that is ancient, powerful, and universal, transcending the limits of language, space, and time.

Practicing the Four Viharas regularly can bring new harmony into this world of relativity and endless complexity, and can even bring you to direct experience of the Deathless.

May all beings be happy and at peace!

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