Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast Ep. 139 - Metta to Self, Metta to All w/ JoAnna Hardy
Jun 9, 2023
JoAnna Hardy, an insight meditation teacher and retreat leader who links metta practice with social and racial justice. She explains metta’s origins and how kindness arises from mindfulness. Guided segments move from self-directed metta to extending care to easy, neutral, and difficult people, then widen to local and global beings.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Set Your Body At Ease Before Metta
- JoAnna Hardy invites listeners to make their body as easy and supported as possible for metta practice, including lying down or adding cushions.
- She recommends softening posture and allowing practical adjustments (chair, cushions) to avoid struggling against pain.
Metta Emerges When Hindrances Clear
- JoAnna Hardy observes that metta naturally arises when the mind and heart are at ease rather than forced into being.
- She links cultivating mindfulness to clearing hindrances so our mature inclination toward kindness can surface effortlessly.
How Metta Started As A Defense
- JoAnna Hardy tells the origin story of metta where the Buddha sends 500 monastics to a valley haunted by hostile tree deities.
- The monks returned terrified, and the Buddha armed them with the Metta Sutta and imagery of bows shooting roses to pacify the spirits.