A strong heart is a cultivated heart, it doesn’t come naturally. The capacity comes naturally… but we don’t just naturally wander into wisdom. Wisdom is a thing that is cultivated. A heart that is tough enough to endure the realities of the world, is a strengthened heart, it is a heart that is built.
Araham, where you sit in meditation with your hands gently holding, supporting the solar plexus, and saying the mantra ‘Araham’
Araham – it doesn’t have a prescribed or literal meaning, but a sense of its meaning is ‘warm strong heart’ or ‘cool mind, warm heart’
Arh – is open breath
Ra – is like moving the energy
Ham – holding yourself
There, there alright. It’s ok. It’s ok.
Gently embracing the solar plexus, supporting.
Being there for: worry, nausea, anxiousness, fear, panic – tight in the solar plexus.
Warm and relaxed, not restricting.
Araham, Araham, Araham
Say it in threes, move your lips, just once in awhile during the sit.
Araham: goodwill, friendly attitude. You wish the world well. A fairer, meaningful life.
Respect for the body. Respect for the difficulties of life. Respect for the human condition.
Gold pink, peach, red gold, warm colour. Light like the sun and it goes in all directions.
The light of goodwill and it strengthens the heart.
Cultivate it for life, it is something that needs to be done forever, no delusion.
Warm feeling and it goes out in all directions.
(End of meditation instruction, from Loving Kindness teachings by Chimé Shore on the 21 of July 2011, Auckland, Kawai Purapura)
These class notes were compiled by Mira Riddiford and have the approval of Chim Shore to be shared.
‘Metta means the embrace of the friend, as in mitta, kalyanamitta’. Kalyanamitra (Sanskrit) or kalyanamitta (Pali) refers to the “spiritual friend.”
Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche on the use of Araham meditation:
“ARAHAM is used to cancel karma – a primary practice in every school. ARAHAM = ‘purity’”
First published on the Auckland Sphere Group Website.
Cool Mind, Warm Heart
A Universalist, contemporary version
A strong heart is a cultivated heart, it doesn’t come naturally. The capacity comes naturally… but we don’t just naturally wander into wisdom. Wisdom is a thing that is cultivated. A heart that is tough enough to endure the realities of the world, is a strengthened heart, it is a heart that is built.
Cool mind, warm heart, where you sit in meditation with your hands gently holding, supporting the solar plexus, and saying the mantra ‘Cool mind, warm heart,’
There, there alright. It’s ok. It’s ok.
Gently embracing the solar plexus, supporting.
Being there for: worry, nausea, anxiousness, fear, panic – tight in the solar plexus.
Warm and relaxed, not restricting.
Cool mind, warm heart
Say it in threes, move your lips, just once in a while during the sit.
Cool mind, warm heart: goodwill, friendly attitude. You wish the world well. A fairer, meaningful life.
Respect for the body. Respect for the difficulties of life. Respect for the human condition.
Gold pink, peach, red gold, warm colour. Light like the sun and it goes in all directions.
The light of goodwill and it strengthens the heart.
Cultivate it for life, it is something that needs to be done forever, no delusion.
Warm feeling and it goes out in all directions.
