Kynan Tan: The Practice of Mettā (Cultivating Loving-Kindness)

Description

Cultivating intentions of friendliness and goodwill is a foundational practice in many contemplative traditions. Yet when left to guide ourselves, it can be unclear how to cultivate these intentions and what to do when something quite different from our intentions arises. In this session we will discuss why these practices are important, how we can allow the practice to flourish through creative use of visualization, phrases, and body awareness, and we will do guided and self-guided practice. We will also look at how various Buddhist traditions describe the practice of mettā and how this has been adapted and extended over time.

Speaker

Kynan Tan is a meditation teacher who takes a collaborative approach to helping students achieve their meditation goals. He came to meditation after struggles with stress, anxiety, and depression and found the practice to be transformative. He believes that meditation has enormous potential for creating positive change and opening up new ways of relating to our experience.

Kynan draws upon a number of different modern and traditional techniques of contemplative and introspective practice. He is a longtime practitioner of the stages of śamatha-vipassanā (as presented in the book The Mind Illuminated), Rob Burbea’s insight meditation techniques, nondual awareness, and brahmavihārā practices (mettā, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity).

Kynan studies meditation with Dr. Tucker Peck. He teaches the Pragmatic Dharma Club at the San Francisco Dharma Collective, leads retreats, and teaches one-on-one instruction and online meditation courses. Kynan has sat a number of retreats, including a month-long solo retreat in 2021.

Info

View live on Zoom from 7.25pm on the night. Talks include meditation and generally conclude at 9pm. Download iCal calendar for the Zoom event.

• Meeting ID: 985 1050 0274
• Passcode: 645945