The Heart of Interbeing: A Meditation by Grant Rix

May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness
May all be freed from sorrow and the causes of sorrow
May no-one be away from the sacred happiness that is sorrowless
May all leave attachment to dear ones and aversion to others
And live experiencing the uniqueness and sameness of all that lives

Begin by taking up a posture that is easeful and alert and establish a gentle awareness of the breathing body. As your awareness deepens, recognise that in your heart there is already a flowering which crystallises into a beautiful white flower in full bloom.

On each petal of the flower are written innumerable prayers with aspirations that all beings may be freed from suffering. These appear almost formless and soundless but are nonetheless clearly present. As you breathe in, the flower brightens in the same way that a fire brightens in a gentle breeze, causing a soft and silky white light, the light of loving-kindness, to wisp through the entire body like smoke rising from incense. The light completely dissolves all tensions of body, speech and mind. Breathe with this for a while.

Now in the space in front and slightly above are seated all your teachers and above them are their teachers and so on. Think of these as the beings who have inspired your life in some way that is deeply meaningful. In each of their hearts is a similar white flower. As you reflect closer you notice that running from these flowers are a number of threads that connect to the flower in your heart and to the flowers in each others hearts. As you breathe out, light travels along the threads from the flower in your heart and is breathed in by your teachers brightening the flower in their hearts. As they breathe out the light cascades back along the threads and is breathed in by you brightening the flower in your heart - a continuous flow of giving and receiving, of supporting and being supported. Relax into this.

Imagine behind you are all your ancestors, starting with your mother to the left and your father to the right. Behind them are your grandparents, and behind them your great grandparents and so on. In front are your children, your grandchildren and innumerable generations yet to come. Filling the rest of the space all around you are beings who represent every single social interaction you have ever had. These are your friends, acquaintances, adversaries, beings that you have passed by in the street, but have never talked too, beings of your dreamlife and so on. In short, allow a sense that all the beings that have ever shaped your life in some way, either knowingly, or unknowingly, are present here with you. Surrounding all these beings and all the beings of this visualised mandala are their teachers, their ancestors, social interactions and generations yet to come. Recognise that in the heart of each of these beings is a beautiful white flower with threads connecting to the flower in your heart and to the flowers in each others hearts. Breathing in the same manner as for your teachers allow a deep sense of appreciation and gratitude to arise.

Now recognise that below you is the earth and that out from the earth has arisen all of life as we know it. Feel your connectedness with the vast ecology of non-human life. Imagining and breathing with the flowerings in the hearts of animals, birds, insects, bacteria, and even in the hearts of trees, plants, rivers, lakes, oceans, rain clouds, mountains and wind currents. Feel your connectedness and recognise that you are at once shaping and being shaped by the entirety of life on this planet. Breathing in this way see, feel, sense the light from all the hearts of all the beings and entities of this visualised mandala continuously blinking in and out all over the planet. A rich tapestry of soft white light connected in all directions - in front, out to the sides, above and below. At this point you could extend your imagination realising the relationships of sun, moon and earth, and the entire cosmos.

Finally, allow a sense that all the tensions of body, speech and mind of all the beings of the entire mandala are completely dissolved in this vast light of loving-kindness. Then after a while allow the visualisation to dissolve in a way that is spontaneous and completely natural and simply rest for a time without effort.