With tonglen breathing, you breathe in the undesirable – pain and suffering – and breathe out the desirable – strength and happiness.
If it sounds strange, it’s probably due to the Western idea of only letting in good things and rejecting anything unpleasant. But this is an important part of Buddhist meditation, and by practicing it, you are sharing your goodness and happiness with the world while letting go of your selfish desires.
If you feel like a more advanced practice, you can also breathe in the pain of those you hate and send them your positive thoughts as you breathe out. With this practice, you’re also opening your heart so you see things from their perspective, understanding their demons and how they may have suffered in the past.
As you’ll surely discover when you dive deeper into your meditation practice, even when it comes to our enemies, we’re more alike than you might think.
