Ariya B. Baumann left her career as a music and dance teacher in favour of her deep yearing to understand herself and the world. Based on her many years of practice, twenty-one of them as a nun in the Burmese tradition, she now lays a strong emphasis on the practice of loving-kindness (including metta chants) as a basis for the vipassana meditation practice. She has translated a number of Dhamma books from Burmese to English and German, among these are Mahasi Sayadaw’s ‘Manual of Insight’. She is a co-founder and president of ‘Metta In Action’ which supports a variety of social and medical projects throughout Burma, especially nunneries.
In dealing with the demons of the mind that is with all the emotions and mental states causing fear, sorrow, attachment or any other sort of mental anquish we are able to courageously face them with bare awareness. When this awareness or mindfulness is strong without reacting to the experience, even the worst enemies are dissolved like the morning mist in the rising sun.
How can we best make use of our material possessions, body and mind with regard to our spiritual practice? How can they be a support in our quest for liberation? The essences to be extracted from our material possessions, body and mind are generosity, virtue and meditation.
The practice of lovingkindness yields powerful and unexpected results both in formal meditation practice and in our daily life. Getting a thorough understanding of the spirit of metta helps to cultivate a genuine and selfless feeling of lovingkindness.
