Adapted from Jack Kornfield script. You can read more on how we created these meditations in our article.
Welcome
Hello, and welcome.
Compassion is the tenderness of the heart when it encounters suffering. It is not pity or sorrow — it is the courageous willingness to meet pain with kindness.
This practice is an invitation to open that tenderness, gradually, in widening circles.
This meditation is adapted from a script by Jack Kornfield.
For now, let yourself arrive.
Arriving
Find a comfortable position — sitting upright and at ease. Let the body settle. Let the breath be natural.
Gently close your eyes.
Feel the weight of the body where it rests. The quiet rise and fall of the breath.
And beneath that — the heartbeat. The steady, patient pulse of life within you.
Sense how you treasure this life. How you wish to be free from suffering.
A Loved One in Difficulty
Gently bring to mind someone you love who is experiencing difficulty. Perhaps illness, or loss, or a struggle you know they are carrying.
Let their face come to mind clearly.
Feel the heart naturally open toward them. Let yourself be touched by their pain — not to fix it, but simply to meet it with kindness.
Silently, offer them these words:
May you be held in compassion.
May your pain and sorrow be eased.
May you be at peace.
Receiving Compassion
Now imagine that this person turns toward you.
They see your suffering, your struggles, the weight you carry.
With the same tenderness you offered them, they now offer it back to you:
May you be held in compassion. May your pain and sorrow be eased. May you be at peace.
Let yourself receive this.
Self-Compassion
Now direct that same compassion toward yourself.
Acknowledge the ways you have suffered — the losses, the fears, the struggles you carry.
If it feels right, place a hand on your heart.
May I be held in compassion.
May my pain and sorrow be eased.
May I be at peace.
Let yourself receive this.
Expanding the Circle
Now we widen this circle — moving outward from ourselves, gradually, until it holds everyone.
Bring to mind a dear friend. Someone whose face you know well, whose sorrows you have witnessed. Let compassion extend toward them naturally.
May you be held in compassion. May your pain and sorrow be eased. May you be at peace.
Now bring to mind a neighbor — someone nearby, perhaps someone you pass without much thought. They too have their suffering, their fears, their longings.
May you be held in compassion. May your pain and sorrow be eased. May you be at peace.
Now bring to mind someone you find difficult. Compassion here does not mean approval — only the recognition that they, too, suffer. That they, too, wish to be free from pain.
May you be held in compassion. May your pain and sorrow be eased. May you be at peace.
And now, let the circle open entirely.
All beings everywhere — in this moment — who are suffering, who are afraid, who are grieving. Let your heart hold them all.
May all beings be held in compassion. May the suffering in the world be met with kindness. May all beings be at peace.
Closing
Rest here for a moment in this vast compassion.
When you are ready, gently let your eyes open.
Carry the tenderness of this practice with you — into the rest of your day, into each encounter, each moment.
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