The following talk was given at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California.

Please visit our website at audiodharma.org.

Hello, good morning.

Welcome to a meta-day-long practice.

Great to see you.

Be in person together.

I still don't take it for granted that we're able to come together after years of not being able to.

So, the intention for our day together, our day of practice together,

is cultivating the practice of what's called meta-M-E-T-T-A,

often translated as kindness, loving kindness, goodwill, friendliness.

This is turning towards goodness.

And why would we want to do that?

Well, so many reasons. Why would we want to do that?

Why? Why even bother doing this thing?

I offer a few reasons, and of course you have your own.

And one reason, the why of it is, well, it...

it softens sense and attitude of kindness, goodwill, friendliness.

First of all, towards ourselves, let's start with ourselves.

It's already hard enough being human.

Have you noticed anyone noticed being hard being human?

Of course it is. It's hard being human.

It is said in Buddhist teachings that this plane of being human

...