This is an AI-generated transcript from auto-generated subtitles for the video Guided Meditation: Radiating the Light of Love; Love (13) Glowing from the Center. It likely contains inaccuracies.

Guided Meditation: Radiating the Light of Love; Dharmette: Love (13) Glowing from the Center - Gil Fronsdal

The following talk was given by Gil Fronsdal at Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA on January 21, 2026. Please visit the website www.audiodharma.org for more information.

Guided Meditation: Radiating the Light of Love

Welcome. I welcome you to this meditation, part of our ongoing sessions on love. Generally, these sessions are associated with mindfulness meditation¹. There are two things to note about that. First, Mettā²—the meditation on goodwill and love—is considered the integral partner to mindfulness. Mindfulness and Mettā support each other and go hand in hand. Second, they don't simply go hand in hand; there is a way of understanding them as being the same thing, or growing into the same thing.

Lately, I have been thinking that love is a powerful force. The hope is that love is a more powerful force than hatred or fear. My understanding of how love works in Buddhism—how practice and living a life work—is that the world begins with each of us. The world that each of us lives in is situationally centered in ourselves. That is the beginning of the world. Where we begin within ourselves and how that reaches out into the world is crucial.

For it to begin with love and kindness—even if it is just a kind of self-care, self-concern, self-respect, or self-compassion—addresses our own suffering³ in a deep way. It is to really find out how not to suffer and then to spread that into the world. The source of love is in us. I think of this source as being like turning on a light bulb. If you could slow down the speed of light so you could visually see its spread, you would see that when the bulb is turned on, it lights up the area right around the bulb first, and then further and further away until it fills the room.

When we turn on the light bulb of love deep inside, it radiates, shines, and warms that which is closest to it: ourselves. That love starts here on its way to touch the people we love, on its way to the neutral strangers for whom we don't have much love, and on its way to the people who are difficult to love. Just as light shines on everyone equally, there is power and value in shining the light of love on everyone to highlight another aspect of human beings and society—one that is different from hate or fear. The Buddha said, "Hate is not overcome by hate. By love alone is it overcome."⁴

To begin, sit in a posture that supports this recognition: that this is the spot. This is the beginning. This is the center of the world that you experience. You are at the center of it all. Assume that center and find yourself rooted here in a way that is definitive, irrefutable, and completely recognizing of how valuable it is to be connected deeply to this place and time. Center yourself here so this location becomes a basis for a healthy way of being in and viewing the world.

Gently close your eyes. Feel your sitting bones on your chair or cushion, or your feet on the floor. If you are on a bed, feel the bed. Whatever surface is holding you up is the place of "here" in the most intimate way. Rising out of that spot where you sit, gently take some deeper, fuller breaths. Relax as you exhale.

Settling in deep inside to a grounding place. Finding a place where the body is stable, still, and rooted—perhaps in your sitting bones, deep in your belly, or at the base of your spine. Breathing normally, settling and relaxing on the exhale.

Now, feel your global body—the world of your own body—and sense the more subtle sensations of aliveness. Perhaps there is a hum, a glow, or a tingling that is wider and broader through your body than any particular sensation, thought, or feeling. Relaxing into the wide, broad body, rooted in that place deep inside where there is stability and steadiness. Feel that combination of an inner place of stillness and the wide hum of life.

Slowly drop the word "Mettā," "love," or "goodwill" into that field of vibration like you would drop a pebble into a pond. Let the pebble sink to the bottom. See if you can find rest at a still point, a warm point, or a gently glowing point of love within you.

On the exhale, lightly say the word "love"—a whisper, perhaps in a loving tone. Saying the word as you exhale and following the breath deep inside. Allowing the thinking mind to be quiet so you can feel a place of tenderness and gentleness—a place you associate with care and goodwill. It could be deep in the belly, in the heart, or in the mind.

On the inhale, let the love radiate outward into your body like a light bulb that has been turned on, spreading the goodness of love throughout your being. Let it spread even around and through the challenges you might have. The light of love doesn't differentiate; it lands on everything.

It is possible that one of the most important qualities of our life is our capacity to love, to be friendly, and to have a generosity of heart. No matter how small or weak it seems, or even if it feels inaccessible, center yourself there. Let it radiate whatever distance it goes.

As we come to the end of our sitting, once again settle into that place within that you associate with Mettā. At the very end of the exhale, rest in that spot. As you inhale, let the glow and radiance of that care spread. Let your gaze be a gaze of kindness and love. This radiance looks out upon the world, spreading from you like light spreading across the lands. Trust this being as if your love goes out into the whole world. Not worrying whether that is true or not; just feel what it would be like if it were true. Even if your love only reaches a few inches beyond your body, how good it feels to have kindness spreading beyond you.

May the goodness and love we have, and our dedication to living a life of integrity and care for our world, be things we have confidence in. May we believe in them and give life to them. May they flow out into the world.

May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be peaceful. May all beings be free.

Thank you.

Some of you might be wondering why I looked off to my left and waited. It is because the guided meditation is recorded separately, and it takes a moment for the recorder to finish uploading it before I can push "record" again.

Dharmette: Love (13) Glowing from the Center

Hello and welcome to this thirteenth talk about love—the lucky thirteen. The Buddha said something that I find amazing: he said that you fulfill his teachings even if you have only a moment of loving-kindness, a moment of Mettā. To think that you fulfill his teachings in this way is quite something.

There are a number of ways in which we choose not to leave love to chance, but rather make it a more intentional part of our lives. This is not about being Pollyannaish⁵ or covering over the difficulties of life. It is not to avoid the challenges of our social or political lives. Rather, it is about appreciating the power of love—recognizing that we can act from love and create a very different impact than if we act from hate or fear. To be rooted in love is one of the most important things we can do.

By this, I don't mean it replaces other things we must do; it becomes the way we do those other important things. Whether we are caring for our family, doing our work, or caring for our communities and the whole world, we do it out of that love. While others might be driven by anger, hatred, greed, or conceit, acting from love has a very different consequence—beneficial, long-term consequences.

So, we don't want to leave love to chance. In Buddhism, we focus on it intentionally. We remember it and avail ourselves of it more often. I love the idea of "availing ourselves." We have a capacity for kindness and friendliness that we often don't use enough. Perhaps we don't even trust it sometimes. But to trust it, to recognize it, and to make room for it allows it to nourish us. We are cultivating a capacity for wholesomeness that is essential for Buddhist practice.

Buddhist practice is about becoming whole. If we narrow our focus and exclude the whole, we come to a very different conclusion about life. A limited life—one caught by attachment, greed, or hate—causes us to suffer much more than if we can open to that which is part of the whole. Mettā is part of that whole. It is not selfish, limiting, or divisive. It heals division within ourselves and the world. It heals selfishness because selfishness is limiting. Mettā comes from a source that is non-attached and free.

Explore this in your life. Find where this source of goodwill is and choose to live from it more often. Do not leave it to chance; make it a practice. As you go through the world, remind yourself: "Mettā, Mettā." Make it such a big part of your life that it stays close at hand throughout the day.

There are two general ways we approach Mettā practice in our tradition. One is to be intentional about cultivating it in daily life. The second is a formal meditation practice. The advantage of formal practice is that it is undistracted. In daily life, we are responding to things; in meditation, we have the opportunity for continuity. This continuity is like standing in the sun on a cold day. You must stand there long enough for the warmth of the sun to warm you. If you move in and out of the shade every few seconds, the sun doesn't have a chance to warm you up. Meditation is a time for the warmth of love to spread, grow, and have its beneficial effect on us.

Within the formal practice, there are two further methods. One is to find the "glow" or the source within—tapping into it through imagination, sensation, and warmth—and letting it radiate. I love this radiance. Like turning on a light in a dark room, it spreads to what is closest first. It is invaluable to allow your love to pass through yourself first. I imagine it as a warm glow spreading through my muscles, my heart, my arms, and my legs on its way into the world. This body-mind system becomes the source or the antenna from which our goodness spreads. It is enough to intend it to go outwards; you will feel the opening it creates.

The other method is using phrases—using the cognitive mind to help us connect and spread the feeling. For this week, however, I am focusing more on this radiance.

Today, do not let your capacity for Mettā be a matter of accident or circumstance. See what you can do to live with it close by. Avail yourself of it, choose it, remember it, and speak from it. Walk in Mettā; walk in goodwill. It can be a secret; others don't have to know, though they might notice you smiling more. If it helps, tie a string around your finger or put sticky notes around to remind you throughout the day: "Mettā, Mettā."

I hope you make love an important subject to reflect on and live with. Let it become a regular reference point for you and see what happens as a result. I am confident you will benefit, and perhaps the world will benefit as well.

Thank you.