In a beautiful and famous discourse, the Sigālaka Sutta (DN 31), the Buddha taught a framework for lay people (non-monastics) to build and sustain healthy communities. He used the model of the Six Directions, where the practitioner thinks of themself in a web of relationships: with their parents (east), teachers (south), partner and family (west), friends and colleagues (north), employees and dependents (below), and with religious renunciates and charities (above).

The model can help us feel into the gifts and support we receive from, and give to, people in all these different relationships to us. It becomes a reflection on ethics, wise action, social engagement, and the sustaining of beloved community by learning to honor the distinct gifts and challenges of each type of relationship. We acknowledge the harm and trauma that has come through many of these relationships, and explore ways to care for and heal them through compassion and forgiveness practices. And we cultivate the beautiful qualities of gratitude and generosity that are the glue that holds the whole web together.

This is the intro to the meditation in the next post.