This is a mettā (Lovingkindness) meditation that uses the framework of the “Six Directions” as a reflection on relationships, community, and ethical action in service of everyone we come into contact with.

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.

The talk introduces the directions and their classes of people, and the meditation moves through them in order, with the emphasis on strengthening our intention to care for the people in these parts of our community in the distinct ways appropriate to each. We use the same mettā phrases for each group, and reflect on how we can serve and honor these people that make up our family and community.