Rooted in the luminous teachings of Atisha Dipankara—the great Mahayana-Vajrayana master—and resonant with Osho’s insistence that meditation is the source and compassion its natural fragrance, this method leads you from inner stillness to an effortless outpouring of love. When you turn within and touch the inexhaustible well of being, compassion does not have to be cultivated; it overflows like light from a lamp. This practice is a direct, experiential path: take full responsibility for your inner weather, bow in gratitude to everyone as your teacher, and let the heart transform all darkness into a blessing.
Rather than a philosophy to believe, these are precise hints to walk with. Begin by centering in the heart, then consciously breathe in suffering and breathe out relief—first for yourself, then for others, and finally for all beings. As the inner flame becomes steady, allow its radiance to spread without effort. The aim is simple and radical: to move from personality to presence, from thinking to knowing, from separation to a felt kinship with all life.
Practice with the spirit of discovery. Follow the stages as guidance, not as dogma. If you truly settle into meditation, compassion will happen on its own—like spring arriving, like a thousand-petaled lotus opening from the center of your being.
Phase Instructions
First Stage: Enter the Inner Source
15 minutes. Sit comfortably with an upright, relaxed spine. Close your eyes. Let the breath be natural. With each exhalation, feel the body softening; with each inhalation, feel awareness gathering toward the heart center. Imagine a small, steady flame in the heart—a silent lamp fed by an inexhaustible source. Do nothing to the breath; simply watch. Thoughts may pass like clouds—let them pass. Keep returning to the sensation of breathing and the felt presence in the heart. Sense that your energy is turning inward, bridged to something vast within. Rest as the witness, alert and at ease.
Second Stage: Responsibility and Gratitude
10–15 minutes. Bring to mind a recent situation or person that stirred discomfort. Without blaming anyone, whisper inwardly: “I take total responsibility for my inner state.” Feel what arises in the body—tightness, heat, restlessness—without judging it. Let responsibility be empowering, not heavy. Then, from the same openness, bow inwardly to everyone who has challenged you and say: “Thank you—you reveal my unconsciousness; you are my teacher.” Allow genuine gratitude to melt any contraction. If emotions surge, breathe softly into the heart and let them be received by the inner flame.
Third Stage: The Breath of Compassion (Tonglen)
20 minutes. Keep your attention in the heart. • For yourself: On the in-breath, imagine drawing in your own pain, fear, or fatigue as a cool, dark mist into the heart-lamp; as it touches the flame, it dissolves. On the out-breath, send warmth, ease, and clarity back to yourself as golden light or a soft fragrance. You may silently say: “May I be free from suffering. May I be at peace.” • For a loved one: Inhale their difficulty as dark mist; exhale relief, strength, and love. • For a neutral person (someone you neither like nor dislike): Repeat the same cycle. • For a difficult person: Gently breathe in their confusion and hurt; breathe out understanding and goodwill. Remember: you are responsible for your state, not for changing them—simply offer blessings. • For all beings: With each inhalation, receive the world’s heaviness into the heart’s transforming flame; with each exhalation, let compassion flow in all directions. Keep the breath natural; if you feel overwhelmed, return to simple witnessing of the flame for a few breaths, then continue.
Fourth Stage: Overflow and Blessing
10–15 minutes. Drop all technique. Do not try to help—simply be a sun. Sit quietly as if the heart’s lamp has become a boundless radiance spreading by itself. Sense the whole body lit from within; let the light overflow through the chest, the room, the city, the earth, touching all beings. Rest in silence. To complete, place one hand on the heart and one on the navel; bow slightly and whisper, “Grateful to everyone.” Carry this flavor into daily life: in moments of tension, take one conscious breath—receive, transform, and bless.
Core Benefits
- Inner stillness leading to an outpouring of love
- Transformation of darkness into a blessing
- Movement from personality to presence
- Establishment of a felt kinship with all life
- Effortless spreading of compassion
What Osho Said About This Technique
One winter day, a masterless samurai came to eisai's temple and made an appeal: 'I'm poor and sick,' he said, 'and my family is dying of hunger. Please help us, master.'
DEPENDENT AS HE WAS ON WIDOWS' MITES, EISAI'S LIFE WAS VERY AUSTERE, AND HE HAD NOTHING TO GIVE. HE WAS ABOUT TO SEND THE SAMURAI OFF WHEN HE REMEMBERED THE IMAGE OF YAKUSHI-BUDDHA IN THE HALL. GOING UP TO IT HE TORE OFF ITS HALO AND GAVE IT TO THE SAMURAI. 'SELL THIS,' SAID EISAI, 'IT SHOULD TIDE YOU OVER.' THE BEWILDERED BUT DESPERATE SAMURAI TOOK THE HALO AND LEFT. 'MASTER!' CRIED ONE OF EISAI'S DISCIPLES, 'THAT'S SACRILEGE! HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?' 'SACRILEGE? BAH! I HAVE MERELY PUT THE BUDDHA'S MIND, WHICH IS FULL OF LOVE AND MERCY, TO USE, SO TO SPEAK. INDEED, IF HE HIMSELF HAD HEARD THAT POOR SAMURAI HE'D HAVE CUT OFF A LIMB FOR HIM.' Even if you feel, or you think you feel, or you pretend that you feel, compassion, just go deep and analyze it and you will always find…Read the full discourse →
The monk zuigan used to start every day by saying out loud to himself, "master, are you there?" and he would answer, "yes sir, I am." then he would say, "better sober up." and he would reply, "yes sir, I'll do that." then he would say, "look out now, don't let them fool you." and he would answer, "oh no sir, I won't, I won't."
In America, the whole market depends on how you can befool the customer, how you can create an idea in the minds of others. Now, a two-car garage is a must if you want to be happy; in America, a two-car garage is a must. Nobody asks why. If you are not happy with one car, how can you be happy with two cars? If there is fifty percent happiness with one car, how can you be happy with two cars? With one car you are unhappy; with two cars you will be doubly unhappy, that's all. The mathematics is simple. But there is advertisement, propaganda; the whole society exists by manipulating others. Happiness is something like a commodity in the market -- you go and purchase it, it has to be purchased. How can happiness be purchased? Happiness is not a commodity, it is not a thing; it is…Read the full discourse →
Beloved Osho, buddha was saying again and again to his disciples that meditation and compassion should grow side by side. These days I have been feeling your compassion as never before, and I have also been feeling the urge to start learning from it, at least the abc. For now, the only thing that makes me feel close to it are those warm tears that flow down my cheeks as I look at you. Beloved, can you please talk about compassion, and how to go into it from the stage I'm at.
Chidananda, Gautam Buddha's emphasis on compassion was a very new phenomenon as far as the mystics of old were concerned. Gautam Buddha makes a historical dividing line from the past; before him meditation was enough, nobody had emphasized compassion together with meditation. And the reason was that meditation brings enlightenment, your blossoming, your ultimate expression of being. What more do you need? As far as the individual is concerned, meditation is enough. Gautam Buddha's greatness consists in introducing compassion even before you start meditating. You should be more loving, more kind, more compassionate. There is a hidden science behind it. Before a man becomes enlightened, if he has a heart full of compassion there is a possibility that after meditation he will help others to achieve the same beautitude, to the same height, to the same celebration as he has achieved. Gautam Buddha makes it possible for enlightenment to be…Read the full discourse →
When they were left along with their disciples their disciples said, 'Master, this is too much! For two days we waited and waited and waited, and we have been waiting for this opportunity for years, thinking that at the meeting of two great enlightened persons something would be bound to transpire. We were thrilled, so excited, but you both remained utterly silent.' Farid said, 'When two mirrors face each other, nothing is reflected or only nothing is reflected, again and again. He is silent, I am silent; he knows, I know; I am not, he is not. We have both disappeared into the ultimate. what is there to say? Who is there to say it?' And the same was said by Kabir. When his disciples asked him, 'Lord...' he said, 'If either of us had spoken, that would have proved that he knew nothing.Read the full discourse →
When bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.
LATER THE PUPIL WAS CAUGHT IN A SIMILAR ACT, AND AGAIN BANKEI DISREGARDED THE MATTER. THIS ANGERED THE OTHER PUPILS, WHO DREW UP A PETITION ASKING FOR THE DISMISSAL OF THE THIEF, STATING THAT OTHERWISE THEY WOULD LEAVE IN A BODY. WHEN BANKEI HAD READ THE PETITION HE CALLED EVERYONE BEFORE HIM. 'YOU ARE WISE BROTHERS,' HE TOLD THEM. 'YOU KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS NOT RIGHT. YOU MAY GO SOMEWHERE ELSE TO STUDY IF YOU WISH, BUT THIS POOR BROTHER DOES NOT EVEN KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG. WHO WILL TEACH HIM IF I DO NOT? I AM GOING TO KEEP HIM HERE EVEN IF ALL THE REST OF YOU LEAVE.' A TORRENT OF TEARS CLEANSED THE FACE OF THE BROTHER WHO HAD STOLEN. ALL DESIRE TO STEAL HAD VANISHED. I was reading in some history book that twenty persons were expelled from England; they were sea robbers.…Read the full discourse →
Common Questions
Begin by centering in the heart, then consciously breathe in suffering and breathe out relief.
No, it is not a philosophy to believe but a series of precise hints to guide practice.
The aim is to move from personality to presence and from separation to a felt kinship with all life.
Practice with the spirit of discovery and follow the stages as guidance, not as dogma.