LibraryScenariosWhen family members disagree about extending loving-kindness to those who caused harm
Scenario

When family members disagree about extending loving-kindness to those who caused harm

My sister and I started practicing loving-kindness meditation to help heal our relationship after years of conflict, but we keep getting stuck when we try to extend metta to our father who hurt us both, and we can't agree on whether forced forgiveness is spiritual growth or spiritual bypassing.

Mira
Online
The coach is replying

More people experience this than they realize.

What we've seen

The tension between authentic forgiveness and premature spiritual bypass becomes acute when practicing metta toward shared sources of trauma.

Worth thinking about

“Where Are You with Metta — Buddhist loving-kindness?”

If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.