Question
I have a meditator friend. She is a Catholic religion teacher in school, and well-experienced in Zen meditation. When I taught her Compassion/Lovingkindness Meditation she asked me if the meditation will only influence her own mind or also affect the person for whom it is done for, like Christians care for the health of someone. I answered no, it's just for your own mind, and will influence the other person through your behavior. What would you answer?
Answer
That is correct as far as I understand, we are doing the Compassion/Lovingkindness to develop more unselfish emotions in ourselves, as we develop more unselfish emotions in ourselves, it affects our dealings with others and we influence them in a beneficial way through our actions.