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themselves and have a sense of self-pity. In such cases, the meditation on loving kindness can be very useful.

　　 Another method of healing involves using Metta to try to relieve pain. He teaches patients to simply be with the pain and see how they can view it. They should see if they can observe the pain without desiring the pain to go away because the pain becomes suffering when there is resistance and dislike concerning it. But if you can be with the pain for a few minutes then there may not be so much suffering. He remembers a woman who used this technique saying, "the pain is there but I am not there." He explains that "She had a kind of anatta, or not-self, experience by focusing on the pain." But he admits that it is not easy for patients to do this. He says that the emotion that really bothers these patients is self-pity. "Why me?" He sees this as related to self-hatred and he wants to help them deal with their psychological "wounds" as a step toward healing their body.

　　 Some of the meditation steps that he outlines for the patients to follow in doing Metta meditation on pain are outlined here.

1. Pain is not mine. It is of the body and does not belong to me.
2. Accept it in a friendly way, without reproach. Do not escape from it or run away from it. Be with it with confidence. Have control and power over it.
3. If the mind is tranquil, the body will be also, and vice versa.
4. Pain should not induce dukkha, suffering.
5. Take the pain as a point of meditation. Reflect on it with awareness, observation, understanding.
6. Pain in the body may be due to repressed emotion.
7. Dealing with emotions with equanimity is essential. To get rid of repressed emotions, you can observe and understand the causes for them.

Summary:
　　 Guru A's approach to meditation represents an interesting combination of traditional/ orthodox and post-modern. He does not stress the attainments or promise instant enlightenment. His approach is pragmatic in helping people to cope with suffering. He would say, however, that this is what liberation or enlightenment really means in Buddhism: the overcoming of dukkha, suffering. In this way, his approach is very textual, based on his comprehensive understanding of the Buddhist scriptures. He also has read widely in the literature of contemporary Buddhism, and reflects what we can call Global influences from teachers such as Ajahn Cha and the Burmese teachers. Somewhat surprisingly, he has little interest in socially engaged Buddhism which he sees as largely a Western import. He points out that none of the forest monks have ever taught that meditation could coexist with social activism.

Guru B
　　 Guru B, like Guru A, also teaches meditation in a way that is very textual and orthodox: focusing on Metta and Satipatthana. Of course, to call this orthodox is somewhat ironic since the very idea of either lay teachers or lay practitioners of

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meditation goes against classical Theravada orthodoxy. But within the parameters of the Buddhist revival and contemporary Buddhism, he is relatively orthodox. Guru B, however, differs from Guru A in several other key respects and represents some of the other forces shaping contemporary Buddhism. Guru B is a successful businessman in Colombo who now devotes most of his time to teaching dhamma and meditation and many of his followers come from the business community.

　　 Coming from a prominent family in Colombo, Guru B attended the best schools in the country and was an outstanding cricket player. His teachers were his father, who wrote books on Buddhism, and a forest dwelling monk, Venerable Nanarama. Guru B also has ties to the early meditation centers such as Kanduboda.

　　 Today he teaches meditation and dhamma to the business people and the English educated elite in Colombo and elsewhere in the island. Although he does not have a formal society or organization he has a large number of followers who attend his lectures and courses. He also has some small groups of businessmen who practice meditation under his tutelage. For several years he has had a television program on dhamma and meditation and recently he established an internet web site on these topics. He wears the white national dress -- white sarong and long white shirt -- the traditional Sri Lankan dress for a Buddhist layman but which today is worn mostly by politicians and lay gurus. Compared to Guru A, this guru has a much more authoritative presence and commands a greater degree of veneration from his followers. They regard him as a guru with particular charisma. Some followers say that he has a distinctive cosmic and karmic status -- possibly as an arahant or a future Buddha. They believe that this guru has miraculous powers, such as the ability to produce spontaneously relics of the Buddha which he then presents to his followers. When lecturing in Colombo or other areas of the country, he attracts large crowds.