Even Once!

Itivuttaka 3:7b

If one shows kindness with a clear mind

Here we see a rare case of the word mettā being used as a verb (mettāyati). This emphasizes the fact that loving kindness is something you DO. Perhaps the English idiom “show kindness” does not work as well as a more literal phrase, such as “enact kindness” or “manifest kindness” or even “be kindness.” This latter gets closer to the frequently occurring “developing kindness” found in the expression mettā bhāvanā (literally, “causing kindness to be”). In this phrase the term loving kindness is taken to be transitive, insofar as the kindness needs to be directed toward somebody or something—namely, toward living beings (pāna: literally “breathing ones”; compare the Sanskrit word for breath well known to yoga practitioners, prāna).

Notice also that the state of loving kindness can only occur when the mind is free of impediments (aduttha-citto). As we have seen before, any selfish attachment to living beings, annoyance, enmity, or any of the other unwholesome emotional states, will immediately render true loving kindness impossible. Kindness is not just an idea, it is a living emotion. It cannot be faked or approximated or intimated. Either you really do feel loving kindness toward another being, in which case you are actually doing it—making it happen—or else you don’t and are not.

Practice: See if you can discern in your own experience the difference between thinking thoughts of loving kindness and actually manifesting the emotion of loving kindness. The thoughts and phrases can act as a basis and support for the emotion, but cannot stand in its stead. Gazing out the window at a bird on a branch, for example, can you first think kindly thoughts about it and then deeply feel a genuine intention of caring for its happiness and well being? Shift back and forth between these two modes from time to time in order to get a sense of the difference. This experiential knowledge can serve you well in other situations where you are practicing the enactment of loving kindness.

—Even once!—for living creatures
By that one becomes wholesome

The Buddha has said there is nothing that changes as rapidly as the mind (Aṅguttara Nikāya 1:5). Not only is it constantly shifting attention from one object to another, but the perceptual interpretations, the co-arising feeling tones, and the emotional responses with which each object is regarded are also changing incessantly. Yet every single one of these moments, we are told, has karmic repercussions. Every single action of the mind involves intention or volition, and it is volition (cetanā) that is the driving force of karma. This is why Buddhists in general put so much emphasis upon the quality of the mind at every moment, and this is why our text here is saying that even a fleeting moment of loving kindness has wholesome consequences.

Even if you are in a foul mood, everything is going against you, and you cannot think of one good reason why anyone deserves your loving kindness…make it happen anyway! Using the power of mindful awareness, realize that you are just being temporarily hijacked by some strong by ultimately fleeting emotional states, and that you do not have to participate in their perpetuation. By thinking a good thought about someone, which may even lead to feeling an emotion of loving kindness toward them—even if just for a brief moment—that will have a transformative effect upon your stream of consciousness and will help significantly change the dynamic of your mind and body. Loving kindness can thus act as a pivot point, a fulcrum, that can be used to leverage your mind from an unwholesome to a wholesome state. Since the two qualities cannot co-exist in a single moment of consciousness, even one wholesome thought intruding upon a stream on unwholesome thoughts can make a huge difference to all that follows.

Practice: Try this for yourself. The next time you are in an unwholesome state of mind—let’s say you are annoyed at someone for doing something annoying—see what happens when you take a short break from thinking terrible thoughts about this person to choose a moment of loving kindness. If it is too difficult to have this person be the target of that kindness (and it almost surely will be too difficult), direct the good intentions to a neutral party, such as the bird outside the window. So-and-so might still be a jerk, but you will choose to think instead for a moment of the bird, and you will think of it kindly, with an attitude of wishing it happiness and well-being. After a few moments of this (of actually DOING it, and not just thinking about it), you may return to your fuming about so-and-so. Notice anything?

Having mercy in his or her heart for all creatures,
A noble person brings forth abundant goodness.

Loving kindness is a noble quality of heart and mind. Feeling tenderness or compassion or mercy (anukampā) is something that only well-developed humans can accomplish. It is easy to be selfish, easy to be cruel, easy to push care for others aside to get what one wants in life. After all we have deep-seated instincts, inherited from our reptilian ancestors, that drive us in this direction. The Buddha seems to take the view that nobility is something we evolve toward, and that noble ones who walk a noble path to understand the noble truths are aspiring to become truly worthy (arahant). Such a person acts in the world, and effortlessly contributes to it becoming a better place for all. By means of their clarity of mind and benevolence of heart, a noble person actively brings forth goodness (puñña) and transforms all with whom he or she comes in contact.