Itivuttaka 3:7b If one shows kindness with a clear mind— Even once!—for living creatures, By that one becomes wholesome. Having mercy in his or her heart for all creatures, A noble person brings forth abundant goodness. ekam-pi ce pāṇam-aduṭṭhacitto mettāyati kusalo tena-hoti sabbe ca pāṇe manasānukampaṃ pahūtam-ariyo pakaroti puññaṃ. 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 … [Read more...]
Andrew Olendzki
The Removal of Grudges
Anguttara Nikaya 5:161 If you give birth to a grudge towards any person, cultivate loving kindness towards that person… Thus the grudge towards that person can be removed. yasmiṃ puggale āghāto jāyetha, mettā tasmiṃ puggale bhāvetabbā. evaṃ tasmiṃ puggale āghāto paṭivinetabbo. This passage demonstrates one of the practical applications of loving kindness. We may be used to thinking of it in a rather abstract way, as a generalized care for the well-being of all sentient beings, … [Read more...]
Do It!
Therīgāthā 118 karotha buddhasāsanaṃ, yaṃ katvā nānutappati. khippaṃ pādāni dhovitvā, ekamante nisīdatha. cetosamathamanuyuttā, karotha buddhasāsanaṃ Engage with the Buddha’s teaching! One who does so has no regrets. Quickly wipe the dust from your feet, And sit yourself down to one side. Practicing mental tranquility, —Engage with the Buddha’s teaching. Engage with the Buddha’s teaching The opening word of this stanza is the second person imperative form of the verb … [Read more...]
Itivuttaka 3:7
One who actively develops loving kindness, Mindfully and without limit, Sees their attachments wane; Their bonds become worn thin. yo ca mettaṃ bhāvayati appamāṇaṃ paṭissato tanū saṃyojanā honti passato upādhikkhayaṃ One who actively develops loving kindness As gentle and natural as loving kindness can feel experientially, it is generally not something that “just happens” on its own except under particular circumstances (as when a mother gazes upon her slumbering child, for … [Read more...]
Metta in Anguttara Nikaya
No other thing do I know, on account of which unarisen ill will does not arise and arisen ill will is abandoned, so much as on account of this: the liberation of the heart by loving-kindness. For one who attends properly to the liberation of the heart by loving-kindness, unarisen ill will does not arise and arisen ill will is abandoned. (Nyanaponika & Bodhi, Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, p. 34) This passage points directly to why the development of loving kindness (mettā-bhāvanā) is … [Read more...]
Metta in Other Suttas
With all ten verses of the Mettā Sutta covered, we can turn our attention to other passages in the Pali literature that address the matter of loving kindness and its cultivation. The following passage occurs in several places in the suttas, and can be taken as one of the core classical descriptions of the practice of loving kindness. so mettā-sahagatena cetasā ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṃ, tathā tatiyaṃ, tathā catutthaṃ. iti uddhamadho tiriyaṃ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṃ … [Read more...]
Metta Sutta Verse 10
Without falling into mistaken views, Endowed with insight and integrity, Guiding away greed for sensual things, One would not be born again in a womb. diṭṭhiñ ca anupagamma sīlavā dassanena sampanno kāmesu vineyya gedhaṃ, na hi jātu gabbhaseyyam punar etī ti Without falling into mistaken views Are not all views mistaken views? This certainly seems to be the perspective of the earliest discourses (e.g. the Rhinoceros Horn Sutta and the Atthakavagga of the Sutta Nipāta), which seem … [Read more...]
Metta Sutta Verse 9
Standing, walking, sitting or lying down, As long as one is devoid of torpor, One would resolve upon this mindfulness —This is known as sublime abiding here. tiṭṭhaṃ caraṃ nisinno vā sayāno vā yāvat’ assa vigatamiddho, etaṃ satiṃ adhiṭṭheyya, brahmam etaṃ vihāram idha-m-āhu. Standing, walking, sitting or lying down, These four are meant to cover all the positions one can place the body in, thus conveying the idea that both loving kindness and mindfulness can be practiced at all … [Read more...]
Metta Sutta Verse 8
Develop a mind of loving kindness Unbounded toward the entire world: Above and below and all the way ‘round, With no holding back, no loathing, no foe. mettañ ca sabbalokasmim mānasaṃ bhāvaye aparimāṇaṃ uddhaṃ adho ca tiriyañ ca asambādhaṃ averam asapattaṃ. Develop a mind of loving kindness One of the principle words for meditation is bhāvanā, a word which literally means “causing to be” and is generally translated as “development.” Loving kindness is developed in the mind, since … [Read more...]
Metta Sutta Verse 7
Just as a mother would watch over her Son—her one and only son—with her life, In just the same way develop a mind Unbounded toward all living creatures. Mātā yathā niyaṃputta— āyusā ekaputtam anurakkhe, evam pi sabbabhūtesu mānasaṃ bhāvaye aparimāṇaṃ. Just as a mother would watch over her Son—her one and only son—with her life, Many modern relationships between mothers and sons, as between parents and children in general, can be quite difficult, which might diminish somewhat the … [Read more...]