Post by Lady Anastasia on Mar 10, 2007 16:37:47 GMT -5
The Welfare of Others
Metta usually translated as 'loving kindness' is a quality highly esteemed in Buddhism. Sometimes it is translated as 'good will' but 'loving kindness' seems to capture the spirit of the word more comprehensively - it's about giving oneself selflessly to others, without enmity, without cruelty.
Metta is about developing an attitude of mind in which one desires the welfare of all others. But it is also about expressing this in active ways. This doesn't mean that we get up one morning and set about changing the world in some sort of highly dramatic fashion (though of course, there's room for that!), it's more about bringing this selfless attitude into one's daily affairs - the way one interacts with colleagues at work, or with one's family, or even with people we meet on a casual basis. It's trying to get this attitude of mind to permeate everything we do.
Boundless Heart
Loving kindness is a virtue that is emphasized in all traditions of Buddhism. Of course, it stems from the word of the Buddha himself and is found in the Pali Canon. The Metta Sutta itself reads very much like a traditional prayer. First it states that he who wishes to attain nibbana should develop certain moral qualities such as being content with living modestly and being 'perfectly upright, noble of speech, gentle and humble'. The sutta then breaks into a desire for all beings to be happy - without exception!
(This 'without exception' can be a difficult one. I recently went into a junior school to discuss metta with a group of ten and eleven year olds. They had no problem extending their feelings of loving kindness to friends, family and even their teacher! but great difficulty feeling comfortable with extending it to people they disliked.)
The Metta Sutta provides us with a very striking image of what form this love should take: 'Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, even so, let him cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings'. This maternal image has particular resonance within the Tibetan tradition where it is said that in our previous lives we have all been another person's mother at some point. This makes the bond between ourselves and all other beings a very close one, despite what might seem like our current emotional distance.
Metta Meditation
The practice of loving kindness meditation is a means of developing this feeling of boundless love. The approach is fairly systematic but fruitful. In turn, one generates feelings of loving kindness to 1. oneself 2. a respected person - a spiritual teacher, for example 3. A loved one - mother, father perhaps 4. a neutral person - a newspaper vendor 5. a person one feels hostile towards. The first step is to generate love for oneself. It is often said that before you can love anyone you need to learn to love yourself. This is not meant to encourage people to love themselves in a vain or selfish way but more to generate a sense of well-being which can then be transmitted for the benefit of others.
The Four Brahma Viharas or Sublime States
Metta is one of four sublime states or 'divine abidings', the others being compassion (karuna); sympathetic joy (mudita) and equanimity (uppekha). Like metta, these states can form the focus of meditation and are a means of reflecting on qualities that are very important to spiritual progress. So...
May All Beings Be Happy!
Metta usually translated as 'loving kindness' is a quality highly esteemed in Buddhism. Sometimes it is translated as 'good will' but 'loving kindness' seems to capture the spirit of the word more comprehensively - it's about giving oneself selflessly to others, without enmity, without cruelty.
Metta is about developing an attitude of mind in which one desires the welfare of all others. But it is also about expressing this in active ways. This doesn't mean that we get up one morning and set about changing the world in some sort of highly dramatic fashion (though of course, there's room for that!), it's more about bringing this selfless attitude into one's daily affairs - the way one interacts with colleagues at work, or with one's family, or even with people we meet on a casual basis. It's trying to get this attitude of mind to permeate everything we do.
Boundless Heart
Loving kindness is a virtue that is emphasized in all traditions of Buddhism. Of course, it stems from the word of the Buddha himself and is found in the Pali Canon. The Metta Sutta itself reads very much like a traditional prayer. First it states that he who wishes to attain nibbana should develop certain moral qualities such as being content with living modestly and being 'perfectly upright, noble of speech, gentle and humble'. The sutta then breaks into a desire for all beings to be happy - without exception!
(This 'without exception' can be a difficult one. I recently went into a junior school to discuss metta with a group of ten and eleven year olds. They had no problem extending their feelings of loving kindness to friends, family and even their teacher! but great difficulty feeling comfortable with extending it to people they disliked.)
The Metta Sutta provides us with a very striking image of what form this love should take: 'Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, even so, let him cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings'. This maternal image has particular resonance within the Tibetan tradition where it is said that in our previous lives we have all been another person's mother at some point. This makes the bond between ourselves and all other beings a very close one, despite what might seem like our current emotional distance.
Metta Meditation
The practice of loving kindness meditation is a means of developing this feeling of boundless love. The approach is fairly systematic but fruitful. In turn, one generates feelings of loving kindness to 1. oneself 2. a respected person - a spiritual teacher, for example 3. A loved one - mother, father perhaps 4. a neutral person - a newspaper vendor 5. a person one feels hostile towards. The first step is to generate love for oneself. It is often said that before you can love anyone you need to learn to love yourself. This is not meant to encourage people to love themselves in a vain or selfish way but more to generate a sense of well-being which can then be transmitted for the benefit of others.
The Four Brahma Viharas or Sublime States
Metta is one of four sublime states or 'divine abidings', the others being compassion (karuna); sympathetic joy (mudita) and equanimity (uppekha). Like metta, these states can form the focus of meditation and are a means of reflecting on qualities that are very important to spiritual progress. So...
May All Beings Be Happy!