… The attitude of goodwill
is called metta-cittena. The word citta in cittena can mean
either heart or mind—it actually means both. The Buddha’s teachings
don’t make a clear division between your thoughts and your emotions.
You’re trying to develop both, which means you want your thoughts to
be motivated by goodwill and you want your goodwill to have some …
… Here at Metta, the monks at the monastery helped in preparing the manuscript, as did Addie Onsanit, Christopher James, Virginia Lawrence, Anita Basu, Irfan Pirbhai, and Isabella Trauttmansdorff. Any mistakes in the book, of course, are my own responsibility.
Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
(Geoffrey DeGraff)
Metta Forest Monastery
August, 2020
… So goodwill or metta doesn’t
mean that you’re going to love other people. Sometimes it means simply
respecting their desire for happiness and hoping that they can look
after their own happiness: “May they all look after themselves with
ease.”
And although metta is meant to be a limitless attitude, the Buddha
does talk about it as restraint. He talks about it …
The Pali word metta is related to the word mitta, which means
friend. Metta is the quality of a good friend, which is what you’re
trying to develop as you develop thoughts of goodwill. Now, there are
all kinds of friends. There are true friends and false friends.
There’s skillful friendship and unskillful friendship. And it’s
obvious, of course, that the …
… So goodwill, or metta, doesn’t mean that you’re going to have to love other people. Sometimes it means simply respecting their desire for happiness and hoping that they can look after their own happiness: “May they all look after themselves with ease.”
And although metta is meant to be a limitless attitude, the Buddha does talk about it as restraint. He talks …
… Grief for the Loss of a Loved One
Grief Management
The Cure
Appendix
Refuge
The Sublime Attitudes
Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta : The Discourse on Goodwill
Contemplation of the Body
Five Subjects for Frequent Recollection
The Four Dhamma Summaries
Pabbatopama Gāthā : The Mountain Simile
Ariyadhana Gāthā : Noble Wealth
Bhadd’eka-ratta Gāthā : An Auspicious Day
Dhamma-niyāma Sutta : The Orderliness of the Dhamma
The Stilling of …
… unlimited goodwill (mettā), unlimited compassion (karuṇā), unlimited empathetic joy (muditā), and unlimited equanimity (upekkhā).
Chedi (Thai): A spired monument, usually containing relics of the Buddha or other arahants.
Deva (devatā): Literally, “shining one.” A being on the subtle levels of sensuality, form, or formlessness, living either in terrestrial or heavenly realms.
Dhamma: (1) Event, action; (2) a phenomenon in and of itself; (3) mental …
… So to make metta a quality of the heart and the mind, you have to do
more than simply metta practice. You’ve got to work on the problems
inside—the way in which you’re creating unnecessary suffering for
yourself—getting past any of the obstacles in the mind that refuse to
admit that, refuse to see that. Because as long as you …
… Guided Metta Meditation
11 Chant: The Sublime Attitudes
12 Chant: The Metta Sutta
13 Meditation: Guided Breath Meditation
14 Dhamma Talk: Preparing to Die Well
15 Sutta Reading: The Sick Ward (Samyutta Nikaya 36.7)
16 Reading: Ajaan Lee
17 Chant: Verses on the Noble Truths
18 Dhamma Talk: Don't Worry, Be Focused
19 Sutta Reading: Anathapindaka (Majjhima Nikaya 143)
20 Meditation: Guided …
Close your eyes. Take a couple of good, long, deep, in-and-out
breaths. Notice where you feel the breathing in the body. It could be
anywhere at all. Don’t let your preconceived notions get in the way of
sensing where the breath actually feels like it’s coming in, where it
feels like it’s going out—where it feels like it …
… No Technique
A Divine Seat
The Flamethrowing Mind
The Radiant Mind
The Dhamma Is in the Method
Think
To Be Debt Free
Honest & Observant
Wise About Mistakes
Non-Reactive Judgment
A Tradition of Ingenuity
The Need for Agency
A Good Independent Self
Attahi Attano Natho
Swept Downstream
Surveying the World
The World of Conviction
Infinity
Metta Math
Tough Goodwill for a Tough World
Bringing …
… Hard to Settle Down
Building Character
The Gift of Spiritual Materialism
Patience & Tenacity
The Heart to Keep Going
Success Through Maturity
Look after Your Mind with Ease
In Harmlessness Is Strength
Metta Through Samvega
Right Resolve in Real Life
The Noble Truths Come First
The Power of Truth
To Suffer Is an Active Verb
Rooted in Desire
The Core of Experience
Self View & Conceit …
The Guardian Meditations
Buddhānussati mettā ca
Asubhaṁ maraṇassati,
Iccimā catur’ārakkhā
Kātabbā ca vipassanā
These four meditations—recollection of the Buddha, goodwill, the foulness of the body, and mindfulness of death—are guardians & means of insight that should be done.
Visuddha-dhamma-santāno
Anuttarāya bodhiyā
Yogato ca pabodhā ca
Buddho Buddho’ti ñāyate.
Endowed with pure qualities through his unexcelled Awakening, and from training …
Pre-Retreat Reading
The Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta
This is to be done by one skilled in aims
who wants to break through to the state of peace:
Be capable, upright, & straightforward,
easy to instruct, gentle, & not conceited,
content & easy to support,
with few duties, living lightly,
with peaceful faculties, astute,
modest, & no greed for supporters.
Do not do the slightest thing
that the observant …
Preface | Good Heart, Good Mind
… Here at Metta, the monks at the monastery helped in preparing the manuscript, as did Addie Onsanit, Christopher James, Virginia Lawrence, Anita Basu, Irfan Pirbhai, and Isabella Trauttmansdorff. Any mistakes in the book, of course, are my own responsibility. Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) Metta Forest Monastery August, 2020
Infinity
… So goodwill or metta doesn’t mean that you’re going to love other people. Sometimes it means simply respecting their desire for happiness and hoping that they can look after their own happiness: “May they all look after themselves with ease.” And although metta is meant to be a limitless attitude, the Buddha does talk about it as restraint. He talks about it …
