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Valley Center, CA 92082 …
… Other people deserve our mettā, either because of their own innate goodness or because we are all one.
Misunderstanding # 6: The brahmavihāras are purely heart qualities, needing no input from the analytical mind.
Misunderstanding # 7: The brahmavihāras are, in themselves, a complete path to awakening.
Readings
1. Mettā Defined
2. Prayer vs. Resolve
3. Mettā in Words & Deeds
4. The Nature of the Heart …
… Now, there are lots of places out in the woods where you can live without the uneasiness of living with me.” And as he sat there spreading thoughts of metta to the snake, the snake left.
When Ajaan Fuang first told me this story, it made me stop and reconsider my understanding of what metta is. Metta is a wish for happiness—true happiness …
… A Translation. Sixth edition, revised. Valley Center, CA: Metta Forest Monastery, 2012.
____________, trans. Itivuttaka: This Was Said by the Buddha. Second edition, revised. Valley Center, CA: Metta Forest Monastery, 2013.
____________, trans. Poems of the Elders: An Anthology from the Theragātha & Therigāthā. Valley Center, CA: Metta Forest Monastery, 2015.
____________, trans. Udāna: Exclamations. Valley Center, CA: Metta Forest Monastery, 2012.
Warder, A. K. Indian Kāvya Literature …
… So you work on that to be a good example—and to
be more secure in yourself, because there are times when metta
requires a little of what they call “tough love,” which is maybe an
unfortunate way of putting it.
In Thailand, they have a better phrase. They call it “high level
metta.” You want to do what’s actually best for other …
… Ajaan Fuang commented that* mettā* needs upekkhā or equanimity
if it’s not going to turn into a source of suffering.
This is why the brahma-vihāras* *come in a set. Mettā keeps upekkhā
from becoming cold and heartless. You go through the first three
before you get to the fourth one. The equanimity is where you can go
when you look at the …
… Years back, I wrote a piece on how metta doesn’t mean love or loving
kindness. It means goodwill. I made the mistake of sending it to a
magazine that was basically Tibetan, and their attitude was: What
right does a Theravadan have to say what metta means? So they billed
the article as: “For those of you who can’t manage love for …
… the Karaniya Metta sutta. Most often we
focus on the metta—the goodwill. And it’s easy to see why, because so
much of the sutta is composed of expressions of goodwill. But the
“karaniya” is also important: “What is to be done?” In other words,
the practice of metta is not floating without context. It has a context
of actions. And the actions …
… In Thailand they talk about some of the teachers having high-level
metta, which means that they’re willing to say things that may not
sound pleasant but are actually for your own good. They’re willing to
put themselves out in that way. It’s a lot easier just to say the
pleasant thing and let people go. And it’s the same …
Metta Means Goodwill
March 9, 2011
Every morning, every night here at the monastery, we repeat a metta chant, expressing goodwill, limitless goodwill, for ourselves and all other beings. And there’s a reason why we do it so often. It’s part of the motivation for why we practice. We want to find true happiness. We want to make sure that we act …
… How to chant the Metta Luang chant:
Starting with “sattā,” living beings, state the first direction, “Sabbe puratthimāya disāya,” “All in the east,” followed by “sattā,” and then the complete statement of goodwill: “sukhitā hontu, averā hontu, abyāpajjhā hontu, anighā hontu, sukhī attānaṁ pariharantu,” “May they be happy, free from animosity, free from oppression, free from trouble, and may they look after themselves with …