Re: Meaning of Metta <To LUNA>

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MettÄWikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

MettÄ (PÄli) or MaitrÄ« (Sanskrit) means unconditional and unattached loving kindness. It is one of the ten pÄramitÄs of the TheravÄda school of Buddhism, and the first of the four BrahmavihÄras. The mettÄ bhÄvanÄ (cultivation of mettÄ) is a popular form of meditation in Buddhism. The object of mettÄ meditation is to cultivate loving kindness (love without attachment, non-exclusive love) towards all sentient beings. The practice usually begins with the meditator cultivating loving kindness towards themselves (though this is not specifically recommended by the Buddha himself in the relevant suttas/sutras), then their loved ones, friends, teachers, strangers and finally their enemies. It is a good way to calm down a distraught mind because it is an antidote to anger. Someone who has cultivated mettÄ will not be easily angered and can quickly subdue anger that arises. They will be more caring, more loving, and more likely to love unconditionally. Buddhists believe that those who cultivate mettÄ will be at ease because they see no need to harbour ill will or hostility. Buddhist teachers may even recommend meditation on mettÄ as an antidote to insomnia and nightmares. It is generally felt that those around a mettÄ-ful person will feel more comfortable and happy too. Radiating mettÄ is thought to contribute to a world of love, peace and happiness. MettÄ meditation: the practice of loving-kindness

MettÄ signifies friendship and non-violence as well as "a strong wish for the happiness of others", but also less obvious or direct qualities such as showing patience, receptivity, and appreciation. Though it refers to many seemingly disparate ideas, MettÄ is in fact a very specific form of love – a caring for another independent of all self-interest – and thus is likened to one's love for one's child or parent. Understandably, this energy is often difficult to describe in words; however, in the practice of MettÄ meditation, one recites specific words and phrases in order to evoke this "boundless warm-hearted feeling." The strength of this feeling is not limited to or by family, religion, or social class. Indeed, MettÄ is a tool that permits one's generosity and kindness to be applied to all beings and, as a consequence, one finds true happiness in another person's happiness, no matter who the individual is. Six stages

The full instructions for the theory and practice of mettÄ bhÄvanÄ is available in the Visuddhimagga ("The path to purity"), Chapter IX, of the Buddhist scriptures. The six stages of mettÄ bhÄvanÄ meditation which are most commonly found involves cultivating loving-kindness towards:

Yourself A good friend A 'neutral' person A difficult person All four and then gradually the entire universe

For #2 avoid choosing someone that you feel sexually attracted to, or that is much younger or much older than yourself, or who is dead.

For #3 choose someone that you might come in contact with every day, but who does not give rise to strong positive nor strong negative emotions.

For #4 traditionally choose "an enemy", but avoid choosing a person who has just wrecked your life, unless you are very well grounded in awareness.

For #5 treat them as equals, equally deserving of loving-kindness.

Dear Alice,Thank you so much for this post, so informative, I have wondered how the many others say Metta!

Thank you again for this great information, dear!

Namaste, LUNA>> 2 results for: metta> (SAP.com/my/mythbuster Webster's New Millenniumâ„¢ Dictionaryof English - Cite This Source Main Entry: metta> Part of Speech: n> Definition: lovingkindness, the Buddhist virtue ofkindness; also called maitri> Etymology: Pali term>> Webster's New Millenniumâ„¢ Dictionary of English,Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)> Copyright © 2003-2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC> Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - CiteThis Source> saturate2 [ˈsÓ•tʃəreit] verb>> to fill completely> Example: The market has been saturated with paintings like that.Arabic: يَملأ السوق بالبَضائÙÂع> Chinese (Simplified): 饱å'Å’> Chinese (Traditional): 飽å'Å’> Czech: nasytit> Danish: mætte> Dutch: verzadigen> Estonian: küllastama> Finnish: kyllästää> French: saturer> German: sättigen> Greek: γεμίζÉ μέÇÃÂι κοÃÂεÃμοÃÂ> Hungarian: telít> Icelandic: metta> Indonesian: membanjiri> Italian: saturare, rendere saturo> Japanese: ～ã‚'一æ¯ã«ã™る> Korean: 완ì „히 채우다> Latvian: piepildÄ«t; piesÄÂtinÄÂt> Lithuanian: pripildyti> Norwegian: gjennomsyre, mette> Polish: zapeÅ‚nić> Portuguese (Brazil): saturar> Portuguese (Portugal): inundar> Romanian: a satura> Russian: ýðÑÂыщðть> Slovak: nasýtiÃ…Â¥> Slovenian: zasititi> Spanish: saturar> Swedish: mätta> Turkish: doyurmak>>>> Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), ©2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.