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Metta Carnival 2013. Please come and support Metta with your family.
- Thread starter shctaw
- Start date
good cause
metta loving kindness to all
metta loving kindness to all
Who's Metta?
Buddhist Metta
By the Late Venerable Ashin Thittila
Metta is the world's supreme need today, greater, indeed, than ever before. As you know, in the world now there is sufficient material and money and, as you see, we have very advanced intellects, very clever and brilliant authors, philosophers, psychologists, scientists and also religious people, ministers of law, morality, religion and so on. In spite of all these brilliant people, there is no real peace and happiness in the world. it shows that there is something lacking.
That is Metta. a Pali word which has been translated into English as 'Love'. When you use the word 'love' you have different ideas in the interpretation of this word and you may mean many other things, because it is a word that has been loosely used and in some cases misused or abused. Therefore when you talk about love, people may have a different concept. So we use the Pali word 'Metta' to mean Loving-kindness - not the ordinary, sensual, emotional, sentimental kind of love. As you know, the word 'Love' has been defined in many ways in the English language, according to the ideas in the minds of different people professing different religions.
For instance, a recently published booklet entitled 'Love' has been given to me for my perusal and I would like to comment on it. I am not going to discuss any particular point in this book. I just want to show you how different from Metta a definition of 'Love' can be. The author of this book is a highly respected teacher of a certain theist faith. According to his definition of Metta, and he uses our Pali word. 'Love is God. Love emanates itself in any of the creations of God. Man is foremost'.
I would like to read a little about 'Love' towards animals from this book.
'Man requires vigour, strength or procreation to serve God ...to protect him and others and to control the world successfully. In order to be strong and powerful man must eat nutritious food and for this reason God has instructed Man to kill and to eat ...bullocks, camels. He is not permitted to kill wild animals . . otherwise he would himself become wild in course of time. By reason of the flesh of domestic animals being eaten by man, the goodness of these animals mingles with men's souls and thus (sic) indirectly obtain Heaven. This amounts to a good turn done to them by men - an act of compassion shown by men to them. This is not cruelty in life'.
With due respect to the author I have read this passage out to you just for comparison. He equates Metta with 'Love', with his, to us, rather peculiar logic and way of looking at things.
What is the Buddhist idea of Metta? Metta has been translated by modern translators into English as 'generous mindedness, loving-kindness, sending out thoughts of love towards others', but in the words of the Buddha, Metta has a far wider significance - a much more extensive implication than this. It means a great deal more than loving-kindness, harmlessness (Ahimsa), sympathy. I would like to mention a point here. According to the Christian Bible 'Goodwill' is supposed to be very good. You remember the message of goodwill given by the angels when the child Christ was born. The angels, they say, gave a message of goodwill to the world, 'Peace on earth to men of goodwill, etc.'. When you examine this message you realize that the angels gave peace on earth only to men of goodwill and not to all the people. That is the message. In Buddhism, Metta has been emphasized. It is much deeper than goodwill. Also harmlessness is a very, very good, grand principle but it is a negative aspect. This loving-kindness, according to the Buddha's Teaching, has two aspects. One is negative, that is adosa (amity) as explained in the Abhidhamma: it is an explanation of Metta but it is negative, meaning 'absence of hatred and hostility'. Though absence of hatred is a grand thing, it is not good enough unless its active aspect is emphasized - that is loving-kindness. Not to do evil is very good but it is only a negative aspect - to do good is the positive aspect. So also Metta has its positive aspect.
What is love? Love is also defined in the Oxford Dictionary. According to it, love means 'warm affection, attachment, affectionate devotion etc.'. These are the synonymous terms for love. They all refer to sentimental, worldly love. Therefore, Metta has no full English equivalent because this Metta is much more than ordinary affection - warm affection. The Pali word Metta means literally - 'friendliness', also love without a desire to possess but with a desire to help, to sacrifice self-interest for the welfare and well-being of humanity. This love is without any selection or exclusion. If you select a few good friends and exclude unpleasant persons, then you have not got a good grasp of this Metta. Love is not merely brotherly feeling but a principle for us to practise. It is not merely benevolent thought but performing charitable deeds, active ministry for the good of one and all. A subject - not to be talked about but to be - to put it in your being - to suffuse it within ourselves. It is, then, a dynamic suffusing of every living being, excluding none whatsoever, with dynamic. creative thoughts of loving-kindness. If the thoughts are intense enough, right actions follow automatically.
People talk about ideas to counteract other ideologies. We Buddhists do not need any new ideologies, we have enough in the teachings of the Buddha. Out of the four Brahma Vihara - this Metta - which is one of them, is good enough to create anything noble, anything grand to make peace and happiness at home, in society and in the world.
Metta - pure loving-kindness - embraces all beings everywhere, either on earth or in the skies or Heaven. It also embraces all beings high or low, without measure because the poor people, lowly people, evil people, ignorant people are most in need of it. Because in them it has died out for lack of warmth or friendliness - this Metta becomes with them like a weak stream running in a desert. This Metta includes loving. unloving good and bad people.
You may ask. 'Should we love foolish people - fools?' It is a common question asked in foreign countries, Should we love snakes?' European ladies also asked 'Should we love mice?' European ladies do not like mice. But we should not hate a person just as a doctor does not hate a patient but his duty is to quell to get rid of the disease the patient is suffering from, to take out anything that is wrong in that person, or we may say the disease that is afflicting the person. Therefore, it should include all beings without measure.
This Metta is entirely different from sensual lust which has passed as 'love' in the world today, which has also been admired and talked about as emotional love. This Metta is much higher - in fact it is the highest form of love. It is much higher than sentimental, sensual love.
In its outward appearance sentimental love seems to be very sweet but it is like fire - indeed far worse than fire. Once it is born it grows rapidly, flowers at one moment and then it scorches and burns the possessor in another moment leaving ugly wounds and scars. That is why in Burmese we say 'Achitkyi, amyetkyi'. The more sentimental love you have, the more hate you have and the more suffering you have; because it is like fire which burns very easily. But Metta has a cooling effect like the soft touch of a gentle hand - soft but firm - without changing its sympathy. So it only creates a calm, pleasant atmosphere.
Sorrow for loved ones is not a sign of this love - Metta. Love is strength, because it is pure and gives strength. It is not weakness.....
http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Bud.... Thittilla/Buddhist Metta/Buddhist Metta.htm
By the Late Venerable Ashin Thittila
Metta is the world's supreme need today, greater, indeed, than ever before. As you know, in the world now there is sufficient material and money and, as you see, we have very advanced intellects, very clever and brilliant authors, philosophers, psychologists, scientists and also religious people, ministers of law, morality, religion and so on. In spite of all these brilliant people, there is no real peace and happiness in the world. it shows that there is something lacking.
That is Metta. a Pali word which has been translated into English as 'Love'. When you use the word 'love' you have different ideas in the interpretation of this word and you may mean many other things, because it is a word that has been loosely used and in some cases misused or abused. Therefore when you talk about love, people may have a different concept. So we use the Pali word 'Metta' to mean Loving-kindness - not the ordinary, sensual, emotional, sentimental kind of love. As you know, the word 'Love' has been defined in many ways in the English language, according to the ideas in the minds of different people professing different religions.
For instance, a recently published booklet entitled 'Love' has been given to me for my perusal and I would like to comment on it. I am not going to discuss any particular point in this book. I just want to show you how different from Metta a definition of 'Love' can be. The author of this book is a highly respected teacher of a certain theist faith. According to his definition of Metta, and he uses our Pali word. 'Love is God. Love emanates itself in any of the creations of God. Man is foremost'.
I would like to read a little about 'Love' towards animals from this book.
'Man requires vigour, strength or procreation to serve God ...to protect him and others and to control the world successfully. In order to be strong and powerful man must eat nutritious food and for this reason God has instructed Man to kill and to eat ...bullocks, camels. He is not permitted to kill wild animals . . otherwise he would himself become wild in course of time. By reason of the flesh of domestic animals being eaten by man, the goodness of these animals mingles with men's souls and thus (sic) indirectly obtain Heaven. This amounts to a good turn done to them by men - an act of compassion shown by men to them. This is not cruelty in life'.
With due respect to the author I have read this passage out to you just for comparison. He equates Metta with 'Love', with his, to us, rather peculiar logic and way of looking at things.
What is the Buddhist idea of Metta? Metta has been translated by modern translators into English as 'generous mindedness, loving-kindness, sending out thoughts of love towards others', but in the words of the Buddha, Metta has a far wider significance - a much more extensive implication than this. It means a great deal more than loving-kindness, harmlessness (Ahimsa), sympathy. I would like to mention a point here. According to the Christian Bible 'Goodwill' is supposed to be very good. You remember the message of goodwill given by the angels when the child Christ was born. The angels, they say, gave a message of goodwill to the world, 'Peace on earth to men of goodwill, etc.'. When you examine this message you realize that the angels gave peace on earth only to men of goodwill and not to all the people. That is the message. In Buddhism, Metta has been emphasized. It is much deeper than goodwill. Also harmlessness is a very, very good, grand principle but it is a negative aspect. This loving-kindness, according to the Buddha's Teaching, has two aspects. One is negative, that is adosa (amity) as explained in the Abhidhamma: it is an explanation of Metta but it is negative, meaning 'absence of hatred and hostility'. Though absence of hatred is a grand thing, it is not good enough unless its active aspect is emphasized - that is loving-kindness. Not to do evil is very good but it is only a negative aspect - to do good is the positive aspect. So also Metta has its positive aspect.
What is love? Love is also defined in the Oxford Dictionary. According to it, love means 'warm affection, attachment, affectionate devotion etc.'. These are the synonymous terms for love. They all refer to sentimental, worldly love. Therefore, Metta has no full English equivalent because this Metta is much more than ordinary affection - warm affection. The Pali word Metta means literally - 'friendliness', also love without a desire to possess but with a desire to help, to sacrifice self-interest for the welfare and well-being of humanity. This love is without any selection or exclusion. If you select a few good friends and exclude unpleasant persons, then you have not got a good grasp of this Metta. Love is not merely brotherly feeling but a principle for us to practise. It is not merely benevolent thought but performing charitable deeds, active ministry for the good of one and all. A subject - not to be talked about but to be - to put it in your being - to suffuse it within ourselves. It is, then, a dynamic suffusing of every living being, excluding none whatsoever, with dynamic. creative thoughts of loving-kindness. If the thoughts are intense enough, right actions follow automatically.
People talk about ideas to counteract other ideologies. We Buddhists do not need any new ideologies, we have enough in the teachings of the Buddha. Out of the four Brahma Vihara - this Metta - which is one of them, is good enough to create anything noble, anything grand to make peace and happiness at home, in society and in the world.
Metta - pure loving-kindness - embraces all beings everywhere, either on earth or in the skies or Heaven. It also embraces all beings high or low, without measure because the poor people, lowly people, evil people, ignorant people are most in need of it. Because in them it has died out for lack of warmth or friendliness - this Metta becomes with them like a weak stream running in a desert. This Metta includes loving. unloving good and bad people.
You may ask. 'Should we love foolish people - fools?' It is a common question asked in foreign countries, Should we love snakes?' European ladies also asked 'Should we love mice?' European ladies do not like mice. But we should not hate a person just as a doctor does not hate a patient but his duty is to quell to get rid of the disease the patient is suffering from, to take out anything that is wrong in that person, or we may say the disease that is afflicting the person. Therefore, it should include all beings without measure.
This Metta is entirely different from sensual lust which has passed as 'love' in the world today, which has also been admired and talked about as emotional love. This Metta is much higher - in fact it is the highest form of love. It is much higher than sentimental, sensual love.
In its outward appearance sentimental love seems to be very sweet but it is like fire - indeed far worse than fire. Once it is born it grows rapidly, flowers at one moment and then it scorches and burns the possessor in another moment leaving ugly wounds and scars. That is why in Burmese we say 'Achitkyi, amyetkyi'. The more sentimental love you have, the more hate you have and the more suffering you have; because it is like fire which burns very easily. But Metta has a cooling effect like the soft touch of a gentle hand - soft but firm - without changing its sympathy. So it only creates a calm, pleasant atmosphere.
Sorrow for loved ones is not a sign of this love - Metta. Love is strength, because it is pure and gives strength. It is not weakness.....
http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Bud.... Thittilla/Buddhist Metta/Buddhist Metta.htm
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