The Brahmaviharas:

Metta – Loving Kindness

by Reishin Denise Leong

The Brahmaviharas, also called the Four Immeasurables (limitless) or the four Divine Abodes, are the mental states where Enlightened beings abide. For us not-yet-Enlightened beings, they are the aspirations and attitudes we hope to have and to hold in our daily lives.

The Four Brahmavirharas are loving kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), sympathetic joy (mudita), and equanimity (upekkha). The first of the abodes, loving kindness, is the wish for well-being, happiness, and safety for all beings regardless of their beliefs, views, or behaviors. It is unconditional positive regard and love for all, including oneself.

For many years of practice, I avoided loving kindness meditations because I viewed them as “soft,” focusing instead on a “hard” disciplined Rinzai approach to practice. Now I have realized that hard and soft co-exist – one can meet life with “hard back and soft front” as Roshi Joan Halifax observes.

However, it wasn’t until I took a course in compassionate care for the dying last year, that I opened my personal zendo door for metta meditation on a daily basis. In class, we were asked to do loving kindness meditations daily and especially when we sat with the dying. Doing metta for those I love and the dying were joyfully given; doing metta for those I viewed negatively and for myself (!) was uncomfortable, unnatural, even distasteful!

But gradually, like turning the Titanic, I recognized a shift in my heart and head space. I realized, albeit slowly, that all beings, underneath whatever hat they are wearing (bow to Shokan Roshi’s teisho), are just like me, wishing to be free of suffering and to be happy. I have learned to give metta joyfully to my “so-called enemies,” starting with myself! My every day starts with the intention to be loving and kind.

The energy I carry into the world has been noticeably different since metta became a daily practice for me. As the chaos and challenges of the world and my life continue, I seek to respond with wise and compassionate action … and always with love in my heart. What more need I seek?

My invitation is to make January your Metta Month. As you practice these meditations, it can calm your mind and connect you to your heart and by extension, to all beings. I hope that you will find the loving kindness resources helpful – they contain background knowledge, personal stories, and metta meditation instructions. Some articles may require a subscription to Lion’s Roar magazine, which is only $6/month ($36/year) and well worth it.

May I be well.
May I be safe.
May I be happy.

May you be well.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.