Metta

Metta is the Pali term for loving-kindness, benevolent goodwill, or unconditional friendliness[1]. The Sanskrit equivalent is maitri. Both come from the root mit (friend), with the noun expressing the disposition of friendship and goodwill extended to all beings. In Buddhist usage the term names both a virtue and a specific meditation practice[2].

metta is cultivated as a disciplined disposition rather than only an emotion.

Metta is one of the four Brahma Viharas (sublime abodes) in Buddhist tradition, alongside karuna (compassion), mudita (sympathetic joy), and upekkha (equanimity)[2]. The four are presented as virtues to cultivate and as specific meditation practices.

Metta meditation involves generating and extending loving-kindness toward beings in expanding circles. The classical pattern: first toward oneself, then toward a benefactor (someone who has helped one), then toward a friend, then toward a neutral person (someone one neither likes nor dislikes), then toward a difficult person, and finally toward all beings without exception[2]. Specific phrases are commonly used: may all beings be happy, may all beings be at peace, may all beings be free from suffering. The phrases serve as anchors for the disposition being cultivated.

Metta is treated as both intrinsically valuable and supportive of the broader Buddhist path. It works against the unwholesome roots of hatred and aversion. It creates the inner conditions for clearer meditation and ethical action. The Metta Sutta (Karaniya Metta Sutta) is widely chanted in Theravada practice and presents the cultivation of metta in poetic form[3].

Modern teachers including Sharon Salzberg (whose Lovingkindness has been widely read in Western Buddhist communities)[4] and many others have made metta practice accessible in modern terms. The practice has also been adapted into secular settings, sometimes under the name compassion training.

Metta is distinguished from sentimental affection. It is the disposition of goodwill toward all beings, including those one does not personally like and including oneself[2]. The discipline of extending metta to a difficult person is part of the traditional practice, not an optional add-on.

Comparative ethics has examined metta alongside Christian agape, Sufi mahabba, and other religious traditions of love and kindness. Modern research on compassion meditation has explored the practice's psychological effects[4].

• Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happinessby Sharon Salzberg
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• The Four Sublime Statesby Nyanaponika Thera
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