The Metta Sutta

The Karaṇīya Metta Sutta is a short poem on loving-kindness. It appears in the Sutta Nipāta (Snp 1.8) and again in the Khuddakapāṭha, a small collection of texts for recitation. Its opening word, karaṇīya, means “this is what should be done”. It is among the most often chanted texts in Theravada Buddhism.

The story behind it

The commentaries tell that a group of monks went to meditate in a forest and were troubled by the spirits living there. The Buddha taught them this discourse and sent them back to recite it and practise loving-kindness. The forest became peaceful. The story is from later commentary rather than the poem itself, but it explains why the text is often chanted for protection.

What it says

The poem has three movements. First it describes the kind of person who wishes to reach peace: capable, upright, gentle, easy to speak to, content, not proud, living simply and doing nothing the wise would criticise.

Then it gives the wish at the centre of the practice: may all beings be happy and at ease. It lists beings of every kind, weak and strong, long and short, seen and unseen, near and far, born and yet to be born. No one is left out.

Finally it offers its best-known image. Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, one should cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings. This attitude is to be kept above, below and all around, whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down. The closing verse says that one who does this, holding to ethics and clear seeing, will not come again to be born in a womb.

Metta as practice

Mettā means friendliness or loving-kindness: a warm wish for others' welfare that does not depend on liking them. It is the first of the four sublime states, alongside compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.

You can use the sutta in two ways. One is to chant or read it slowly, letting its images settle. The other is to take its central wish as a meditation phrase, offering it first to yourself or someone easy to love, then gradually widening the circle until it includes all beings.