Metta Sutta
The
Buddha's Words on Kindness
This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who
knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward
and gentle in speech.
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied.
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm, and wise
and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest
thing
That the wise would later reprove.
Wishing: In gladness and in saftey,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether
they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short
or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born,
May all beings be at ease!
Let
none deceive another,
Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through
anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with
her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should
one cherish all living beings:
Radiating kindness over the entire world
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
Outwards
and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking,
seated or lying down
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed views,
The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense
desires,
Is not born again into this world.