Metta bhavana

Post Reply
User avatar
Pårl
Posts: 121
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:23 pm
Location: Belgium

Metta bhavana

Post by Pårl »

Hi all,

Does the practise of metta bhavana formally exist within the Kagyu lineage, or is this a Theravedan mantra?

Thanks!

Porl.
User avatar
Aemilius
Posts: 4604
Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:44 am

Re: Metta bhavana

Post by Aemilius »

"The four immeasurable attitudes (tshad-med bzhi, Skt. apramana, Pali: appamanna) are:

Immeasurable love (byams-pa, Skt: maitri, Pali: metta)
Immeasurable compassion (snying-rje, Skt: karuna, Pali: karuna)
Immeasurable joy (dga'-ba, Skt: mudita, Pali: mudita)
Immeasurable equanimity (btang-snyoms, Skt: upeksha, Pali: upekkha).

They are also called "the four Brahma abodes" (tshangs-gnas bzhi, Skt. brahmavihara, Pali: brahmavihara) and are found in the various Hinayana and Mahayana traditions of Buddhism, as well as in Bon. Different schools and texts interpret them slightly differently, and certain practices in some traditions change their order."

from "The Four Immeasurables in Hinayana, Mahayana and Bon, by Dr. Alexander Berzin" https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-s ... na-and-bon

Alex Berzin says in his article:

"In Sakya and the various Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism – Karma Kagyu, Drigung Kagyu, and Drugpa Kagyu – the most common formulation of the four immeasurable attitudes is:

Immeasurable love – "May all limited beings have happiness and the causes for happiness."
Immeasurable compassion – "May all limited beings be parted from suffering and the causes of suffering."
Immeasurable joy – "May all limited beings never be parted from pure happiness, which is without any suffering."
Immeasurable equanimity – "May all beings abide in equanimity, parted from dualistic (feelings) of close and distant, attachment and repulsion."

I find his expression "limited beings" unsatisfactory and somewhat misleading. I would prefer the usual "sentient beings", which is far better, in my view. Otherwise an excellent article on this topic.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
User avatar
Könchok Thrinley
Former staff member
Posts: 3275
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:18 am
Location: He/Him from EU

Re: Metta bhavana

Post by Könchok Thrinley »

Pårl wrote: Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:51 pm Hi all,

Does the practise of metta bhavana formally exist within the Kagyu lineage, or is this a Theravedan mantra?

Thanks!

Porl.
Mettá or maitry in sanscrit is naturally present in Tibetan Buddhist schools. However more than being a mantra it is a quality which you develop through practice. You develop the loving kindness through the loving kindness practice (mettá). There is a difference of approaches, however in the end the results are important. I personally like the theravada way of approaching loving kindness as I believe it really fits where I am. Developing the warmth of friendliness towards myself, then my loved ones, then others and training in different directions, measurments (city, county, country, continent).

In Tibetan Buddhism the way of considering kindess of others until you feel the metta is more widespread. However even then you can use "may all sentient beings have happiness and its causes" as a sort of mantra or affirmation that carries the meaning of what maitry is.
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche

For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.

- Arya Sanghata Sutra
User avatar
Pårl
Posts: 121
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:23 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Metta bhavana

Post by Pårl »

Many thanks Könchok; that's exactly what I was trying to find out. Thanks for taking the time out to respond to relative newbies, like myself. It keeps me going forward on my path.

Do you happen to know what the word "bhavana" means?

Porl.
User avatar
ThreeVows
Posts: 942
Joined: Mon May 08, 2017 5:54 pm

Re: Metta bhavana

Post by ThreeVows »

Pårl wrote: Sat Jan 07, 2023 12:43 pm Do you happen to know what the word "bhavana" means?
A common translation seems to be 'cultivation'.

The wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhavana) says,

"Bhāvanā (Pali; Sanskrit: भावना, also bhāvanā) literally means "development" or "cultivating" or "producing" in the sense of "calling into existence"."
User avatar
Pårl
Posts: 121
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:23 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Metta bhavana

Post by Pårl »

That makes a lot of sense. Good to know!
Post Reply

Return to “Kagyu”