I'm soooo happy I finally did not hear someone say "must think of someone of the opposite sex" while talking about lovingkindness meditation. That heteronormative claim doesn't apply to everyone! And thank you! This is the most clear and inclusive material I've seen on metta meditation so far! 😊 🙏

Having been assaulted on quite a few occasions I have found it very useful to conceptualize lovingkindness as wanting what is best for the other person - which in a Buddhist context involves them overcoming greed and ill will - instead of conceptualizing it as liking the way they are right now.

Thank you my great Teacher you have helped me a lot in every single class you share, you help me clear my mind and understand little bit more, for sure I'll heard several times in order to improve my understanding. Lotus for you. Evangelina Cortes.

Thank you, Doug!

It's interesting you call it cultivating skillful emotions. I'm a well trained actor and I found that focusing on the emotional aspect of Metta actually made it harder for me. Probably because emotions are the result of consciousness and not the ground itself. I find it much more helpful to connect to the part of me that genuinely wants to see people happy and well and when I send Metta to other people, I tune into their essence and the love flows from there. Emotion plays a part but it has more detached, consistent, energetic quality.

LOVINGKINDNESS....THAT PRETTY MUCH SUMS UP A GOOD WAY TO LIVE LIFE.

This concept of Living/Kindness is a crucial component in everybodys Life. Of all the basic pillars in ones Life...This would seem to be the #1 priority.

Great video Doug. We first used with our students the formula of beginning with themselves to send metta to them. But they had difficulties because WE , as western people, have a lot of troubles sending love to ourselves. We solved this difficulty beginning to generate this loving kindness state with loved ones , then ourselves, then neutral, then “enemies” and finally all beings

As the love of a mother for her child is related to the cherished care of the creator for the creation, so the practitioner, creating their inner world, gives it the greatest gift of heaven on earth. Then, extending that heavenly gift to the wider world. Thanks for sharing your kindness.

Splendid summary of metta practice and its development! 😊 May you, everybody, be well! ❤🙏🏻

Thanks your videos really clear up the practices for me. P.s. I’m loving the book! 🙏

Hi, found your channel in Nick Nimmin’s comments section. Perfect timing, I’ve just recently heard about the loving kindness meditation in a book about positive psychology and been meaning to do a little research.

Super-helpful

Loving kindness, my Spirit is Clean! [Lifnei Iver]

"I have no enemies"

Well explained. I understood properly.✌️🙏. Original Mettta practice is best.

Metta means good will in as a immesaurable and a universal attitude. This is the most practical and applicable aspect towards all beings. But metta can be an expression of loving kindness to individuals

may you all be happy and free from suffering!

A part of me is scared about doing this and being introduced to factors that may be of the opposite nature of love and kindness... but i guess thats where we use compassion....

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It was good see the video footnote about storgē as a fourth form of love. I've been taught that this is the familial or kinship love that is experienced in closely bonded families. Whether you believe in a literal Eve from the Abrahamic faiths or the mitochondrial Eve of science, it is indisputable that we are all descended from a common ancestor. There are no humans to whom we are not all related. We are all cousins of some degree. Storgic love reminds me of that relatedness, driving me to want the best for every one of my relatives.

I'm been enjoying your series and learning much from you. In this video, I found the part about regarding enemies as neutral particularly helpful. A couple of things I wonder about. In the metaphor of a mother and her child, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu interprets the child as being our feeling of Metta rather than other people, that we must protect our feeling of benevolence as a mother protects her only child. Also, I've heard a couple of Theravada monastics recommend practicing the Brahmaviharas as antidotes to the hindrances, particularly ill will, rather than needing to get rid of the hindrances before working on the Bramaviharas. Do your studies support these interpretations?

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Metta The Philosophy and Practice of universal love. By Buddharakhita. . Got.print out.

Sir, apart from this online video institute, what else you do in every day life /career for your livehood?

One of the aspects of Buddhism that I most appreciate is its scientific nature. We are encouraged to be curious, to observe "things as they really are," and to cultivate insight as an antidote to delusion. In this context, I have difficulty with metta. It's less challenging for me to imagine how cultivating positive thoughts about others can benefit ME than to understand the mechanism and efficacy of "broadcasting" lovingkindness to others. From a scientific perspective, how is lovingkindness meditation supposed to work?

Hi Doug, i have a question relating to loving kindness meditation. The phrase says: " may all be happy".. I am currently wondering, is it that we imagine that they are currently not happy, and by wishing this we in turn suggest that they could be better ? If so.. then isnt the intial thought w negative one? Because we begin by imagining that the people are sad ? Or is it a state of mind where i am actively saying goodbye to hatred ? As in, in my head i imagine myself as a person who would once wish bad things upon that person, but now due to buddhist practice, i am waving goodbye to those " bad" or rather " familiar" thoughts ? More so are there any pitfalls for the latter ?

Hi, Doug! Thank you for such great videos! They've been very useful. I have a couple of questions: 1. You said that it's not skillful to do this practice imagining a romantic partner, since there will be attachment and other feelings. But at the same time it says that it's okay to picture people who we care for (like teachers, friends and so on). So it's okay to have some level of attachment at the beginning of the practice? And how do you tell if your loving kindness completely pure or if there's some kind of attachment stuck to it? 2. You said that it's not skillful to avoid negative emotions using loving kindness. You said that first you have to deal with the negative emotion and then practice loving kindness. Or when a situation requires not to have anger etc. But then where's the antidote function of the loving kindness? If I deal with my anger first, then I don't need an antidote anymore. Actually this question has been bothering me for a while. And I'm not sure if I'm avoiding or not. I'll give an example. One time a had a sore throat and I was afraid that I caught an infection. I started having all kinds of thoughts and I felt fear and aversion arising in me. I tried to watch these thoughts with equanimity, they would pass, but then they would come back again. After of a few cycles, I got tired and decided to practice loving kindness to the bacteria and viruses. And it worked. I stopped having fear and I felt love and compassion towards these small beings. So I'm confused, was that supressing? Where did the fear go? Did loving kindness supress it? Was it skillful?

I wonder if spreading lovingkindness to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc directions has an implication like "worshipping the six directions" in the Sigalaka Sutta ( www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.31.0.ksw0.html ) where the directions corresponded to people in different relationships with the "worshipper": parent, teachers, wife & children, friends & companions, servants & workers & helpers, and ascetics & brahmins. Against this reading is the addition of three extra directions to the 4 cardinal directions plus up and down: across, everywhere, and all around.

Can you talk about the 32 auspicious signs and 80 beauty spots of Buddha?

Doug, where (location) you live in America?

I have a question that I seem to not be able to find an answer to. When you recite this mantra, “may I be happy and free from suffering”, are you saying it out loud, in your head, or trying to cultivate a “feeling” within of that phrase?

It's difficult for me to focus on many people in one meditation session. I feel it dispersive. Is it correct to practice reducing the number of people or even turning to just one?

Okay. I foud your video explaing metta. As you described, the english translation of metta is loving kindness. But it is not. Metta means non hatred or friendliness or the opposite of hatred. It is not loving kindness. There no word called Loving - Kindness (combining two word Loving and Kindness together). It is wrong translation. The meaning kindness falls under the Karuna word (one brhma vihara). This wrong translation (Loving - Kindness) misguide you through dharma teaching. This wrong translation has been spreaded across all english translations of pali. You can find the meaning of metta through the alternative word maitri. It means non hatred or oposit of hatred only In Metta meditation, what is done is improving non hatred instead of hatred. It is not about affection or love. My advise is to you is , go only with correct meaning of paliword manually as needed. It gives best viwe of dharma.

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