Karaṇīya Metta Sutta (The Discourse on Loving-Kindness)

The Karaṇīya Metta Sutta is the discourse the Buddha taught to 500 monks who had gone to spend the rains retreat in a forest and were troubled by the tree devas. When the monks returned and asked him, he gave them a "protection against danger" — this very discourse — so that when they radiated loving-kindness with these verses, the devas became friends and gave them shelter.

This sutta is not merely a "chant for protection from danger," but a "blueprint for higher spiritual practice" that begins with loving-kindness as its foundation and leads on to the brahmavihāras and the path to realization. It is divided into 4 main parts: the qualities of one who practices mettā · the radiating of loving-kindness to all beings · non-harming and the simile of a mother's love · mettā as a brahmavihāra and the fruit of practice.

Full Recitation Text (for chanting)

A continuous recitation of all 4 parts, from the qualities of one who practices mettā through to loving-kindness as a brahmavihāra and the fruit of practice — ready to chant straight through.

Translation and Explanation

The following is the translation and explanation of the meaning, part by part. The original Pali of each part has its own copy button. This sutta is divided into 4 parts: the qualities of one who practices mettā → the radiating of loving-kindness to all beings → non-harming and the simile of a mother's love → mettā as a brahmavihāra and the fruit of practice.

Part 1 — The Qualities of One Who Practices Mettā

This opening part sets out the conditions one who practices mettā should have — for loving-kindness gains its power only when it comes from a pure heart. If the heart is still full of defilement, mettā remains mere words.

1. The elementary qualities (4 qualities) — sakko (capable — of strong resolve), ujū (upright — not crooked in body or speech), suhujū (perfectly upright — upright in mind), suvaco (easy to admonish — receptive to instruction).

1. The intermediate qualities (5 qualities) — mudu (gentle), anatimānī (free of conceit), santussako (content), subharo (easy to support — not fussy), appakicco (of few duties — not caught up in busyness).

1. The higher qualities (4 qualities) — sallahukavutti (of frugal ways, living lightly), santindriyo (with faculties calmed — restrained in eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind), nipako (wise), appagabbho (not impudent).

1. The social qualities — kulesu ananugiddho (not attached to families — for a monk, not bound to the families of his supporters) + not committing even the slightest wrong for which the wise would reproach him.

These 13 qualities are the "backbone of one who practices mettā" — some may seem to have no direct bearing on loving-kindness (such as "easy to support" or "not attached to families"), yet all are interconnected — for a heart still demanding and clinging can hardly radiate pure loving-kindness.

Part 2 — The Radiating of Loving-Kindness to All Beings

This part is the "heart of the chant" — a "cosmos-encompassing" radiating of loving-kindness that reaches every kind of being. The Buddha arranges beings into opposing pairs so that the coverage leaves nothing out.

• tasā / thāvarā — beings still trembling (with craving, seeking a new existence) / beings that are firm (their craving spent = arahants).

• dīghā / rassakā — long-bodied (snakes, dragons) / short-bodied (humans).

• mahantā / aṇukā — large-bodied (elephants, whales) / small-bodied (microbes).

• majjhimā / thūlā — medium / stout.

• diṭṭhā / adiṭṭhā — those seen (humans, common animals) / those unseen (devas, hungry ghosts).

• dūre vasanti / avidūre — dwelling far (in other realms, other world-systems) / dwelling near (all around us).

• bhūtā / sambhavesī — those already born (having a bodily form) / those seeking birth (beings between existences).

Pairing them in this way makes loving-kindness leave no remainder — no being lies outside the network of the mind of mettā. The refrain "sabbe sattā bhavantu sukhitattā" (may all beings be happy at heart), repeated twice, is the "aphoristic heart" of the Karaṇīya Metta Sutta that can be recited briefly in everyday life.

Part 3 — Non-Harming + the Simile of a Mother's Love

This part has 2 halves.

1. First half — the rule of "non-harming" is a prohibition in 3 progressively deeper degrees, from deed → speech → thought, cutting the root of harm from within the heart itself.

• nikubbetha — not to oppress (in body, speech, and mind).

• nātimaññetha — not to despise (in the mind).

• nāññamaññassa dukkham-iccheyya — not to wish suffering upon another (not even to think of harming anyone).

1. Second half — the simile of the mother is the most beautiful simile in the Tipiṭaka concerning loving-kindness — mātā yathā niyaṃ puttaṃ āyusā ekaputtam-anurakkhe = "just as a mother would guard her only child with her own life."

• ekaputta (an only child) — stressing that a mother's love for an only child is special, "supreme," for there is no other child to compare.

• āyusā (with her life) — the mother is willing to give up her own life to protect her child.

• evam-pi sabbabhūtesu (so too toward all beings) — extending this mother's love outward to all beings.

This simile is a teaching technique — loving-kindness in general is hard to picture, but "a mother's love for her only child" is something everyone can imagine — using this image as a model and expanding it, the mind can radiate loving-kindness more broadly and more deeply.

Part 4 — Mettā Is a Brahmavihāra + the Fruit of Practice

This closing part joins loving-kindness to the "path to realization" in 3 waves.

1. Mettā in the spatial dimension — radiating to cover all 31 planes of existence completely, with no remainder — a "loving-kindness without borders" (appamāṇaṃ).

• uddhaṃ (above) — to the devas and the brahmās.

• adho (below) — to the hell-beings, hungry ghosts, and asuras.

• tiriyañca (across) — to humans and beings of the same level.

1. Mettā in the temporal dimension (the postures) — it can be done in all 4 postures: tiṭṭhaṃ (standing), caraṃ (walking), nisinno (sitting), sayāno (lying down), as long as one is still vigatamiddho (free of drowsiness) — showing that loving-kindness is a continuous cultivation of mindfulness, not an activity confined to a set time. The key phrase "brahmam-etaṃ vihāraṃ" = "this abiding is like that of a brahmā" — likening one who abides in loving-kindness to a brahmā (for the brahmā has loving-kindness as his dwelling-quality).

1. The fruit of practicing mettā (the closing phrase of the sutta) is a sequence of attainment.

• Not falling into (wrong) views (micchā-diṭṭhi) — not being deceived by wrong views.

• Having virtue (sīlavā) — pure virtue.

• Endowed with vision (dassanena sampanno) — attaining the stream-entry path (seeing the Noble Truths for the first time).

• Removing sensual desire (kāmesu vineyya gedhaṃ) — attaining non-returner status (abandoning sensual craving).

• Coming never again to the womb (na hi jātu gabbhaseyyaṃ punareti) — not returning to be reborn in the sense-sphere (for the non-returner, one is reborn in the Pure Abodes, and attains Nibbāna there).

This is the "full fruit of practicing the Karaṇīya Metta Sutta" — beginning with loving-kindness in the heart, through every posture, until it becomes the gateway to non-returner status and Nibbāna.

Appendix — The Structure of the Karaṇīya Metta Sutta

The Karaṇīya Metta Sutta is divided into 4 main parts as follows:

• Part 1 — The Qualities of One Who Practices Mettā: the 13 qualities that form the basis for pure loving-kindness.

• Part 2 — The Radiating of Loving-Kindness to All Beings: arranging beings into opposing pairs so that loving-kindness leaves nothing out.

• Part 3 — Non-Harming + the Simile of a Mother's Love: the prohibition of harming in 3 degrees + the image of a mother loving her only child with her life.

• Part 4 — Mettā Is a Brahmavihāra + the Fruit of Practice: boundless loving-kindness in every posture, leading to the stream-entry path and non-returner status.