8.1. Từ

Evaṁ me sutaṁ—

ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.

Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi:

“bhikkhavo”ti.

“Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ.

Bhagavā etadavoca:

“Mettāya, bhikkhave, cetovimuttiyā āsevitāya bhāvitāya bahulīkatāya yānīkatāya vatthukatāya anuṭṭhitāya paricitāya susamāraddhāya aṭṭhānisaṁsā pāṭikaṅkhā.

Katame aṭṭha?

Sukhaṁ supati, sukhaṁ paṭibujjhati, na pāpakaṁ supinaṁ passati, manussānaṁ piyo hoti, amanussānaṁ piyo hoti, devatā rakkhanti, nāssa aggi vā visaṁ vā satthaṁ vā kamati, uttariṁ appaṭivijjhanto brahmalokūpago hoti.

Mettāya, bhikkhave, cetovimuttiyā āsevitāya bhāvitāya bahulīkatāya yānīkatāya vatthukatāya anuṭṭhitāya paricitāya susamāraddhāya ime aṭṭhānisaṁsā pāṭikaṅkhāti.

Yo ca mettaṁ bhāvayati,

appamāṇaṁ paṭissato;

Tanū saṁyojanā honti,

passato upadhikkhayaṁ.

Ekampi ce pāṇamaduṭṭhacitto,

Mettāyati kusalī tena hoti;

Sabbe ca pāṇe manasānukampī,

Pahūtamariyo pakaroti puññaṁ.

Ye sattasaṇḍaṁ pathaviṁ vijetvā,

Rājisayo yajamānā anupariyagā;

Assamedhaṁ purisamedhaṁ,

Sammāpāsaṁ vājapeyyaṁ niraggaḷaṁ.

Mettassa cittassa subhāvitassa,

Kalampi te nānubhavanti soḷasiṁ;

Candappabhā tāragaṇāva sabbe,

Yathā na agghanti kalampi soḷasiṁ.

Yo na hanti na ghāteti,

na jināti na jāpaye;

Mettaṁso sabbabhūtānaṁ,

veraṁ tassa na kenacī”ti.

Paṭhamaṁ.

SC 1Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus: “Bhikkhus!”

SC 2“Venerable sir!” those bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:

SC 3“Bhikkhus, when the liberation of the mind by loving-kindness has been pursued, developed, and cultivated, made a vehicle and basis, carried out, consolidated, and properly undertaken, eight benefits are to be expected. What eight?

SC 4(1) “One sleeps well; (2) one awakens happily; (3) one does not have bad dreams; (4) one is pleasing to human beings; (5) one is pleasing to spirits; (6) deities protect one; (7) fire, poison, and weapons do not injure one; and (8) if one does not penetrate further, one moves on to the brahmā world.

SC 5“When, bhikkhus, the liberation of the mind by loving-kindness has been pursued, developed, and cultivated, made a vehicle and basis, carried out, consolidated, and properly undertaken, these eight benefits are to be expected.”

SC 6For one who, ever mindful, develops
measureless loving-kindness,
the fetters thin out as he sees
the destruction of the acquisitions. an.iv.151

SC 7If, with a mind free from hate,
one arouses love toward just one being,
one thereby becomes good.
Compassionate in mind toward all beings,
the noble one generates abundant merit.

SC 8Those royal sages who conquered the earth
with its multitudes of beings
traveled around performing sacrifices:
the horse sacrifice, the person sacrifice,
sammāpāsa, vājapeyya, niraggaḷa.

SC 9All these are not worth a sixteenth part
of a well-developed loving mind,
just as the hosts of stars cannot match
a sixteenth part of the moon’s radiance.

SC 10One who does not kill or enjoin killing,
who does not conquer or enjoin conquest,
one who has loving-kindness toward all beings
harbors no enmity toward anyone.