A wish for every being
Today, silently wish one living being well, exactly as you find them.
- Read · about 2 minutes
May they be happy and safe!May all beings be happy!Whatever living creatures there arewith not a one left out—frail or firm, long or large,medium, small, tiny or round,seen or unseen,living far or near,…may all beings be happy!Kp 9 · Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta · “The Discourse on Love” · tr. Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0)
From the text
The verses voice a wish: may they be happy and safe, may all beings be happy. They then list living creatures of every kind, frail or firm, large or small, seen or unseen, far or near, and say that not one is left out.
In everyday life
Metta is a Pali word usually translated as goodwill or loving-kindness. In these verses it takes the form of a wish, and they show what the wish sounds like: may they be happy and safe. Notice how the list works. It does not name the people you already like. It sorts creatures by size and by whether you can even see them, and says not a one left out. One way to take this is that goodwill begins as a direction the mind faces, before any particular person comes into view. Today’s sit is simply arriving: settling the body and letting the breath be as it is. When you feel settled, try saying the line once, quietly, to yourself. Then carry it out into the day and let it land on whoever, or whatever, happens to be near you.
- Sit · 3, 5 or 10 minutes
Arriving and Settling
Sit upright on a chair or cushion, hands resting in your lap. Read each cue as it appears; between cues you may close your eyes or lower your gaze.
- Live · during your day
Pick one living being you see today, a person, a bird, a dog, and silently say once: may you be happy and safe.
- Reflect · this evening
Which being did you wish well today, and what was it like to do so?
Answer on paper, or in the app’s journal, which stays on your iPhone.