Wishing all beings well
Today, silently wish one person well, even someone you find difficult.
- Read · about 2 minutes
May they be happy and safe!May all beings be happy!…Let none deceive another,nor look down on anyone anywhere.Though provoked or aggrieved,let them not wish pain on each other.…With love for the whole world,unfold a boundless heart:above, below, all round,unconstricted, without enmity or foe.Kp 9 · Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta · “The Discourse on Love” · tr. Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0)
From the text
The verses express a wish that all beings be happy and safe. They ask that no one deceive or look down on another, that even when provoked people not wish pain on each other, and that love for the whole world be unfolded as a boundless heart, in every direction, without enmity.
In everyday life
Notice the grammar of these lines. They are wishes, not reports. 'May all beings be happy' does not claim that everyone is happy, or that you already feel warmly toward everyone. It is something you say on purpose. One way to take this is that kindness can be trained: you do not wait for a feeling to arrive; you offer the wish, and you let the offering do its slow work. The verses are also honest about difficulty. 'Though provoked or aggrieved' admits that people will provoke you, and asks only that you not wish them pain in return. Today's sit is about arriving and settling, and near the end you might add a single quiet wish for someone. Then take the same wish into the day. It fits in a doorway, a queue, or the second before you answer a message.
- 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 person you will see or think of today, perhaps someone you find hard, and silently say 'May you be happy and safe' once, in your own words if you prefer.
- Reflect · this evening
Who came to mind when you offered the wish, and what did offering it feel like?
Answer on paper, or in the app’s journal, which stays on your iPhone.