The Meditation on Love
The Buddha tells the mendicants that of all the grounds for making worldly merit (good deeds that bring good results), none is worth a sixteenth part of what the text calls the heart’s release by love. He compares it to the moon outshining all the stars, the autumn sun dispelling darkness, and the morning star at dawn. The verses add that loving even one creature with a hateless heart makes a good person, that the great royal sacrifices are not worth a sixteenth part of a mind developed with love, and close by saying: do not kill or conquer, and have love for all living creatures.
A note on this text. The verses mention horse and human sacrifices sponsored by royal potentates as a point of comparison, and use “fetters” and “merit” without explanation.
The full text
So It Was Said 27 · The Book of the Ones · Chapter Three · The Meditation on Love · translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · public domain (CC0) · about 2 min · on SuttaCentral
This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.
“Mendicants, of all the grounds for making worldly merit, none are worth a sixteenth part of the heart’s release by love. Surpassing them, the heart’s release by love shines and glows and dazzles.
Explained: What outshines every good deed
It’s like how the radiance of all the stars is not worth a sixteenth part of the moon’s radiance. Surpassing them, the moon’s radiance shines and glows and dazzles. In the same way, of all the grounds for making worldly merit, none are worth a sixteenth part of the heart’s release by love. Surpassing them, the heart’s release by love shines and glows and dazzles.
It’s like the last month of the rainy season, in autumn, when the heavens are sunny and cloudless. And as the sun is rising to the firmament, having dispelled all the darkness of space, it shines and glows and dazzles. In the same way, of all the grounds for making worldly merit, none are worth a sixteenth part of the heart’s release by love. Surpassing them, the heart’s release by love shines and glows and dazzles.
It’s like how, at the crack of dawn, the morning star shines and glows and dazzles. In the same way, of all the grounds for making worldly merit, none are worth a sixteenth part of the heart’s release by love. Surpassing them, the heart’s release by love shines and glows and dazzles.” The Buddha spoke this matter. On this it is said:
“A mindful one who developslimitless loveweakens the fetters,seeing the ending of attachments.
Loving just one creature with a hateless heartmakes you a good person.Sympathetic for all creatures,a noble one creates abundant merit.
The royal potentates conquered this landand traveled around sponsoring sacrifices—horse sacrifice, human sacrifice,the sacrifices of the ‘casting of the yoke-pin’,the ‘royal soma drinking’, and the ‘unimpeded’.
These are not worth a sixteenth partof the mind developed with love,as starlight cannot rival the moon.
Don’t kill or cause others to kill,don’t conquer or encourage others to conquer,with love for all living creatures—you’ll have no enmity for anyone.”
This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.