PART 1
THE SUBLIME STATES
Love, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity in
Buddhism
"Monks, as low-down
thieves might carve you limb from limb with a double-handled saw, yet
even then whoever sets his mind at enmity, he, for this reason, is not a
doer of my teaching. Herein, monks you should rain yourselves thus:
'Neither will our minds become perverted, nor will we utter an evil
speech, but kindly and compassionate will we dwell, with a mind of
friendliness, void of hatred; we will dwell having suffused the whole
world with a mind of friendliness that is far-reaching, widespread,
without enmity, without malevolence.' This is how you must train
yourselves, monks." (1)
'Love' is a concept
central to the world's major religions. Yet its meaning may be vastly
different from one religion to another, and especially different from
any lay meanings of the word love. In Buddhism, there is a concept
called the four sublime states, translated usually as loving kindness,
compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. Many other translations
have been attempted, but rather than try to make it fit one of these
concepts, I will stick with the general Pali translation of the group of
the them, the four 'sublime states' (brahma vihara). Hopefully this talk
will elucidate what the Buddhist concept of "love" is.
The word 'metta' is an
abstract noun for the word 'mitra', meaning 'friend'. Hoever, it is not
defined just as 'friendliness', but as the same love that prompts a
mother to love her only child even more than her life, as it says in the
Metta-Sutta (Discourse on Loving kindness),
Just as a mother protects
her child,
Her only child (with so
deep a love)
Even as to risk her own
life for its sake,
even so towards all living
beings
may one cultivated
boundless loving thought. (2)
The practice of the
highest life is that of the sublime beings who live a life of loving
kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), sympathetic joy (mudita) and
equanimity (upekkha). Hence, these are the highest ways of life (Brahma
vihara), or Sublime States, namely: extending unlimited, universal love
and good will (metta) to all living beings; compassion (karuna) for all
living beings who are suffering in trouble, and need help; sympathetic
joy (mudita) in others' success, welfare and happiness; and equanimity
(upekkha) in all vicissitudes of life. (3)
The person who has
successfully developed these qualities is said to be "one who is
cleansed with an internal bathing" after bathing "in the waters of love
and compassion for one's fellow beings."(4) When the Buddha's disciple
Ananda suggested to him that half of the teaching of the Buddha
consisted in the practice of loving kindness, the Buddha said it was not
half, but the whole of his teachings.
Metta is an essential part
of the Middle Path in the teaching of the Buddha. It seeks to eliminate
the three roots of evil, greed (lobha), hatred (dosa) and illusion
(moha). Metta plays a significant role in the development of moral
discipline (sila), meditation (samadhi), and wisdom (panna), which lead
the follower to the ultimate goal of seeing things as they really
are.
The Buddha explains the
distinction between metta, as loving kindness, and pema, or personal
affection. Metta is an emotion which is an impersonal detatchment while
pema is an exclusive affection. Not only affection but also
companionship (samsagga) and fondness (sineha) tend to be based on
clinging (upadana). In the dhammapada, the most popular Buddhist text
among lay people, it reads "From affection (pema) springs grief, from
affection springs fear. For him who is wholly free from affection there
is neither grief nor fear." (5)
In his instructions to
monks, the Buddha exhorted his disciples, saying "Monks, go and travel
around for the welfare of the multitudes, for the happiness of the
multitudes, out of sympathy for the world, for the benefit, welfare, and
happiness of humans." (6)
In his instructions to
monks, the Buddha exhorted his disciples, saying "Monks, go and travel
around for the welfare of the multitudes, for the happiness of the
multitudes, out of sympathy for the world, for the benefit, welfare,,
and happiness of humans." (6)
Metta has the
characteristic of non-attachment to any one. It implies friendship
without sensual affection. The Buddha's boundless love extended not only
to human beings, but to all living creatures. One of the earliest
Buddhist Metta Suttas says as follows:
May all beings be happy
and secure.
May they all have happy
and healthy minds.
May all beings, whatever
they may be,
Weak or strong, long,
stout, medium or short,
Small or large, seen or
unseen,
Those who live close by or
far away,
Those how are born and
those who are to be born,
May they all have happy
and healthy minds. (7)
The Buddha renounced his
kingdom, family and pleasures so that he could strive to find a way to
release mankind from an existence of suffering. In order to gain his
Enlightenment, he had to struggle for many countless lives.
As the test
says,
"One who to save a limb,
rich treasures gave,
Would sacrifice a limb,
his life to save,
Yea, wealth, limbs, life
and all away would fling,
Right and its claims alone
remembering." (8)
This is illustrated in
several of the Jataka stories, tales of the Buddha's life.
For example, "When he was
an ascetic known as Khantivadi, long ago, once he visited the city of
Benares and was staying in a grove. The king of Benares, a cruel person
who had no regard for the practice of virtues, a man of materialistic
views, met Khantivadi one day in the grove and asked, "What kind of
doctrine do you teach, monk?" "I teach the value of patience," said the
ascetic. The king wanted to prove it impossible to practice patience,
had him flogged with sarongs of thorns but could not make the ascetic
angry. (9)
And in another story we
read: "In another previous life, the Lord Buddha had been born as a son
to an arrogant king named Pratapa. The child was a prodigy. One day the
king got angry with the queen who was fondling the babe and could not
get up from the seat before him. He grew rough and ordered his servant
to lop off hands, feet and head of the infant. But the child didn't get
angry wither with his father or with the man who cut his limbs off, but
he was impartial to all, towards his father, the man who cut off his
limbs, towards his lamenting mother and towards himself."
(10)
The Buddha himself
instructs us in Samyutta Nikaya, "When the mediator thinks thus of the
Bodhisatta's former conduct, his resentment might subside. If he still
cannot dispel his anger towards the other person, now he should mediate
on the teaching of the Buddha. He has said, 'Brethren, it is not easy to
find a being who has not formerly been your mother…father…your
brother…your sister…your son...your daughter in a previous life of this
beginningless cycle of lives." (11)
As further
elucidated in ‘The Buddha’s Ancient Path’ by Piyadassi Thera, Love is an
active force. Every act of the loving one is done with the stainless
mind to help, to succour, to cheer, to make the paths of others easier,
smoother and more adapted to the conquest of sorrow, the winning of the
highest bliss.
"The way to develop love
is through thinking out the evils of hate, and the advantages of
non-hate; through thinking out according to actuality according to
karma, that really there is none to have, that hate is a foolish way of
feeling which breeds more and more darkness, that obstructs right
understanding. Hate restricts; love releases. Hatred estranges; love
enfranchises. Hatred brings remorse; love brings peace. Hatred agitates;
love quietens, still, calms. Hatred divides; love unites. Hatred
hardens; love softens. Hatred hinders; love helps. And thus through a
correct study and appreciation of the effects of hatred and the benefits
of love, should one develop love."
Love and compassion are
closely tied in Buddhism, and the approach to compassion is similar to
that of love. Compassion (karuna) is not merely limited to giving
materials needs, but acting with a pure motive, without greed, false
views or pride. There is a story on the Buddha’s way of helping the
sick. He healed the sick with his friendship and out of compassion. In
the Commentary to the Dhammapada there is a touching story:
A young man of Savatthi
listened to the Buddha, gained confidence in him and entered the order.
He became known as Tissa. After a time he fell sick. First small
pustules broke out on his body, gradually becoming bigger and bursting,
developing ulcers. His fellow monks were unwilling to look after Tissa,
and abandoned him. When the Buddha came to know of this, he went to the
fireplace and boiled some water. Then the Blessed One went to Tissa and
caught hold of the corner of Tissa’s bed. When the monks realised what
the Master was trying to do, they carried the patient with the bed to
the fireplace. There the Master mad e the monks wash Tissa’s garments
and dry them, while he himself gently cleaned the ulcers and washed the
sick monk. The patient was refreshed and lay on his bed with a composed
mined. Thereupon the Blessed One explained the doctrine to him. With a
collected mind Tissa listened and at the end of the sermon attained the
highest stage of sainthood and passed away. Subsequently, the
appropriate rites were performed and the Buddha had the relics enshrined
in a stupa. (13)
Compassion and the other
divine states are equally important to all schools of Buddhism. The
following quotes are from D. Brandon’s Zen in the Art of Helping, and
present the same sentiments in different contexts.
"Compassion has nothing to
do with achievement at all. It is spacious and very generous. When a
person develops real compassion, he is uncertain whether he is being
generous to others of to himself because compassion is environmental
generosity, without direction, without ‘for me’ and without ‘them’. It
is filled with joy, spontaneously existing joy, constant joy in the
sense of trust, in the sense that hoy contains tremendous wealth,
richness…
"At this highest level,
karuna (compassion) does not attach itself to the intricacies of
suffering or to individual human situations. It is involved with the
salvation of all living things. It spreads out the map of enlightenment
for all who care to look."
"That is the way of the
Buddhas. I am very much concerned with those individuals who live around
me.
"…Compassion is the
complete reflection of overall harmony." (14)
The third sublime state is
sympathetic joy or appreciative hoy (mudita). It is the wholesome
attitude of rejoicing in the happiness and virtues of others.
Sympathetic joy sees prosperous conditions of others, welcomes the
happiness of fellow people.
The fourth state is that
of equanimity (upekkha). When we achieve it we see all sentient beings
as equals. In order to do so, one has to keep in mind that one’s
particular relationship with one’s relative, friends, and even enemies
is the result of previous karma. Therefore one should not cling to
relatives and friends while regarding other with indifference.
As the Ven. Balangolda
Ananda Maitreya, one of the foremost Buddhist scholars of this century
states in "Development of the Divine States",
"This person, when he
(she) was my mother in a previous birth, carried me in her womb nearly
ten months, and when I was a baby, she removed my urine, excrement,
spittle, snot, all without any disgust. She played with me on her lap,
nourished me, carrying me about in her arms. Thus she nourished me with
such deep love. When this person was my father in a previous life, he
risked his life for me in pursuing the trade of merchant, or of farmer,
and did business hard with a view to earning wealth for my sake. And
when he was born as my brother, sister, son or daughter, too, he/she
treated me with loving care and gave me every possible kind of help for
my wellbeing. So it is unjust for me to harbour anger for him merely
because of some disagreeable thing done to me in this life."
(15)
The love of the divine
states can be experienced in daily life. The attitude of loving kindness
is like the feeling which parents have for their newborn child, the wish
that that child enjoy good health, have good friends, be intelligent and
successful in all endeavours. In the same manner one may have loving
kindness toward all living beings. When parents see their child
seriously ill, they will naturally be moved by compassion and earnestly
wish that the child be free from the suffering of his sickness. In the
same way we have to experience the feelings of compassion upon seeing
the suffering of all living beings. As the parents joy at their child’s
success and happiness in life, we should experience feelings of joy at
the good fortune of all beings. When grown-up sons or daughters settle
down with their family, they begin to have independent lives with their
responsibilities. Although parents still have their feelings of loving
kindness, compassion, sympathetic hoy, they are combined with a new
feeling of equanimity. They recognise their new independence and
responsibilities in their lives, and do not cling to them.
Buddhaghosa, in his
commentary to the Anguttara Nikaya (ii. 204), summarises the working of
these sublime states by giving an example form the life of parents and
children. He says:
"When a youth is in the
womb, the parents think with a loving mind, when will we see our son
healthy and endowed with all his major and minor limbs? Then, when this
tender creature lies on his back and cries or wails because of being
bitten by lice or fleas or because of being bothered by troubled sleep,
the parents hear this coise and feel simple compassion. Furthermore,
either at the time of his play while he runs and races or at the time he
rests, their minds become tender, like a hundred fluffy calls of cotton
soaked in the finest clarified butter. The parents’ minds are satisfied
and joyous. They have sympathetic joy at that time. Then, when the son
is able to provide adornments for his wife and settle in his own house,
the parents become even-minded and think, Now our son can live on his
own. In this way, they have equanimity at that time."
The basic instruction of
the Buddha is the "Eightfold Path", which is divided into the three
areas of Discipline, Concentration/Mindfulness, and Wisdom. The three
steps of the path dedicated to Discipline are all based on Metta, or
Love, namely: right speech, right action, and right livelihood. These
factors aim at promoting societal harmony. One sutta instructs on how to
respect neighbours:
"They should be hospitable
and charitable to one another; should speak pleasantly and agreeably;
should work for each other's welfare; should be on equal terms with one
another; should not quarrel among themselves; should help each other in
need; and should not forsake each other in difficulties."
(16)
In Buddhism, apparent
self-love is a crucial first step. It is a cleansing and purifying of
one's mind to be able to love another, without which love just becomes
raga (eros). However, this is what is known in Buddhism as "conventional
truth", that is, an explanation tailored to the capacity of
understanding of people. In fact, Buddhists believe there is no self,
just the five aggregates, which are the aspects of existence. As regards
the conventional truth of neighbourly love, Buddhism extends it to all
sentient beings, not just human beings. As Buddhism has no God-concept,
only dhamma, that is, the laws of reality, which are impersonal and not
an object of love, (as they are not objects at all), there is no "love"
directed at a divinity in Buddhism.
The sublime states in
Buddhism are a question of both attitude and practice. One understands
the importance of metta (similarly karuna, mudita and upekkha), and then
implements it. By practicing metta, one comes to understand it more
profoundly.
In practicing the four
sublime states, beyond generosity, right action, right speech, and right
livelihood, there are specific meditative practices designed to augment
one's commitment to them. The meditative exercises are similar to all
kinds of meditation in Buddhism, in that they consist of an activity to
be carried out with full mindfulness. In the case of metta, the activity
is consciously emanating metta to the beings around one. When one
becomes increasingly adept at this practice, one will become very calm
and peaceful, and will be in a position to understand better the basic
Buddhist teachings, and tread along the path to liberation from
suffering, Nibbana.
Each of the four sublime
states addresses different ills, and helps one further along the paths.
Loving kindness eradicates ill will and anger (dosa). Compassion
eradicates craving and worldly attachment (lobha). Sympathetic joy
eradicates jealousy and makes people less self-centered (issa), and
equanimity eradicates clinging and aversion (moha).
The further along the path
one is, the more capable cone is of helping others endeavour towards the
summum bonum of Buddhism.
As all of the Buddha's
teachings, the practices lead to personal growth and enhance the growth
of all beings. Living in the world involves suffering; the four sublime
states are the effort to relieve the suffering of others while growing
oneself. As they are way to the end of suffering and the highest
happiness, we can truly say that the four sublime states are love.
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