1(1)Loving-Kindness
Thushave I heard.On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sävatthiin Jeta's Grove,Anathapindika's Park.
There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus:
"Bhikkhus!"
"Venerable sir!"those bhikkhus replied.
The Blessed One said this:
"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?
(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;
Amanussa.Lit."nonhumans."The word primarily refers to earth-bound deities,yakkhas,and demons.Vism 312,9-313,18(Ppn 9.64-69),illustrates this benefit with a story about a monk who wins the affection of tree deities.(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."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."
For one who,ever mindful,develops measureless loving-kindness,
the fetters thin out as he sees the destruction of the acquisitions.[151]
If,with a mind free from hate,
one arouses love toward just one being,
one thereby becomes good.
Compassionate in mind toward all beings,
Sabbe ca pāne manasanukampi.Anukampa(the abstract noun of anukampi)has a slightly different nuance than karunā,the second immeasurable quality.Anukampā usually suggests compassion as a motive for action on behalf of others,whereas karunā generally designates a meditative state.
the noble one generates abundant merit.
Those royal sages who conquered the earth with its multitudes of beings
traveled around performing sacrifices:
the horse sacrifice,
I translate on the basis of the Be and Ee reading assamedham,which accords with the name of the first of this traditional group of sacrifices mentioned elsewhere in the Nikayas.At 4:39 these sacrifices are condemned for the harm they inflict on helpless creatures.Ce here reads sassamedham,"the corn sacrifice,"the gloss found in Mp(both Ce and Be).The gloss is perhaps apologetic,intended to justify the ascription of this sacrifice to the royal sages.the person sacrifice,
Sammāpāsaṃ vājapeyyaṃ niraggaḷaṃ.
These are the names of other sacrifices.
All these are not worth a sixteenth part of a well-developed loving mind,
--
just as the hosts of stars
Reading with Be and Ee tāraganā va,as against Ce tāraganā ca.cannot match a sixteenth part of the moon's radiance.
--
One who does not kill or enjoin killing,who does not conquer or enjoin conquest,
one who has loving-kindness toward all beings
Mettamso sabbabhatanum veram tassa na kenaci.Mp takes Mettam so to be a compound of mettā and amso,glossing it mettayamanacittakotthaso,"a portion of a loving mind."BHSDsv amsa testifies to the occurrence of maitra amsa in BHS literature; maitrenamsena sphuritva in Divyavadāna 60.24 and 61.12.harbors no enmity toward anyone.