Karaniya Metta Sutta: The Buddha's Words...

The Amaravati Sangha (Sn 1.8; Khp 9); Ellie, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

"Love is what we are."

This is what should be done
     By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
     Let one be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech,
     Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied,
     Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm and wise and skillful,
      Not proud or demanding in nature.
Let one not do the slightest thing
     That the wise would later reprove.
Wishing: In gladness and in safety,
     May all beings be at ease!
Whatever living beings there may be,
     Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
     The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
     Those born and to-be-born —
May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,
     Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will
     Wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life
     Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
     Should one cherish all living beings;
Radiating kindness over the entire world:
     Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
     Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
     Whether standing or walking,
seated or lying down
     Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
     This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed [wrong] views,
     The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
     Is not reborn again into this world.

Slightly modified version of ©1994 English Sangha Trust. From Chanting Book: Morning and Evening Puja and Reflections (Hemel Hempstead: Amaravati Publications, 1994) revised for AccessToInsight.org on Nov. 2, 2013.

• Four alternate translations: Ven. Ñanamoli, Ven. Buddharakkhita, Ven. Piyadassi, Ven. Thanissaro