Rome: Pagan origins of Holy Vatican

The Disadvantages of Sex Sutra (Snp 4.7)

Who is the ultimate Hollywood sex symbol promoted by the movie industry? Elvis?

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CONTEXT: Tissa (7) had a friend named Metteyya ("Friend"). Together they visited the Buddha at Jetavana and, having listened to the Teaching, entered the monastic order. Metteyya went into seclusion in the forest with his new teacher. Not long after, he became fully enlightened.

Tall, dark, and handsome bad boy, sex symbol?

Tissa, on the other hand, lived in the city of Sāvatthi. And when his elder brother died, he returned home and was persuaded by his relations to revert to the lay life.

Later, Metteyya, on a journey with the Buddha, passed through the village and visited Tissa. He brought him once more to the Buddha. And the Buddha taught them the "Tissa-Metteyya Sutra," at the end of which Tissa became a stream-winner (sotāpanna, the first stage of enlightenment), later reaching full enlightenment (SN., p.160f; SNA.ii.535f, NidA.184). What did the Buddha say?

To Tissa Metteyya on the Disadvantages of Sex

I feel lust. - That's art. - I thought we were depicting truth and beauty. - Nah, just beauty.

• [Tissa asked:]

Attachment to sexual intercourse:

Sir, what are its disadvantages?

Having heard this Teaching then,

secluded, we will train ourselves.

• [The Buddha replied:]

Attached to sexual intercourse,

forgetful of the Teaching then,

wrong things that person practices,

and does what is ignoble.

• [*Not conducive to enlightenment; noble ones = Aryans = "the enlightened."]

Who formerly fared on alone

But again in sex indulges,

“Low” they call, a common worldling,

like transport that swerves off the track.

That one who had renown and fame —

it now surely diminishes.

Having seen this then train yourselves:

renounce sexual intercourse.

• What are the steps of training in detail?

Overcome by [low lustful] thoughts,

one slow broods, as a beggar does,

and hearing reproach of others,

such a person dejected is.

But for yourselves creating “arms”

of others’ reprimanding words,

so with great entanglement

sinks down into untruthfulness.

Well-known and called “one who is wise,”

who vows and lives the left-home life

but again engages in sex,

will then be called “a fool defiled.”

• There are other enumerations of mental defilements.

Disadvantages having seen,

the sage, to start and thereafter,

establishes the left-home life,

now no more resorting to sex.

So train yourselves in solitude,

for that’s the life of noble ones,

not conceiving yourselves as “best” —

having seen indeed nirvana.

• Noble ones (in any of the four stages of enlightenment) have glimpsed nirvana and no longer conceive of themselves as better then, worse than, nor equal to others.

The sage who’s rid of sense-cravings,

and to them is indifferent,

who’s crossed the flood, is envied then,

by those enmeshed in pleasures of sense.

• Some follow the Buddha, while others ordain and practice full-time
• G.P. Malalasekera, Pali Proper Names; Laurence (formerly Ven. Khantipalo) Mills (trans.), Tissametteyya Sutta (Sutta Nipata, 4.7) via suttacentral.net; compiled and edited by Dhr. Seven for Wisdom Quarterly

Burma's most esteemed American monk

Pat Macpherson and, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly based on Burmese article by Wei Yan Aung translated by Thet Ko Ko, Irrawaddy Times (irrawaddy.com, May 25, 2020)

The sad day Burma's most esteemed foreign monk passed away

RANGOON, Burma - Today in 1966, Italian-American Buddhist monk and missionary Ven. U Lokanatha (who was born Salvatore Cioffi in 1897 and raised in Brooklyn, New York) passed away in Pyin Oo Lwin (Maymyo, Mandalay region). He dedicated his life to promoting Buddhism worldwide.

• Brooklyn Bhikkhu: How Salvatore Cioffi became Ven. Lokanatha (Philip Deslippe, researchgate.net)*

Inspired by the Dhammapada, the "Sayings of the Buddha," New York University graduate in chemistry Cioffi became interested in Buddhism and entered the monastic order in Burma in 1925 at the age of 28.

• The first Westerner to ordain as a Buddhist monk was the Irish freethinker from California Laurence Carroll, who became Ven. U Dhammaloka

Irish Laurence Carroll was the first Western monk.

From his base in Burma, the Italian-American monk traveled to many countries including Thailand, Sri Lanka, Italy, France, and the United States, promoting Buddhism.

When World War II broke out, he was in British India and like other Europeans abroad, he was confined by British authorities in a prison camp, where he introduced some of his fellow prisoners to Buddhism. He also organized a dramatic 96-day hunger strike to demand his religious rights as a Buddhist, until he was eventually forcibly fed by the jailers.

Ananda Metteyya (Elizabeth J. Harris)

He was later incarcerated for seven days in France for collecting alms, which many misunderstand to be begging. [It is offering others the opportunity to volunteer to support and thereby make merit by cultivating charity called dana.]

Although U Lokanatha (Cioffi) preached widely and wrote numerous books about Buddhism, the compassionate vegetarian spent much of his time meditating in caves and forests.

As such he garnered a higher esteem than his predecessor, the foreign monk and English Buddhist missionary Ananda Metteyya (Charles Henry Allan Bennett), and the British writer in Burma George Orwell (Nineteen Eighty-Four, Burmese Days, and 1936's "Shooting an Elephant").

• 

  The Awakening of the West

  Allan Bennett, a colleague of the infamous occultist Aleister Crowley, received the name "Ananda Metteyya" in British Ceylon (Sri Lanka) when he ordained as a Buddhist monk, studying and practicing in the East. He was the second Englishman to become a Theravada Buddhist monk (bhikkhu) and was instrumental in introducing Buddhism to England [as the PTS scholars had done since at least 1881, modeled on EETS of 1864], where he established the first Buddhist mission in the UK (WQ, Wiki, Stephen Batchelor's The Awakening of the West, p. 40).

The Religion of Burma (Bennett)

U Lokanatha attracted many devotees as he crossed Burma and asked spiritual questions of senior monks who were widely considered to be enlightened (arhats), those awakened and thereby freed from the endless cycle of rebirth and suffering.

The Italian-American monk lived in Burma for many decades, moving from the colonial period to post-independence and military domination. He passed from cancer at the age of 68.

• Buddhism in Southeast Asia
  

*The Italian-American monk from Brooklyn

Bennett, Buddhist in England

(Philip Deslippe) BIOGRAPHY: Salvatore Cioffi, who became Venerable Lokanatha (1897–1966), was born in Italy and raised in Brooklyn, New York, USA.

After becoming a Buddhist in his late-20s, U Lokanatha travelled to Burma, took ordination as a monk, and began a remarkable 40 year career as a writer, lecturer, organizer, and Buddhist "missionary" throughout South Asia and the world.

U Lokanatha garnered various responses. They are contextualized in the different cultural spheres in which he operated, from the anti-colonial Buddhist revival in Burma to the mocking indifference U Lokanatha found in the United States.

Scholarship on modern Buddhism, particularly recent work on the Irish monk, who first traveled to California then Asia, U Dhammaloka [Laurence Carroll], is used to situate U Lokanatha's life and its facets of conservative reformer and transnational actor.

Finally, an account of the source material used to reconstruct the life of U Lokanatha is employed.

It offers a practical methodological explanations for his absence from conventional narratives of modern Buddhism and what his inclusion along with other figures might mean in the future. More

Was Scientology's founder a Buddha?

Eds., Wisdom Quarterly EDITORIAL; Prof. Stephen A. Kent (University of Alberta, Canada)

We know believers who have invested too much time and money to leave (60 Minutes)

.

Scientology doc (Rainer Fromm)

Scientology is a money-making enterprise registered as a "church," perhaps to avoid paying taxes on profits and "donations" like some "prosperity doctrine" mega-church televangelists (Last Week Tonight).

Its founder was sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard, who bragged to fellow Pasadena Satanist/occultist the weapons developer Jack Parsons (founder of JPL, aka "Jack Parsons' Lab," the Jet Propulsion Lab) that he could start his own religion.

.

GOING CLEAR

He then claimed or very strongly suggested he was the redhaired Buddhist Messiah prophesied by many Tibetan Buddhists. The Future Buddha is the world-system's heartfelt "Friend" (Pali Metteya or Sanskrit Maitreya).

Hubbard did not know much about Eastern religions and made his self-aggrandizing claims in a poetry book he published as Hymn of Asia An Eastern Poem. His text explores several themes.

See here, I'm Buddha-come-again. That's it, yeah

According to Prof. Stephen A. Kent, the first line of Hubbard's extended poetic hymn asks, "Am I Metteyya? [sic]." Hubbard quickly followed this question with the statement, "I come to bring you all that Lord Buddha would have you know of life, Earth, and Man"* (Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 11, No. 1, 1996, p. 21).

• *The original text contains very short lines of verse, and in this quote and others I have compressed them into prose and bracketed appropriate punctuation. I left alone, however, Hubbard's capitalization, which may appear serendipitous.

God damnit, Buddhists! Are you f'n listening!?

Hubbard, Prof. Kent continues, made a fundamental error in Buddhist soteriology... More

Hubbard started an all-business quasi-religion, and its current guru is controversial possible wife-murderer David Miscavige.

If anyone expects to get involved with Scientology and its many arms in Hollywood and the world, be prepared to spend a lot of money. Bring credit cards. They will take much more than money, but first they get all the money they can. More

• Scientology cult leader David Miscavige's niece Jenna Miscavige Hill escaped Scientology and blows the whistle

NEWS: The Buddha made a Christian Saint!

Wisdom Quarterly
The Bodhisat (Josaphat) is a saint in both the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Church.

The Buddha is a saint in the Catholic as well as Orthodox Church. This may sound like a joke or sacrilege, but such is the tendency of particularly Catholicism. It aggregates to itself adherents and greater legitimacy by canonizing popular figures.

For example, when the pope wishes to visit a country to proselytize, he usually announces a round of local canonizations. This gives people in that area Church figures to identify with. It is no wonder it long ago pulled in the world-famous spiritual teacher, the Bodhisat (the Pali word for Bodhisattva).

It does this more than ever now after disabling the Office of the Devil's Advocate, a real office in the Vatican which used to vigorously investigate claims of sainthood and make it difficult to beatify someone who was not thoroughly vetted.

The Buddha refers to himself in previous lives -- particularly, as pointed out by Rhys Davids, in the Jataka Tales or Buddhist Rebirth Stories -- as the "Bodhisat." These precursors to Aesops Fables spread far and wide and became much beloved legends in many countries and languages. They were so popular that their source was not kept track of as happens with, for example, limericks.

Another famous bodhisattva is the future buddha, Maitreya (whose name comes from the Sanskrit mitra, "friend"), which it seems might have given rise to Mithraism, as suggested in the groundbreaking work of Dr. Ranajit Pal. Wisdom Quarterly research concluded that "Maitreya" (the-liberator-to-come) was the origin of the dispossessed Bedouin "Hebrew/Jewish" people's idea and word "Messiah."

This idea is not so far fetched when we understand that Hebrews/Jews were Bedouin-style travelers living in India and elsewhere. They were engaged in trade all the way to the original "promised land," which was the Israelites' Kashmir, according to Holger Kersten in Jesus Lived in India: His Unknown Life Before and After the Crucifixion (Penguin Books, 2001, pp. 57-59) and Basem L. Ra'ad's Hidden Histories (Pluto Press, 2010).

It is no wonder Jews (like Jesus), then as now, are fascinated with Buddhism, Ladakh, Tibet, and Old Testament history, which saturates this land and is kept in the news nearly as much as the modern "Israel," whose original location is well explained by Ra'ad.

• St. Buddha of India
  On the subject of Christians masquerading as Buddhists, I thought I should mention that Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BCE), the founder of Buddhism, is also a canonized saint of the Catholic church!
• Quora: Why Jews convert to Buddhism
• Baarlam and Josaphat (Buddhism: An Illustrated Guide)

The other Bodhisat is the future Buddha Maitreya, the "Messiah" (Wisdom Quarterly).

Saint Josaphat
January 15, 2011 (economicexpert.com)

Saint Josaphat is said to have lived and died in the 3rd century or 4th century in India. His story appears to be in many respects a Christianized version of [the Buddha] Siddhartha Gautama's story.

According to legend, a King Abenner or Avenier in India persecuted the Christian church in his realm, founded by the Apostle Thomas. When astrologers predicted that his own son would someday become a Christian, Abenner had the young Prince Josaphat isolated from external contact.

Despite the imprisonment, Josaphat met the hermit Saint Baarlam and converted to Christianity. Josaphat kept his faith even in the face of his father's anger and persuasion. Eventually, Abenner himself converted, turned over his throne to Josaphat, and retired to the desert to become a hermit.

Josaphat himself later abdicated [the throne] and went into [s]eclusion with his old teacher Baarlam.
The story of Josaphat and Baarlam was popular in the Middle Ages, appearing in such works as the Golden Legend.

Although Josaphat and Baarlam were canonized in the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, there is no evidence that either ever existed.

Wilfred Cantwell Smith traced the story from a second to fourth-century Sanskrit Mahayana Buddhist text, to a Manichee version, to an Arabic Muslim version, to an eleventh century Christian Georgian version, to a Christian Greek version, and from there into Western European languages.

He traced Josaphat's name from the Sanskrit term Bodhisattva Maitreya, 2nd century, Gandhara. In Buddhist thought, a bodhisattva is a being that, while not yet fully enlightened, is actively striving toward that goal.

Conventionally, the term is applied to hypothetical beings with a high degree of enlightenment and via the Middle Persian bodasif.

Author Holger Kersten proposes an alternate explanation: "Josaphat" is derived from the Arabic "Judasaf" or "Budasaf," as written in an Urdu version of the tale. He ties this name to Yuz Asaf, a Muslim holy figure identified with Jesus Christ. This idea, which proposes Jesus escaped crucifixion and died in [Kashmir] India, was first introduced to the west by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. [Some might say Nicolas Notovitch actually introduced it to the West.]

• Saint Buddha of India (laputanlogic.com)
• Nicolas Notovitch discovers the lost years of Jesus
• Holger Kersten on Jesus' travels to India and Tibet
• "Israel"? Excavating Palestine's Hidden Histories
• Catholic Saint Josaphat Kuncevyc
• Pope John Paul II to be made a saint
  Archbishop Timothy Dolan lauded Pope Benedict's decision Friday [Jan. 14, 2011] to beatify his popular predecessor -- a move that pushes the Polish pontiff a step closer to [Catholic] sainthood. "Pope John Paul visited New York three times -- twice as Pope, and once when he was the Cardinal-Archbishop of Krakow," Dolan wrote. "In many ways we consider him to have been an honorary citizen of what he famously referred to as 'The Capital of the World.'" Beatification is the Catholic church's acknowledgment that a dead person has gone to heaven. John Paul will now receive the title "blessed."

The World to Come (Buddhist "prophecy")

Sayagyi U Chit Tin (BuddhaSasana), Wisdom Quarterly edit

The Buddha gave this famous advice before explaining the world of the future.

[To Be an Island]
Dwell, meditators, with yourselves as an island, with yourselves as a guide, with no one else as a guide, with the Dharma (Doctrine) as an island, with the Dharma as a guide, with no other as a guide.

And how, meditators, does one dwell with oneself as an island, with oneself as a guide, with no one else as a guide, with the Dharma as an island, with the Dharma as a guide, with no other as a guide?

Here (in this Teaching), meditators, a meditator lives [as explained in detail in the Four Foundations of Mindfulness sutra] contemplating

1. body in body
2. sensations in sensations
3. consciousness in consciousness
4. mental objects in mental objects

ardent, attentive, mindful, having removed covetousness and discontent with regards to the world.

Thus, meditators, does one dwell with oneself as an island, with oneself as a guide, with no one else as a guide, with the Dharma as a guide, with no other as a guide (Digha Nikaya III 58, 77).

So begins the sutra in which the Buddha describes the coming buddha, Metteyya (or in Sanskrit, Maitreya).

The ancient lost city of Pagan in the Burmese wilderness, site of thousands of temples

[The Cycles of Human History]
The Buddha first describes the ideal conditions that existed on Earth long ago when there was a succession of seven Wheel-Turning Monarchs.

Eventually, there was a ruler who neglected to provide for the poor. As a consequence, theft arose in the world. Gradually, people became more and more immoral and killed others. Because of this, the average human lifespan declined from 80,000 to 40,000 years.

Then people began to tell lies, and the human lifespan declined to 20,000 years. Next, malicious speech became prevalent, and the lifespan decreased to 10,000 years.

Then sexual misconduct became prevalent, with the result that people lived for 5,000 years. Harsh speech and frivolous talk became prevalent, and people lived for 2,500 years and 2,000 years. With the advent of covetousness and ill will, the lifespan declined to 1,000 years.

When people began to entertain wrong views, their lifespan decreased to 500 years.

Then three things became rampant: incest, unnatural greed [or perhaps perverse lust], and homosexuality [Note 2]. As a result, the human lifespan decreased to 250 years and 200 years.

Then there was a lack of filial duty [honoring] towards parents, failure to fulfill duties towards spiritual seekers (wandering recluses and brahmin priests), and failure to respect community leaders [elders, all of which is explained in the Sigalovada Sutra or Lay-Buddhist's Code of Ethics].

And the lifespan decreased to 100 years. This was the human life span at the time of the historical Buddha (Gotama or Gautama, also known as Shakyamuni, the "Sage of Shakya Clan").

Whenever the lifespan is shorter than 100 years, there can be no Buddha in the world [Note 3]. [Time is cyclical, so although the average lifespan decreases, it eventually increases again.]

The Buddha explained that unethical and immoral behavior will continue to increase, and the human lifespan will continue to decrease until it is only 10 years! At that time, girls will be married at five years of age.

People who have no respect for their parents, spiritual seekers, or elders, and will not honor and praise them. Promiscuity will be so common that human beings will be more like animals.

Animosity, ill will, and hatred will be so strong that people will want to kill members of their own family.

There will be a seven-day war that results in a great slaughter. Some people will hide for those seven days. Afterwards, they will rejoice to see those who have survived. They will determine to stop killing. And their lifespans will increase to 20 years.

Seeing this, they will undertake to keep other ethical and moral precepts, and gradually the human lifespan will increase again.

[1] DN III 58-79, translated in DB III 59-76 and TS 347-370. Miss Horner seems to overlook this when she says that there is no mention in the Pali Canon or Commentaries that Buddha Gotama made a declaration of future buddhahood for Maitreya (CB xvi).
[2] See also GS I 142, where the Buddha says that these three things were already prevalent in his day.
[3] See CSM 391.

• Sacred Sites: Places of Peace and Power (Photos)

BE AN ISLAND From the best-selling author of Being Nobody, Going Nowhere, Ayya Khema's latest offering guides us along the path of Buddhist meditation with direct and practical advice, giving us contemplative tools to develop a healthy sense of personal being. Be an Island is at once an introduction to the teachings of Buddhism and a rich continuation of Ayya Khema's personal vision of Buddhist practice. "This book offers guidance along the path of Buddhist meditation with direct and practical advice. Ayya Khema's words are clear and straightforward, conveying depth and insight" (The Beacon). "Real warmth of heart pervades the Ayya's expositions which in their directness and fresh immediacy also touch the heart of the interested reader" (The Middle Way: Journal of the Buddhist Society).

Cambodia says Khmer Rouge trial should preserve peace
Cambodia's ruling party called for a UN-backed war crimes court to safeguard "hard-won peace" in its trial of top Khmer Rouge leaders, as it marked the 32nd anniversary of that regime's ouster. "The Cambodian People's Party [CCP] supports the trial... for crimes committed by the most senior leaders" of the Khmer Rouge, CPP)president Chea Sim told a crowd of thousands of supporters. He appealed for continued international support "so that the trial process will be successfully completed on the basis of safeguarding all national achievements, especially Cambodia's hard-won peace and stability."

Dreams that Predict the Future (Jataka 77)

Maitreya ("friend") is the buddha-to-come. But he will not appear until the Dharma has disappeared (when no one is left practicing it) and the ordinary human lifespan has increased to thousands of years (Candletree/Flickr).

Things to Come
Jataka Tales (buddhanet.net)

King Brahmadatta knelt down before the holy man then sat next to him. He asked, "Your reverence, can you tell me the meanings of my 16 prophetic dreams?"

"Of course I can," said the forest monk. "Tell them to me, beginning with the first eight."

The king replied, "These were the first eight dreams:

"Roaring bulls with no fight, midget trees bearing fruit, cows sucking milk from calves, calves pulling carts with bulls trailing behind, a horse eating with two mouths, a jackal urinating in a golden bowl [pictured above], a she-jackal eating a rope maker's rope, one overflowing pot with all the rest empty."

"Tell me more about your first dream," said the monk.

"Your reverence, I saw four pure black bulls who came from the four directions to fight in the palace courtyard. People came from miles around to see the bulls fight. But they only pretended to fight, roared at each other, and went back where they came from."

"O king," said the holy man, "this dream tells of things that will not happen in your lifetime or in mine. In the far-off future, kings will be unwholesome and stingy. The people too will be unwholesome. Goodness will be decreasing while evil increases. The seasons will be out of whack, with sunstroke on winter days and snow storms on summer days.

"The skies will be dry, with poor clouds and little water. Harvests will be small and people will starve. Then dark clouds will come from the four directions, but even after much thunder and lightning, they will depart without letting rain fall -- just like the roaring bulls who leave without fighting. More>>

• "The Sixteen Dreams" (Mahasupina Jataka, No. 77)
  One morning, when his brahmin ministers went to the palace to pay their respects to Pasenadi, the king of Kosala and to see how he had slept, they found him lying in terror, unable to get out bed. “How could I sleep?” exclaimed the king. “Just before daybreak I dreamed 16 incredible dreams, and I have been lying here terrified ever since!
• "The Sixteen Dreams" and Burma: There is a dramatic sequence of paintings hanging in pagoda walkways and monasteries throughout Burma. The story on which these paintings are based is Buddhist but not exclusively Burmese. When one understands the meaning, it becomes obvious why the paintings have become so popular in Burma.

Loving Kindness (Mettā)

Metteyya Buddha, whose name literally means mettā (mitta) "friend" (Sanskrit, maitrī, Maitreya), Thiksey Gompa, Leh, Ladakh, India (Photo: Asmita).

The Practice of Mettā-Bhāvanā
Vipassana Research Institute*

The practice of loving kindness meditation (mettā-bhāvanā) is the closing part of the technique of Vipassana [Insight] meditation. We practice mettā by radiating loving kindness and goodwill towards all beings, deliberately charging the atmosphere around us with the calming, positive vibrations of pure and compassionate love.

The Buddha gave instructions to develop mettā so as to live more peaceful and harmonious lives and to help others to do so as well. The practice of mettā gives us a way to share with all others the peace and harmony that we are developing.

The commentaries state that mettā is the quality that inclines one to a friendly disposition —Mijjati siniyhatī’ti mettā. It is a sincere wish for the good and welfare of all, devoid of ill will. Non-aversion is mettā — adoso’ti mettā. The chief characteristic of mettā is a benevolent attitude. It culminates in the identification of oneself with all beings — a recognition of the fellowship of all life.

Mettā is not a prayer nor is it the hope that an outside agency will help. On the contrary, it is a dynamic process producing a supportive atmosphere where others can act to help themselves. Mettā can be directed towards all beings or towards a particular person. We must eliminate egotism and open our minds to practice mettā.

Intellectually, it is easy enough but it is far harder to develop such an attitude in oneself. To do so, some practice is needed, and so, we have the technique of mettā-meditation, the systematic cultivation of goodwill towards others. To be really effective, though, mettā-meditation must be practiced along with Vipassana meditation. So long as negativity such as aversion dominates the mind, it is futile to formulate conscious thoughts of goodwill, and doing so becomes a ritual devoid of inner meaning.

However, when negativity is removed by the practice of Vipassana, goodwill naturally wells up in the mind. And emerging from the prison of self-obsession, we begin to concern ourselves with the welfare of others. For this reason, the technique of mettā-meditation is introduced only at the end of a Vipassana course, after the participants have passed through the process of purification. At such a time, meditators often feel a deep wish for the well-being of others, making their practice of mettā truly effective. Though limited time is devoted to it in a course, mettā may be regarded as the culmination of the practice of Vipassana.

Nirvana can be experienced only by those whose minds are filled with loving kindness and compassion for all beings. Simply wishing for this state is not enough; we must purify our minds to attain it.

By the practice of Vipassana, we become aware that the underlying reality of the world and of ourselves consists of arising and passing away every moment. We realize that the process of change continues without our control and regardless of our wishes. Gradually, we understand that any attachment to what is ephemeral and insubstantial produces suffering for us. We learn to be detached and to keep the balance of our minds in the face of any experience. Then we begin to experience what real happiness is: neither the satisfaction of craving nor the forestalling of fears but rather liberation from the cycles of craving and fear. As inner serenity develops, we clearly see how others are enmeshed in suffering, and naturally this wish arises,

“May they find what we have found: the way out of misery, the path of peace.”

This is the proper volition for the practice of mettā-meditation. In order to practice mettā, the mind must be calm, balanced, and free from negativity. This is the type of mind developed by the practice of Vipassana. A meditator knows by experience how anger, antipathy, or ill will destroys peace and frustrates any efforts to help others. Only when hatred is removed and equanimity is developed can we be happy and wish happiness for others.

The words “May all beings be happy” have great force only when uttered from a pure mind. Backed by this purity, they will certainly be effective in fostering the happiness of others.

We must, therefore, examine ourselves before practicing mettā-meditation to check whether we are really capable of practicing mettā. If we find even a tinge of hatred or aversion in our minds, we should refrain at that time and relax or lie down until the impurity or unpleasantness goes away.

However, if the mind and body are filled with serenity and well-being, it is natural and appropriate to share this happiness with others: “May you be happy, may you be liberated from the defilements that are the causes of suffering. May all beings be peaceful! May all beings be happy! May all beings come out of their misery!”

In Vipassana, no verbalization, visualization, or imagination is done. But while practicing mettā-meditation, all of these are encouraged.

We can use our imagination especially with those who are near and dear. We can visualize their faces and send mettā: “May you be happy, may you be happy.” As we experience the vibrations, which are characteristic of arising and passing, we can say to ourselves, “These vibrations are vibrations of mettā, of love, of compassion.” When one is alone, one can even verbalize, “May all be happy, may all be happy.” When we are in a group, we can recite mentally to ourselves, “May all be happy, may all be peaceful, may all come out of misery.” This loving attitude enables us to deal far more skillfully with the vicissitudes of life.

Suppose, for example, one encounters a person who is acting out of deliberate ill will to harm others. The common response — to react with fear and hatred — is self-centeredness, which does nothing to improve the situation and, in fact, magnifies the negativity. It would be far more helpful to remain calm and balanced, with a feeling of goodwill for the person who is acting wrongly. This must not be merely an intellectual stance, a veneer over unresolved negativity. Mettā works only when it overflows spontaneously from a purified mind.

The serenity gained in Vipassana meditation naturally gives rise to feelings of mettā, and throughout the day, this will continue to affect us and our environment in a positive way. Thus, Vipassana ultimately has a dual function — to bring us happiness by purifying our minds, and to help us to foster the happiness of others by preparing us to practice mettā.

What is the purpose of freeing ourselves of negativity and egotism unless we share these benefits with others? In a retreat, we cut ourselves off from the world temporarily in order to return and share with others what we gained in solitude. These two aspects of the practice of Vipassana are inseparable.

In these times of violent unrest and widespread suffering, the need for such a practice as mettā-meditation is clear. If peace and harmony are to reign throughout the world, they must first be established in the minds of all the inhabitants of the world.

May all beings be happy!

--

*California Vipassana Newsletter (August 2008 Issue 22)
Vipassana Meditation as Taught by S. N. Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin

Dhamma Mahavana - Dhamma Vaddhana - Dhamma Manda