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SUTTA STUDIES - Mettā Sutta analysis

Verse 3 = Sn 145

Analysis - VERSE 3

na ca khuddam samācare kiñci, yena viññū pare upavadeyyum

This sentence, best taken as a whole, sums up the teaching on virtue (sīla) by making a general statement about behaving properly. After specifying a number of virtues in the first and second stanza which demonstrate skill in what is good and are conducive to attaining the highest state, this phrase is meant as a “catch-all” teaching that gives the listener a guideline to determine what other behaviors might be helpful. And the guideline is very broad indeed. Any behavior (samācare) whatsoever (kiñci)—even if it is trifling (khuddam)—that other (pare) wise ones (viññū) might criticize or condemn (upavadeyyum), should simply not (na) be done. It is probably understood that the wise ones in question would be elders in the dharma, but it is not necessary that they be awakened beings, or ordained monastics, or in a formal relationship of spiritual guidance. Since wisdom, in Buddhist thought, is assumed to rest upon a foundation of virtue, anyone who has wisdom will already be skilled in morality.

sukkhino

Based on the general word for pleasure or happiness, sukkha (the opposite of dukkha), this word is to be taken along with the verb at the end of the line so formulate the intention: “May they be happy.” Sukkha is thus being used as an adjective to describe the desired qualities of all beings, so we might say somewhat more literally: “May they be happy ones.” The word happy is to be understood in a broad manner. It is not the mood of elation or mirth we would often refer to in English, but rather a deep condition of well being, ease, and contentment. This phrase expresses an attitude of bestowing blessings on all beings, of wishing them well, of deeply wanting their welfare.

khemino

Closely aligned with the notion of well being is the idea of safety or security. One way of expressing the intention for the welfare of all beings is to also enjoin that they be protected from harm. This particular word has an interesting etymology, for the word khema means a field or pasture. The image that comes to mind is of a field that is surrounded by a wall or fence, thus keeping the livestock safe from predators. The idea is closely aligned with the core Buddhist concept of refuge, a place where one is free of danger, where one can find relief from the onslaughts of contingent life, and where one’s deeper nature can safely unfold. This word also joins up with the verb (hontu) at the end of the line, yielding the phrase “May they be safe,” or “May they be ones who are free from danger.” 

hontu

The significant shift of gears that takes place in the middle of this stanza is demonstrated by the use of this imperative verb form. Whereas the first two and a half stanzas are relating what one should do in order to attain certain results or exemplify certain qualities, the section of the poem that begins here uses the kind of direct speech a person would use as they formulated and expressed an intention. In the case of the word hontu, which is a form of the verb “to be,” the form is translated as “May they be…” The generation of this intention is central to the practice of loving kindness meditation (mettā bhāvanā), where it plays the role of shaping the quality of the mind in the present moment. Rather than thinking about something, or remembering or planning, one engages in this very moment the quality of mind that wishes well to others. Hence we are moving from general virtue to specific meditation, to the deliberate cultivation of certain mind moments and the intentional holding of a particular object in mind. Here the object of the mind is the thought of all beings, while the quality of mind cultivated in regard to this object is the intention or wish that all beings be happy and secure.

sabbe sattā

It is very important to the practice of loving kindness meditation that the kindness extend to all beings indiscriminantly. It is a practice of universal, unconditional love. The word sabbe means “all” or “every,” and the word translated as “beings” comes straight from the verb “to be” (sat) and is thus a good match. As we will see in the next verse, a being is construed broadly as a “breathing being,” a threshold used to distinguish living creatures from inanimate objects and from plants. More technically a being is defined as one born from a womb (mammals), an egg (reptiles, fish and birds), moisture (insects and other very small organisms) and those born spontaneously (i.e. the devas and other non-human beings who arise in higher worlds).

bhavantu sukhitattā

This phrase can cause some mischief because it uses the word for self (atta). But it is used here simply as a reflexive noun (referring back onto the subject) rather than as a technical word for soul (atman in Sanskrit). The imperative verb bhavantu is just another form of the verb hontu used above, which can thus be taken as “May they be…!” As one can see, almost every translator has taken a different approach to this phrase, some reading “heart” for atta, others “mind,” and still others seeing it as a more general reference to “inner” or “within.” In any case the intention of the phrase is clear as the formulation of an intention for others to be happy, content, wholesome, or joyful, in an essential rather than a superficial sense.

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