Deeper Dive: Metta (Lovingkindness)

Today I’m introducing our next Deeper Dive theme of Metta (or lovingkindness), so this is a preview of the MTM theme for March. Like Equanimity, Metta is one of the heart-based wisdom qualities taught within the Buddhist Mindfulness tradition and also in the Yoga tradition.

Episode Details:

Metta (or Maitri, in Sanskrit) is usually translated as “lovingkindness,” but you can also think of it as friendliness, goodwill, or benevolence. It’s an attitude of mind that we can cultivate as our baseline way of responding to ourselves and to the world.

In this episode, I talk about how Metta goes against the grain of much of our cultural conditioning, and challenges the biased ways we see things (the world, other people, ourselves). The teachings are very clear that all beings are intrinsically worthy of this benevolence, and it’s not something we need to earn.

As an antidote to anger and ill-will, Metta asks us to open our hearts to people we don’t understand, or who we don’t necessarily consider to be “good.” It’s also an antidote to fear, as you’ll hear in one of my favorite traditional Buddhist stories, that describes how the Buddha and his monks dealt with hostile spirits they met in the forest.

Lastly, I talk about different approaches to practicing Metta, including the repetition of Metta phrases, Metta for the body, energetically radiating Metta, and incorporating kindness as a guiding principle in your yoga or mindful movement practice.

Resources & Links from this episode:

Since this is our Deeper Dive theme for March, there is a free 3-page worksheet that you can download and use to take a closer look at the topic of Metta! I will be sending the worksheet out with my email newsletter during the first week of March…you can sign up to receive it here.

P.S. If you missed the newsletter because you’re listening to this later, you can still get the worksheet. All you need to do is email me at mail@movedtomeditate.com and ask. 🙂

• Insight Meditation Teacher Sharon Salzberg is a great resource for Metta practice and teachings. You can find guided meditations with her online, as well as her book Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness.
• If you’d like to read the full Metta Sutta (from the Buddhist tradition), you can check it out on Access to Insight.

Also, as mentioned at the beginning of the episode, I’m teaching a FREE Mindfulness 101 Workshop online on February 26th (2022). Get the details and sign up at movedtomeditate.yoga/events.

To connect further with me (Addie), check out my main website movedtomeditate.yoga

or the Moved To Meditate Class Library at movedtomeditate.com

Lastly, I’m on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitten, Mustache).