The Discourse on Friendliness Meditation (SNP1.8)

What should be done by one skilful in good, who has comprehended the state of peace:
he ought to be able, straight, and upright, easy to speak to, meek, without conceit,

satisfied with little, easy to support, free from duties, and light in living,
with faculties at peace, prudent, not forward, and greedless among the families,

he should not do the slightest thing whereby others who are wise might find fault with him.
“May all beings be happy and secure, may all beings in their hearts be happy!

Whatsoever breathing beings there are—trembling, firm, or any other beings,
whether they be long or great, of middle size, short, tiny, or of compact body,

those who are seen, and those who are unseen, those who live far away, those who are near,
those who are born, and those who still seek birth—may all beings in their hearts be happy!”

No one should cheat another, nor should he despise anyone wherever they be,
he should not long for suffering for another because of anger or resentment.

In the same way as a mother would protect her son, her only son, with her life,
so toward all beings he should develop the measureless thought of friendliness.

Towards the whole wide world he should develop the measureless thought of friendliness,
above, below, and across the middle, without barriers, hate, or enemy.

Standing, walking, sitting, lying, for as long as he is without torpor,
he should be resolved on this mindfulness, for this, they say here, is the true spiritual life.

Without going back to wrong views, virtuous, and endowed with true insight,
having removed all greed for sense pleasures, he will never come to lie in a womb again.

The Discourse on Friendliness Meditation is Finished

The Text of the Short Readings is Finished

Translated by Bhikkhu Ānandajoti.

The text and translation, together with detailed notes and discussions, may be found in multiple formats on the translator’s website, Ancient Buddhist Texts.

Used by kind permission of Bhikkhu Ānandajoti.

The original translation was released under the following licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.