The Buddha's discourse on loving-kindness, chanted as a blessing and a protection.
Tagged: Loving-Kindness Prayer Scripture Buddhist
Historical Context
The Metta Sutta (Sutta Nipata 1.8), the "Discourse on Loving-Kindness," teaches the cultivation of boundless goodwill toward all beings, "as a mother protects with her life her child, her only child." Tradition tells that the Buddha gave it to a group of monks frightened by spirits in a forest, and in Theravada countries it became one of the paritta, the protective discourses chanted for blessing and safety. The related Ratana Sutta, the "Jewel Discourse," is a second such protective text, recited for the welfare of a whole community.
Use and Practice
The Metta Sutta is chanted in Pali at morning and evening services, at blessing ceremonies, and before meditation on loving-kindness. Its verses are among the most commonly memorized passages in Theravada Buddhism.
References
- Access to Insight — Metta Sutta (Sutta Nipata 1.8) Free / open access
Related Prayers and Creeds
- Refuge Prayer (Tisarana) — The formula of going for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha — the act that makes a person a Buddhist.
- Five Precepts (Pancasila) — Five voluntary training rules — against killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, and intoxicants — undertaken by lay Buddhists.
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