Hi everyone


I have been reading over this forum for some time but
never had the chance to compose my intro, to this nice
place in the net.
In brief: my name is Jaime (James) 20 years old, live
in Mexico, Dhammist (Taoist) for 4+ years, Buddhist
for 2+, inclined to learn pali (1.5+ years) to read
the Buddhist Tipitaka.
I was reading this discussion about the word metta,
its translations and meaning.
Unconditional Love (or loving kindness) is, I think, a
good English translation of metta, as it communicates
the all encompassing quality of this mental state,
that is in essence unconditional, or given with no
condition whatsoever to each and every being, even as
it is delimited to the temporal gap in wich it is
practiced, nevertheless no condition is required in a
being to receive it.
Keeping concordance, the brahmaviharas are all
appamaanna, as Dimitry pointed out, but I differ in
the interpretation, as pamaanna (1) means measure,
size, amount, so appamaa.na turns to be im mesurable,
un sizeable, un amountable, exactly what metta is, in
a twofold way.
The size or delimitation of the cosmos, loka, is
deliberately not described by the Buddha. He neither
sided with finite nor with infinite, in conclusion no
delimitated size or measure is aplied to the cosmos,
rendering it to un sizeable, un measurable; so if a
thought of goodwill is spreaded to each and every
being in the whole cosmos, in this way it has
transcended measure( encompassing something beyond
measure).
Secondly, the goodwill radiated in metta, as it is
brought to perfection, is also un measurable, for it
is radiated freely, without obstacles like hate,
ill-will and envy, destined to wish the highest bliss
and happiness to each being, the sort of health and
security that is boundless, unending and supreme; in
short the goodwill radiated to each being is simply
immeasurable.

Therefore, the immeasurableness of the unconditional
loving-kindness is squarefold, for this I have heard
(read) :

If with uncorrupted mind you feel good will for even
one being, you become skilled from that. But a Noble
One produces a mind of sympathy for all beings, an
abundance of merit.
(taken from access to insight, itivuttaka-27)

In conclusion, in my personal opinion , the word metta
is a very humble ( but difficult to translate) word
for such a wonderful meaning, that must be
experienced, and it is only understood then; so the
words we use in our languages should by only
provisional bridges, trying to reflect the meaning in
the most skillful and useful way.


Metta

James



1 Pamanna (p. 416) (f.) [abstr. fr. pamana, for
*pamanya, grd. form. of pa+ma for the usual pameyya]
only neg. ap° immeasurableness Vbh 272 sq. (catasso
appamannayo, viz. metta, karuna, mudita, upekha). See
<XREF="APPAMANNA."appamanna.



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