Dear Henntsp,

Op 23-dec-2007, om 19:23 heeft henntsp het volgende geschreven:

> Metta is commonly translated as love,loving kindness etc.
>
> Does anyone know it's literal translation into English?
>
> Do you know the root meaning of Metta? e.g. is it two words? met and
> ta? Does it have a compareable word in Sanskrit?
>
> If anyone is aware of this I would greatly appreciate your help.

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N: Mettaa: mitta (Sskr mitra) is friend. Derived from the root mid,
to love. It can be translated as amity, friendliness.
No matter what word one uses, it is important to know that it is
kusala, unselfish love, different from selfish affection which is
attachment and thus akusala.
One treats others as friends, no matter they behave in an unpleasant
way or use harsh speech.
Mettaa accompanies kusala citta and others cannot change the citta
that is accompanied by mettaa.
One needs to have a foundation knowledge of what is kusala and what
akusala and when they arise, otherwise one misleads oneself and takes
for mettaa what is attachment. Attachment is the near enemy of mettaa.
Nina.

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