How to arise metta feeling?

Q & A
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Overcome the 5 hindrances, get pamojja, either spread pamojja in all directions or develop it into piti or sukha and spread that in all directions.

Reverends, the ascetic Gotama teaches his disciples like this: ‘Come, mendicants, give up these five hindrances, corruptions of the heart that weaken wisdom, and meditate spreading a heart full of love to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, spread a heart full of love to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. Meditate spreading a heart full of compassion to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, spread a heart full of compassion to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. Meditate spreading a heart full of rejoicing to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, spread a heart full of rejoicing to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. Meditate spreading a heart full of equanimity to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, they spread a heart full of equanimity to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will.’

https://suttacentral.net/sn46.54/en/sujato?layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin

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Metta in its highest expression is a view that sees beings in their ultimate form, that is subject to suffering. This is contrasted with the conventional and deluded view of everyday life. As such it arises through insight when you do things which are more dramatic than normal, provided the mind is properly directed:

“I tell you, monks, awareness-release through good will has the beautiful as its excellence”—Samyutta Nikaya 46.54

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The Canadian monk Ajahn Sona put together a nice set of talks on metta practice. First part:

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Metta on its own, has nothing to do with the path. Just like jhana, it’s only when it is combined with Ariyan right view that it’s used for discernment.

Non-ariyan metta:

Firstly, a person meditates spreading a heart full of love to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, they spread a heart full of love to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. They enjoy this and like it and find it satisfying. If they abide in that, are committed to it, and meditate on it often without losing it, when they die they’re reborn in the company of the gods of Brahmā’s Host. The lifespan of the gods of Brahma’s Host is one eon. An ordinary person stays there until the lifespan of those gods is spent, then they go to hell or the animal realm or the ghost realm. But a disciple of the Buddha stays there until the lifespan of those gods is spent, then they’re extinguished in that very life. This is the difference between an educated noble disciple and an uneducated ordinary person, that is, when there is a place of rebirth.

  • AN 4.125

Metta with Ariyan right view:

Firstly, a person meditates spreading a heart full of love to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, they spread a heart full of love to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. They contemplate the phenomena there—included in form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness—as impermanent, as suffering, as diseased, as a boil, as a dart, as misery, as an affliction, as alien, as falling apart, as empty, as not-self. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in the company of the gods of the pure abodes. This rebirth is not shared with ordinary people.

  • AN 4.126
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The Path to Peace: A Buddhist Guide to Cultivating Loving-Kindness
by Ayya Khema

The Venerable Ayya Khema was beloved for her crystal-clear presentation, the extremely practical guidance she always gave, and the open-hearted quality of her teachings. In The Path to Peace, she presents a complete course in the active and intentional process to cultivate peace through metta, unconditional love. Peace is the sum of many parts, namely the fifteen wholesome qualities the Buddha himself noted in the Metta Sutta, including usefulness, mildness, humility, contentment, receptivity, and others. Ayya Khema expertly guides us through each individual condition, along with ten guided visualization meditation practices, using her trademark humor and personal narrative to help each reader shape their own path to self-transformation.

PAGES: 176
ISBN: 9781611809503

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Partly correct. Metta is a component of the second link of the noble eightfold path (right thought), and with right view makes an essential contribution to eliminating the three unwholesome roots. It opposes the emotional defilement of anger.

"These two qualities have a share in clear knowing. Which two? Tranquillity (samatha) & insight (vipassana).

"When tranquillity is developed, what purpose does it serve? The mind is developed. And when the mind is developed, what purpose does it serve? Passion is abandoned.

“When insight is developed, what purpose does it serve? Discernment is developed. And when discernment is developed, what purpose does it serve? Ignorance is abandoned.”—Anguttara Nikaya 2.30

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Hi , could you clarify , are you saying every buddhists that follows N8FP do practice mettabhavana or 4BV ?

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Not as an isolated practice, but in the sense that the Buddha-to-be investigated & overcame sensuality, ill-will, and harmfulness to proceed to awakening, and any other serious practitioner must follow in his footsteps. Majhima Nikaya 19 explains how he did that, he had a reason for developing non-ill will:

"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with ill will arose in me. I discerned that ‘Thinking imbued with ill will has arisen in me; and that leads to my own affliction or to the affliction of others or to the affliction of both. It obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding.’

"As I noticed that it leads to my own affliction, it subsided. As I noticed that it leads to the affliction of others… to the affliction of both… it obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding, it subsided. Whenever thinking imbued with ill will had arisen, I simply abandoned it, dispelled it, wiped it out of existence.
[…]
“Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking & pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness… If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with non-ill will, abandoning thinking imbued with ill will, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with non-ill will.”

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I would like to take an example of empty glass where glass is empty of sensuality , ill-will & harmfulness , then that empty glass hasnt yet fill with metta or other three components of 4BV , so , isnt that one has to practice 4BV in order to fulfill the second component of N8FP if the right thought is metta , karuna & mudita ?

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Since metta is the second of the four Brahmaviharas, here’s a discussion that evolves into some posts that might shed more light on your question:

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thanks all for sharing valuable resources

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Hi! I would like to share this video by Bhante Vimalaramsi about how to practice Metta meditation :man_in_lotus_position: :blush::pray:t3: Hope you enjoy it.

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The Pali prefix a- can convey a reversative (or contrary) meaning as well as a negative and a privative one.

And so in the case of avyāpāda, if the prefix is taken in its negative sense we get “not-malice” or “non-malice”. In its privative sense we get “freedom-from-malice” or “absence-of-malice”. In its reversative sense we get “opposite-of-malice”, which is mettā.

Similarly with avihiṃsā …

Negative: non-cruelty.
Privative: absence-of-cruelty.
Reversative: opposite-of-cruelty, which is karuṇā.

Your empty glass simile assumes the privative sense to be the correct and only way to construe the words avyāpāda and avihiṃsā. The Pali commentators, however, while treating all three as acceptable, seem to especially favour the reversative sense.

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The practice of contemplation involves the selection of a theme and persisting with it. Practitioners have a certain aspect of dhamma they are currently interested in, and they pursue that theme of contemplation daily.

"“But what quality is most helpful for exertion? We ask Master Gotama about the quality most helpful for exertion.”

“Contemplating is most helpful for exertion, Bharadvaja. If one didn’t contemplate, one wouldn’t make an exertion. Because one contemplates, one makes an exertion. Therefore, contemplating is most helpful for exertion.”
[…]
“Hearing the Dhamma, he remembers it. Remembering it, he penetrates the meaning of those dhammas. Penetrating the meaning, he comes to an agreement through pondering those dhammas. There being an agreement through pondering those dhammas, desire arises. With the arising of desire, he becomes willing. Willing, he contemplates (lit: “weighs,” “compares”). Contemplating, he makes an exertion.”—Majhima Nikaya 95

This sutta shows how the removal of ill will results in a mind of good will. Once ill will is removed, spatial radiation of the mind is achieved:

Having abandoned ill will & anger, he becomes one with a mind of no ill will.

"That disciple of the noble ones, headman — thus devoid of covetousness, devoid of ill will, unbewildered, alert, mindful — keeps pervading the first direction [the east] with an awareness imbued with good will, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth.

" when the awareness-release through good will is thus developed, thus pursued, any deed done to a limited extent no longer remains there, no longer stays there."—Samyutta Nikaya 42.8

The factors for fulfilling right thought are renunciation, non-ill will, and non-harmfulness. These operate with right view to oppose the three unwholesome roots, right view and right thought together comprising the wisdom group in sila/samadhi/panna. Renunciation opposes the emotive defilement of greed, and non-ill will and non-harmfulness that of hatred.

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And the factors for fulfilling those is Yoniso Manasikara, so without truly understanding what that means, one could never overcome the 5 hindrances and achieve proper ariyan (noble) “metta”. Personally I think verbal affirmations like “may all beings be happy” doesn’t have much to do with yoniso manasikara. I think understanding dependent origination is required for achieving yoniso manasikara.

I say, bhikkhus, that ignorance has a nutriment; it is not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for ignorance? It should be said: the five hindrances. The five hindrances, too, I say, have a nutriment; they are not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for the five hindrances? It should be said: the three kinds of misconduct. The three kinds of misconduct, too, I say, have a nutriment; they are not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for the three kinds of misconduct? It should be said: non-restraint of the sense faculties. Non-restraint of the sense faculties, too, I say, has a nutriment; it is not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for non-restraint of the sense faculties? It should be said: lack of mindfulness and clear comprehension. Lack of mindfulness and clear comprehension, too, I say, has a nutriment; it is not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for lack of mindfulness and clear comprehension? It should be said: careless attention. Careless attention, too, I say, has a nutriment; it is not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for careless attention? It should be said: lack of faith. Lack of faith, too, I say, has a nutriment; it is not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for lack of faith? It should be said: not hearing the good Dhamma. Not hearing the good Dhamma, too, I say, has a nutriment; it is not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for not hearing the good Dhamma? It should be said: not associating with good persons.

  • AN 10.61

The root here is “hearing the true dhamma”, and what is the core dhamma? dependent origination (which covers 4NT) and dependently originated phenomena (which covers anicca, dukkha, anatta).

Therefore in my opinion yoniso manasikara = attention on 3 poisons (mind states) and arising/ceasing of 5 aggregates → no-self → dispassion → vossaga (letting go) → overcoming 5 hindrances → pamojja → piti & sukha → ariyan metta

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Thanks bhante for the pali lesson .
In reality , one cant accept all three , either non cruelty or absence but not the opposite , the reversative appear inappropriate since Buddha didnt instruct it per right thought per N8FP . By abandoning ill will , one still needs to develop metta . Otherwise , no metta could arise in the mind . Developing metta doesnt mean one is able to eliminate ill will all together or at the root but merely suppressing it .

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Here are two “weird tricks” that have worked for me:

  1. Think about someone, anyone, you feel really deserves to be happy. Like, if anyone in the world deserves happiness, it’s them. What does that feel like?

  2. Think about what it feels like to have unpleasant experiences and what it feels like to have pleasant experiences. Think about the fact that it feels like that for other people too. Wouldn’t it just be better if people felt pleasant things? After all, pain feels awful, but pleasure feels really nice! Why not?

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Thanks for sharing, I had didn’t came across to this subtle, but important point before.

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on additional comment that might be relevant to practice: metta comes within the four foundations of mindfulness - it’s not a feeling, but an intentional mind state. it’s mental action, creating kamma, that is, mindfulness of mind, not mindfulness of feeling.

that being the case, the feeling arising with metta is a by product - it’s joy and happiness that arise, but those aren’t the goal of metta. rather, it’s developing a mind of loving kindness, based on intentional thought.

this is why it requires the “may all beings be happy” initially - it’s verbal fabrication in the initial stages at least, and it requires practice. i believe that the buddha instructs us to later drop the initial and sustained thinking about the theme, but it requires this sustained thinking initially, and then later, mindfulness of the state of mind that arises.

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A great introduction