The Jhana discussion made this question arise as I do try to make a effort to broadcast a metta good-will wish as part of my practise.
Does Metta become a Nimitta of some sort?
and what does that look like?
Do you mean nimitta as a cause or a mental object that takes a meditator into an absorption?
Or do you mean nimitta as in a specific type of mental image (e.g. a light) that is used to enter absorption?
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Yes.
Bhante Sujato teaches on the metta nimitta.
See the audio recording here: 2022 Metta Retreat in Sydney led by Bhante Sujato
The way he teaches itâs not about âblasting outâ the metta. Itâs about developing it in your heart (so that it becomes a nimitta).
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I think Iâve heard Ajahn Brahm describing nimittas experienced during metta meditation as golden or yellow coloured lights. But I do believe that the appearance of nimittas (e.g. how they look like) can vary between individuals and between sessions.
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According to the Visuddhimagga, the sign of metta meditation is attained simultaneously with the âbreaking down of the barriers.â
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I was thinking that in generating metta it may become an object of meditaion. I have had no teaching on this.
Yes 
metta can become an object of meditation. It can, AFAIK, give rise to great bliss that acts as a nimitta (meaning an object or cause that can take you out of the five senses).
It does seem to me that it can also give rise to nimittas that are about the mind becoming unbounded. That means something like, instead of very concentrated bliss and energy appearing as a light/form in the mind, the bliss is in the feeling of the mind not having any limits and not being confined or bounded by anything.
But this does not mean the mind pervading the 3D space of the five senses of this world. The five senses are like a virtual reality with harsh, ugly graphics and you wouldnât want to be anywhere near them 
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I want to thank all of you who have responded to my question. Both answers and pertinent reference. V. p 299- 300. It lay at the center of what I am doing now.
Happy New Year
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This is the book by Ajahn Chatchai, Aj Sujatoâs metta meditation teacher: A flower called mettÄ
He didnât elaborate the later stages as itâs more important to cultivate the foundation and metta for the first zone (metta to oneself) until these are solid, then you can apply the same steps for the later zones (metta for others).
He emphasises many times during his talks (in Thailand) that metta is like air, like water, you can add metta in any meditation you like if you donât want to just do metta. For instance, you could watch the breath with love and wish happiness to the breath, etc. The nimitta that comes from metta + breath will be beautiful.
This idea is similar to what Ajahn Brahmâs been teaching: Kindfulness. Being mindful with kindness.
In fact, I heard this teaching of kindfulness from Ajahn Chatchai just before I heard from Ajahn Brahm. When I asked Ajahn Brahm about this surprising similarity between his teaching and Ajahn Chatchaiâs (both living in different continents and never meeting each other), Ajahn Brahm said that right teaching, no matter from whom it is, will be the same (or something along that line).
So, wish you all the very best for having such a beautiful intention to practice one the most important aspect of the dhamma.
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âAjahn Chatchai, Aj Sujatoâs metta meditation teacher.â
Thank you for this book. It is fine with me if it is a primer. I grow weary of shaggy dog debates that go on and on discussing things so far away they all look unreal to me.
Have a good new year. 
Is Ajahn Chatchai and Ajahn Chah the same person?
I love something basic as I consider myself a beginner. Something like âDependent Originationâ and suchlike is too far away from me, too. 
This book tells us a basic way to cultivate metta. His simile comparing cultivating metta to growing a tree is easy for me to understand.
No. Ajahn Chah was and still is very famous, and was a teacher of many famous western monks we know today.
Ajahn Chatchai is a small monk with very few disciples. He was well-known 30 years ago (I think) because of his bio, but I think he didnât want to focus on that, preferring to teach metta and metta meditation. So, the (fan club) crowd disappeared.
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I had come to understand that one has to overcome the five hindrances to make way for the arising of the four meditative absorptions one after the other.
But now I see that I have to overcome resentment and see all of those who I love, am neutral towards and those I hate in equalness - before I can naturally present the quality of meta.
Ah, I see. Thatâs why PATIENCE is touted as a Buddhist qualityâŚ
This is a general comment on the matter. I have recently read about what Buddha has said in the suttas about radiating kindness together with the meditation process. What makes me perplexed when I reflect on this together with the teachings on metta meditation nowadays, is that in those suttas, this metta radiation is being enforced after the jhanas (if I have understood what I read correctly). If you follow this ideation of the suttas, Iâm not sure if you would be able to present the quality of metta fully without first going through the jhanas.
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It would be purified at nimitta or jhÄna stage (by abandoning the 5 hinderances), but you could develop metta as a way leading into jhÄna and abandoning hinderances too.
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Indeed! The very beginning of the Visuddhimaggaâs section on the brahmaviharas states that one should reflect on the dangers of hatred and the benefits of patience.
This reflection is in line with the Buddhaâs praise of even the thought of wholesome dhammas, let alone implementing them via body and speech.
Cunda, I say that even giving rise to the thought of skillful qualities is very helpful, let alone following that path in body and speech.
-MN 7
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