Sorry to bug you, but what sutta says Ubekkha is important to enlightenment?
Imagine me playing a role of a devil advocate (a devil who sees no use of metta in the practice) 
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SN 46.5 (Awakening= Enlightenment)
The seven factors of awakening are a rendering of the noble eightfold path in its essential dynamics.
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There is a vast diffferent between equanimity in four immeasurable meditation and in seven factors of awakening cultivation .
According to Sn46.54 practising of equanimity of cattāri brahmavihārā
through which it coupled with 7 Factors of awakening where the apex of the heart’s release by equanimity is the dimension of nothingness but who has NOT penetrated to a higher freedom.
Whereas the culmination of practising upekkha in 7 factors of awakening resulted in abandoning of sankhara , elimination of attachment and cessation of the dependent arising .
Ps . Take note the overlapping of equanimity practice .
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It is the same thing but at different stages of maturity. Equanimity as a factor of awakening is more developed than the equanimity of the brahma-viharas. But its quality remains the same, it is part of the tranquillity group, as are all the brahma-viharas- they can only lead to jhana. Equanimity in the seven factors of awakening cannot by itself lead to release, that is a matter of the seven factors interacting as two groups of three, one group based on right effort, and one on right concentration, with mindfulness as the governing factor (SN 46.53).
“167. Herein, six-factored equanimity, equanimity as a divine abiding,
equanimity as an enlightenment factor, equanimity as specific neutrality,
equanimity of jhána and purifying equanimity are one in meaning, that is,
equanimity as specific neutrality. Their difference, however, is one of position,46
like the difference in a single being as a boy, a youth, an adult, a general, a king,
and so on. Therefore of these it should be understood that equanimity as an
enlightenment factor, etc., are not found where there is six-factored equanimity;
or that six-factored equanimity, etc., are not found where there is equanimity as
an enlightenment factor.”—Vism IV, 167
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Sn 36.31
And what is spiritual equanimity? It’s when, giving up pleasure and pain, and ending former happiness and sadness, a mendicant enters and remains in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. This is called spiritual equanimity.
And what is even more spiritual equanimity? When a mendicant who has ended the defilements reviews their mind free from greed, hate, and delusion, equanimity arises. This is called even more spiritual equanimity.
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The non-ill will, harmlessness and renunciation of right resolve arise when through personal investigation, right view discovers that desire leads to suffering, and abandoning desire leads to release from suffering. Thereby one resolves to practice renunciation for their own well being, and non-ill will and harmlessness for the well being of others. Since the path is concerned primarily with one’s own release from suffering, greater emphasis is placed on renunciation than relations with others.
The knowledge that desire entails suffering is explained by the recognition that conditioned things are impermanent, subject to change. Just as right resolve depends for motivation on right view, the first kind of path equanimity, renunciation equanimity depends on knowledge of impermanence.
"And what are the six kinds of household equanimity? The equanimity that arises when a foolish, deluded person — a run-of-the-mill, untaught person who has not conquered his limitations or the results of action [2] & who is blind to danger [3] — sees a form with the eye. Such equanimity does not go beyond the form, which is why it is called household equanimity. (Similarly with sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, & ideas.)
"And what are the six kinds of renunciation equanimity? The equanimity that arises when — experiencing the inconstancy of those very forms, their change, fading, & cessation — one sees with right discernment as it actually is that all forms, past or present, are inconstant, stressful, subject to change: This equanimity goes beyond form, which is why it is called renunciation equanimity. (Similarly with sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, & ideas.)”—-MN 137
These two different kinds of feelings relate respectively to the feelings of the flesh, and feelings not of the flesh in the instructions under the second foundation of mindfulness.
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Thanks @paul1 for sharing.
My understanding of last paragraph as follows… IMO Serenity and Insight complements each other
"Defiled by passion, the mind is not released. Defiled by ignorance, discernment does not develop. Thus from the fading of passion is there awareness-release. From the fading of ignorance is there discernment-release.”—-AN 2.30
Defiled by 6 sensual cravings, the mind is not released from craving. By ignoring how sensual craving arises, insight does not develop. Thus from the fading of sensual craving is there awareness-release. From knowing and seeing how sensual craving arises/ceases there is insight and release.
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Developing insight in the absence of tranquillity results in an over-stimulated mental state (MN 19) leading to madness, so a balanced approach is necessary.
There are two distinct processes, that’s why AN 2.30 is in the book of twos. The development of tranquillity suppresses passion because passion (desire and anger) are emotional hindrances based on restlessness. The mind too needs an alternative source of joy to feed on with the development of the path. This process of feelings is completely different from the mental undertaking of developing right view and the knowledge of the second and third noble truths (insight). That’s why restlessness is followed by ignorance as the final two fetters.
“I myself, before my Awakening, when I was still an unawakened bodhisatta, saw as it actually was with right discernment that sensuality is of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks, but as long as I had not attained a rapture & pleasure apart from sensuality, apart from unskillful mental qualities, or something more peaceful than that, I did not claim that I could not be tempted by sensuality. But when I saw as it actually was with right discernment that sensuality is of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks, and I had attained a rapture & pleasure apart from sensuality, apart from unskillful mental qualities, or something more peaceful than that, that was when I claimed that I could not be tempted by sensuality.”—MN 14
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According to abhidhamma there is slightly difference in “Vitakka (thinking), Manasikara (mental advertence) & Chetana (volition)”.
And i think chetana is as metta & karuna.
manasikara is as avyapada & avihinsa.
[Intention/volition is upekkha.(?) ]
So, while meditation for purification of mind - manasikara is very important So thats why Right intention is derived as nekkhamma, avyapad, & avihimsa.
In AN1.495-AN1.574 it is said that one must develop wisdom together with metta, karuna etc. and a lot of other things.
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I think that there is simply no way around metta if the three pillars of Sila, Samadhi and Panna (or any of the Buddha’s teachings on Karma) are to make sense together.
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Hi Dheerayupa,
This topic is of great interest to me. I appreciate the various responses in the thread but I’m still curious.
As it happens, I’ve just reviewed Bhikkhu Anālayo’s (BA) book Compassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation for about the tenth time. BA uses Chapter 2 to expand on mettā. Here are some highlights:
The stanza [in Snp 1.8] describes the protection a mother would be willing to give to her only son, to the extent of being willing to risk her own life. Her love of her son is not the main theme here – the main point is protection. (pg. 29ff)
As an aside, I have posted, in a shared google folder, Dhammaruwan’s adult recording of this sutta – also known as the Karaniya Metta Sutta. It’s pure sweetness 
The providing and receiving of protection is in fact a recurrent aspect in the conception of mettā in the early discourses. Examples are the belief that mettā can protect from snake bites (AN 4.67), or that it will protect against non-human beings (SN 20.3).
In the early discourses mettā is the most frequently mentioned brahmavihāra…Underlying this emphasis on the first of the four brahmavihāras is its foundational role for the cultivation of the other three…Notably, mettā is the only brahmavihāra whose broad range of application by way of bodily, verbal, and mental activities is explicitly highlighted in the early discourses.
Not only when anger and aggression influence the actions of others, but also when they arise within oneself, mettā is the required antidote. The opposition between mettā and ill will comes up in the context of a listing of six elements of release (nissaraṇa) in the Dasuttara-sutta and its parallels…
[See DN 34 at DN III 280 (abbreviated parallel) and DN 33 at DN III 248 . Bhante Sujato translates nissaraṇa as escape (i.e., The Six Elements of Escape). Then he translates the sentence which immediately follows as Take a mendicant who says: ‘I’ve developed the heart’s release by love [mettā]. This helps me understand @paul1 's reference.]
Finally, I found this in BA’s book Daughters of the Buddha:
Although the brahmavihāras do not lead on their own to full awakening, they do weaken defilements and thereby can greatly facilitate such progress.
BA provides endnotes for that statement. But I don’t have a copy of the book (and it’s not freely available). I’d love to know what they refer to. This last statement succinctly answers the question for me.
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There’s also Iti 2 and Iti 4 where the Buddha guarantees non-return for someone who gives up hate and anger, respectively.
I can’t remember the sutta right now, but this is consistent with the idea that the noble disciple who doesn’t give up attachment to the brahmavihara states becomes a non-returner who has their last life in the Brahma realm (while a normal person gets reborn into some other realm afterwards, continuing to wander the realms of rebirth).
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Hi Erika, thanks for the two sutta references. Morevoer, because they are quite short, I can actually work with them for my pāli learning!
As there are some other threads happening right now re: various levels of non-returners, I would hope this thread steers clear of that aspect. I appreciate that the OP is focused on mettā in relation to the noble 8fold path.
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The metta sutta was set to music by Lili Boulanger in 1917. It’s not recognized by the music industry how much an English language version would be of interest to Theravada Buddhists:
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I’m in awe of this effort by Lili Boulanger. 
It helps that I’m somewhat fluent in French. 
I don’t know much about music theory. The F, G, and C flats (in the key of…something?) with the crescendos throughout make me feel like I’m at a Roman Catholic mass. I’d love to be in an old cathedral and listen to this.
There is the well-circulated mettā chant by Imee Ooi which resonates with me … of course we’re moving further and further away from the actual sutta.
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BA was making a link between the spatial characteristic of the brahma-viharas and emptiness. I can guide you through the relevant suttas if interested. Reference to the cathedral shows some awareness of the value of space.
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A recent thread addressed the infrequent word annidassina (without surface) with respect to an analogy for enlightenment. The other place it is used in the Canon MN21 is also analogical and addresses metta in its limitless quality. The other limitless analogies here being the futile quests to evaporate the Ganges with a torch and dispatch/defile the Earth with a shovel/pee.
As previously addressed, detailed teachings regarding metta are found when snakes or yukkas or similar are distracting the practitioner.
In this case, it is the words of “others;”
True and false
Timely and untimely
Beneficial and (malicious?)
Harsh and gentle
I would propose that this case does not preclude the words that we, ourselves, use to speak with, well… we ourselves. We are most often the ones doing the distracting.
Hearing these arise, we divide them into 2 buckets as per instructions, dispensing with the unwholesome and nurturing the wholesome.
So, the training in metta directed outwards functions to support our ongoing ability to find, see, tolerate, and abandon (release) our own defilement, effluent, fetters.
So, metta is required for enlightenment, and the goodwill we are willing to extend towards our conditioned selves must be limitless.
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i thought the second one (abyahapada) was non ill will. i don’t know why it is termed in negative ?