Metta + STED 4bv audio collaboration, need your help, yes YOU!

[frankk]

Metta + STED 4bv audio collaboration

My friends are going through some really rough times right now. I made a 10 minute mix tape of various metta chants in various languages. They play the chants to help them go to sleep, among other times throughout the day.

Then a brilliant idea occurred to me. Almost everyone has a cel phone with a recording app. If we all take 5 minutes to record the source text, we can build an awesome time capsule of metta chanted in every language, every age group, every region of the world eventually. So not just my friends on this occasion, but for as long as mp3 files work, people in need of a lift, an inspiration, and ray of hope, can have a massive mix tape of metta chanted for hours, with no repetition.

recording instructions

see followoing messages in thread for sample submissions

1. keep the recording anonymous, for the sake of protecting your civil liberties, privacy, from government and evil corporations from exploiting you with facial recognition, voice recognition, of samples of you already existing on the internet.

2. but if possible, please do include a little bit of anonymous personal info, maybe a small dedication to someone, so we can build a rich database of metta that spans the totality of human experience in suffering, compassion, understanding. authenticity,

3. Record and upload the source text on the next section. if you’re short on time, just take a few minutes and do the first (of four parts), metta. We’re not looking for professional voice acting skills, perfect pronunciation, mistake free reading, etc. Just a genuine heartfelt expression of metta. As long as it’s authentic, it will be enormously valued by many now, later, for years to come.

don’t upload directly to sutta central, use something like internetarchive.org, or googledrive, drop box, microsoftg onedrive, and make it a public shareable link, then post the link in the message, along with any interesting and useful metadata, keep it anonymous.

4. feel feel to use any translation of the text, any language or languages, change the words to make it more meaningful and personal to you. Record as many versions as you like! the more the better. You don’t have to read the pali. Just read english, or whatever your native language. Since the mix tape will contain all be recordings of the same text, the novelty of listening to other languages will add to the richness of the experience.

5. It’s as easy as leaving a voice mail on someone’s phone. Just take a few minutes. Get your tech savvy grandkid to help with the upload and recording app if necessary. The karmic fruit of this small service will be compounded beyond measure!

Source texts

4 Brahma vihāra

(STED 4bv) Brahma vihāra

1. Mettā

mettā-sahagatena cetasā	(with) good-will-endowed mind,
ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā	(in) one direction pervade,
viharati,	abide [like this].
tathā dutiyaṃ,	likewise (the) second [quarter],
tathā tatiyaṃ,	likewise (the) third [quarter],
tathā catutthaṃ;	likewise (the) fourth [quarter],
iti uddham-adho	Thus above,-below,
tiriyaṃ sabbadhi	across, everywhere,
Sabbat-tatāya	All-places,
sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ	(to the) entire world
mettā-sahagatena cetasā	(with) good-will-endowed mind,
vipulena mahaggatena	vast, exalted,
appamāṇena a-verena	measureless, without-hostility,
abyāpajjena pharitvā	without ill will, pervade.
viharati,	abide [like this].

2. Karuṇā

Karuṇā-sahagatena cetasā	(with) compassion-endowed mind,
ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā	(in) one direction pervade,
viharati,	abide [like this].
tathā dutiyaṃ,	likewise (the) second [quarter],
tathā tatiyaṃ,	likewise (the) third [quarter],
tathā catutthaṃ;	likewise (the) fourth [quarter],
iti uddham-adho	Thus above,-below,
tiriyaṃ sabbadhi	across, everywhere,
Sabbat-tatāya	All-places,
sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ	(to the) entire world
Karuṇā-sahagatena cetasā	(with) compassion-endowed mind,
vipulena mahaggatena	vast, exalted,
appamāṇena a-verena	measureless, without-hostility,
abyāpajjena pharitvā	without ill will, pervade.
viharati,	abide [like this].

3. Muditā

muditā-sahagatena cetasā	(with) altruistic-joy-endowed mind,
ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā	(in) one direction pervade,
viharati,	abide [like this].
tathā dutiyaṃ,	likewise (the) second [quarter],
tathā tatiyaṃ,	likewise (the) third [quarter],
tathā catutthaṃ;	likewise (the) fourth [quarter],
iti uddham-adho	Thus above,-below,
tiriyaṃ sabbadhi	across, everywhere,
Sabbat-tatāya	All-places,
sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ	(to the) entire world
muditā-sahagatena cetasā	(with) altruistic-joy-endowed mind,
vipulena mahaggatena	vast, exalted,
appamāṇena a-verena	measureless, without-hostility,
abyāpajjena pharitvā	without ill will, pervade.
viharati,	abide [like this].

4. Upekkhā

upekkhā-sahagatena cetasā	(with) equanimity-endowed mind,
ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā	(in) one direction pervade,
viharati,	abide [like this].
tathā dutiyaṃ,	likewise (the) second [quarter],
tathā tatiyaṃ,	likewise (the) third [quarter],
tathā catutthaṃ;	likewise (the) fourth [quarter],
iti uddham-adho	Thus above,-below,
tiriyaṃ sabbadhi	across, everywhere,
Sabbat-tatāya	All-places,
sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ	(to the) entire world
upekkhā-sahagatena cetasā	(with) equanimity-endowed mind,
vipulena mahaggatena	vast, exalted,
appamāṇena a-verena	measureless, without-hostility,
abyāpajjena pharitvā	without ill will, pervade.
viharati,	abide [like this].

detail on key words in formula

a-byāpajjena, non-ill-will

This corresponds to the 2nd item of the 3 aspects of right resolve, samma samkappo.

mahag-gatena, exalted

according to MN 127, the space you pervade starts with the area the size of a tree root, and gradually expanding larger and larger.

appamāṇena, immmeasurable

according to MN 127, as compared to mahaggatena which is much smaller in scope, immeasurable is the 6 directional pervasion as specified in the STED 4bv, “first direction he pervades, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, above, below...”

Sabbat-tatāya, all-places, not “to all [beings] as oneself”

For now, I'm going with the opinions of Ven. Anālayo, Ven. Sujato, and Ven. Brahmali on this translation, which differs from B.Bodhi's "to all as oneself." But I'm not fully convinced, because some of the passages in the EBT, the 4bv formula (or a very close derivative) is explicitly applied to people. Ven Thanissaro, in MN 97 goes with “in its entirety”, so he seems to be in the 4bv not explicitly directed at people side of the discussion. sabbatthatāya = sabba + -ttha + tā

Ven. Sujato 

from https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/does-anyone-know-the-difference-between-sabbatthataya-and-sabbattataya/2553/3  This was discussed by Ven Brahmali elsewhere. The ending is dative/genitive feminine singular. It has most commonly been read as: sabbattatāya = sabba + attā + tā = all + self + -ness = “to each as to oneself” However from the context it is very likely to be: sabbatthatāya = sabba + -ttha + tā = all + place + -ness = “to everywhere, in every respect” Here "-ttha" is a secondary pronomial suffix, having the general meaning of "place".

Ven. Brahmali

from https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/should-monks-beware-of-living-with-novices/2257/3 Another word which may need a new translation (compared to that of Ven. Bodhi's) is sabbatt(h)atāya, found in the standard sutta description on how to practice the four brahmavihāras. Ven. Analayo has recently released a study of this word, in which he argues persuasively that it is a synonym for the words sabbadhi and sabbāvantam. (This, of course, would be natural since synonyms are often clustered in this way in the suttas.) In brief, he argues that the form sabbatthatāya is correct, not sabbattatāya, which is the form preferred by the commentaries and therefore the form which has influenced how the brahmavihāra practice is described in places like the Visuddhimagga.

Ven. Anālayo

compares pali, chinese agamas, and sanskrit fragmnent parallels that favor "everywhere" as the translation rather than commentarial "to all as oneself". https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/compassion.pdf (about 30 page document, but probably half of that is just footnotes and references so it's actually a pretty quick read and well worth your while)

Bhikkhu Bodhi

has stuck with the translation of “to all as oneself” through MN, SN, AN, so I wonder if Ven. Anālayo has been able to convince his teacher?

B. Sujato English from AN 3.63 (draft edition)

“It’s incredible, Master Gotama, it’s amazing! Who but Master Gotama could get such a high and luxurious bed of the gods when he wants, without trouble or difficulty?

But what, Master Gotama, is the high and luxurious bed of Brahmā?” “Brahmin, when I am living supported by a village or town, I robe up in the morning and, taking my bowl and robe, enter the town or village for alms. After the meal, on my return from alms-round, I enter a wood. I gather up some grass or leaves into a pile, and sit down cross-legged, with my body straight, and establish mindfulness right there. I 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, I spread a heart full of love to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. I 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, I spread a heart full of compassion to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. I 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, I spread a heart full of rejoicing to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. I 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, I spread a heart full of equanimity to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. When I’m practicing like this, if I walk meditation, at that time I walk like Brahmā. … I stand like Brahmā. … … I sit like Brahmā … When I’m practicing like this, if I lie down, at that time I lie down like Brahmā. This is the high and luxurious bed of Brahmā that I get these days when I want, without trouble or difficulty.”

“It’s incredible, Master Gotama, it’s amazing! Who but Master Gotama could get such a high and luxurious bed of Brahmā when he wants, without trouble or difficulty?

Related topics

Some excellent existing recordings exist here:

4bv STED metta chanting, KN Khp 9

My collection of metta sutta pali chants (some english ones too). https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vLQrTSy6zQEz0aSTGkow5EL-mWh2JiY9 The whole thing is about 30mb right now, it should allow you to download the whole directory into one zip file. Of particular interest, for those interested in correct pali pronunciation, are these files: dhammaruwan chanting as a 3 year old boy (poor audio quality, recorded on tape recorder from 40 years ago) . This chanting style is probably represen…

Notes

If any.

Other references

If any.

[frankk]

from: middle aged Frank, living in viveka-ville, USA currently.
dedicated to: my self from a while back, 25 year old Frank in ocean harbor, pleasantville, going through health problems, a looming life changing career choice, massive panic attacks, fear of death, and spiritual existential crises.

(metta & 4bv recording to be uploaded later today).

post recording personalized message: Hang in there Frank! It doesn’t seem like it now, but you’re going to really appreciate going through that experience. Nobody has an easy cake walk. Everyone has to go through crises again and again. All the sons and daughters of the Buddha practice this way. It will pass!

link to uploaded audio file:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qc7_pUAc1VHYJsJfv5iK0V5-SIuMqtMr