The Benefits of LoveMettasutta

This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.Vuttañhetaṁ bhagavatā vuttamarahatāti me sutaṁ:

“Mendicants, don’t fear good deeds.“Mā, bhikkhave, puññānaṁ bhāyittha. For ‘good deeds’ is a term for happiness, for what is likable, desirable, and agreeable.Sukhassetaṁ, bhikkhave, adhivacanaṁ iṭṭhassa kantassa piyassa manāpassa yadidaṁ puññāni. I recall undergoing for a long time the likable, desirable, and agreeable results of good deeds performed over a long time.Abhijānāmi kho panāhaṁ, bhikkhave, dīgharattaṁ katānaṁ puññānaṁ iṭṭhaṁ kantaṁ piyaṁ manāpaṁ vipākaṁ paccanubhūtaṁ. Having developed a mind of love for seven years, for seven eons of the cosmos contracting and expanding I didn’t return to this world again.Satta vassāni mettacittaṁ bhāvetvā satta saṁvaṭṭavivaṭṭakappe nayimaṁ lokaṁ punarāgamāsiṁ. As the eon contracted I went to the realm of streaming radiance.Saṁvaṭṭamāne sudaṁ, bhikkhave, kappe ābhassarūpago homi; As it expanded I was reborn in an empty mansion of divinity.vivaṭṭamāne kappe suññaṁ brahmavimānaṁ upapajjāmi.

There I was the Divinity, the Great Divinity, the vanquisher, the unvanquished, the universal seer, the wielder of power.Tatra sudaṁ, bhikkhave, brahmā homi mahābrahmā abhibhū anabhibhūto aññadatthudaso vasavattī. I was Sakka, lord of gods, thirty-six times.Chattiṁsakkhattuṁ kho panāhaṁ, bhikkhave, sakko ahosiṁ devānamindo; Many hundreds of times I was a king, a wheel-turning monarch, a just and principled king. My dominion extended to all four sides, I achieved stability in the country, and I possessed the seven treasures.anekasatakkhattuṁ rājā ahosiṁ cakkavattī dhammiko dhammarājā cāturanto vijitāvī janapadatthāvariyappatto sattaratanasamannāgato. Not to mention regional kingship!Ko pana vādo padesarajjassa.

Then I thought,Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘Of what deed of mine is this the fruit and result, that I am now so mighty and powerful?’‘kissa nu kho me idaṁ kammassa phalaṁ, kissa kammassa vipāko, yenāhaṁ etarahi evaṁmahiddhiko evaṁmahānubhāvo’ti? Then I thought,Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘It is the fruit and result of three kinds of deeds:‘tiṇṇaṁ kho me idaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ, tiṇṇaṁ kammānaṁ vipāko, yenāhaṁ etarahi evaṁmahiddhiko evaṁmahānubhāvoti, seyyathidaṁ— giving, self-control, and restraint.’”dānassa, damassa, saññamassā’”ti.

The Buddha spoke this matter.Etamatthaṁ bhagavā avoca. On this it is said:Tatthetaṁ iti vuccati:

“One should practice only good deeds,“Puññameva so sikkheyya, whose happy outcome stretches ahead.āyataggaṁ sukhudrayaṁ; Giving and moral conduct,Dānañca samacariyañca, developing a mind of love:mettacittañca bhāvaye.

having developed theseEte dhamme bhāvayitvā, three things yielding happiness,tayo sukhasamuddaye; that astute one is rebornAbyāpajjaṁ sukhaṁ lokaṁ, in a happy, pleasing world.”paṇḍito upapajjatī”ti.

This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.Ayampi attho vutto bhagavatā, iti me sutanti.