Metta (Loving-Kindness)
Also known as: Loving-Kindness Meditation, Maitri (Sanskrit)
Pali: metta, meaning loving-kindness or benevolence.
Metta, usually translated as loving-kindness, is a Buddhist meditation practice of deliberately cultivating warmth and goodwill, traditionally extended in a defined sequence toward oneself, a loved one, a neutral person, a difficult person, and eventually all beings. It is practiced through silently repeated phrases rather than visualization alone.
A typical Metta session uses a small set of repeated phrases, such as May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you live with ease, directed first at oneself, since traditional teaching holds that goodwill toward others is difficult to sustain without first extending it inward. Research on loving-kindness meditation has associated regular practice with measurable increases in positive emotion and social connectedness.
The practice originates in early Buddhist teaching, the Metta Sutta, and traditionally follows a specific sequence: first directing goodwill toward oneself, then a loved one, then a neutral person, then a difficult person, and finally all beings, deliberately building outward from what feels easiest. Research by Barbara Fredrickson and colleagues in 2008 found a brief daily loving-kindness practice measurably increased positive emotions and life satisfaction over several weeks, one of the more consistently replicated findings in contemplative research, though effect sizes vary across studies.
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Related Terms
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of paying deliberate, non-judgmental attention to present-moment experience, whether the breath, bodily sensations, thoughts, or surroundings. Rooted in Buddhist contemplative practice, it has been adapted into secular clinical programs and is widely used for stress, anxiety, and general wellbeing.
Ahimsa
Ahimsa is non-harming, the first and foundational yama in Patanjali's eightfold yoga path, extending beyond physical violence to include harm caused through speech, thought, and intention, toward oneself as well as others. It is also central to Buddhist and Jain ethics and was applied as a political principle by Mahatma Gandhi.