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Loving-Kindness in Plain English: The Practice of Metta

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Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

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“I. An Agnostic (__of his religious friend__) He often gazes on the air And sees quite plain what is not there Peopling the wholesome void with horrid shapes Which he manoeuvres in religious japes. And yet he is more gracious than I, He has such a gracious personality. II. A Religious Man (__of his agnostic friend__) He says that religious thought and all our nerviness Is because of the great shock it was for all of us Long, long ago when animal turned human being Which is more than enough to account for everything... And yet he is more gracious than I, He has such a gracious personality.”

GodReligionKindnessAtheismSarcasmAgnosticismGraciousness
Book:Selected poems
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“Especially because you have the most important quality of a sultana, at least in my mind." "And what is that?" Jasmine asked, mentally running through the key words from her coronation vows. Noble descent, innate worth, wisdom, justice. "Your kindness," Nadia answered. "The fact that you don't look down on anyone. I know of no other princess or noble lady who would treat a handmaiden as a close friend, or choose a man of Aladdin's background as a future husband. You see beyond rank, and I know that will make you a beloved sultana." She smiled. "Sultana of the people's hearts.”

KindnessPrincess JasmineSultanaSupportive FriendsHandmaiden
Book:Realm of Wonders
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“We all need someone to talk to. It’s easy to become isolated. The conversation is based on physical presence, which is rooted in feeling. All our senses are involved. By talking to someone in person we can access to specific senses: appreciation compassion, and love. These are the feelings that connect human beings to reality, which stimulates our intuition and awareness. If we become conditioned to the computer, then we become one dimensional. We are less deep as individuals and more shallow, predictable, anxiety ridden, and irritable. By not having conversations, we are forgetting how to feel. These days some of us avoid conversation altogether because it requires too much attention. We’re accustomed to being distracted and we forget how to focus, so we have trouble listening. We may not have time; we are so busy with school and responsibilities at work or at home. We made the conversation as a superfluous social gesture. And some of us don’t know how to talk to people because we’ve never been taught. At the same time, we’ve become more individualistic an opinionated. Because we want something stable that makes sense in the world, we hold onto themes and ideas that are grounding and meaningful. This fixation crates factionalism and polarity. Identifying strongly with our thoughts and emotions, we mistake them for a solid “me”, and then defend that apparition against the world. Yet by having fewer face-to-face conversations, we are simultaneously disempowering the very source that can delegate our identity: our relationship with other people.”

KindnessIdentityListeningConversationArt Of Conversation
Book:The Lost Art of Good Conversation: A Mindful Way to Connect with Others and Enrich Everyday Life
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“But as long as we all practice kindness wherever we go and don’t stop to wonder at this a so marvellous and stunning world our very existence won’t have been wasted. Not in the slightest! So let’s have a lovely drink, hug each other and cry at the sight of the beautiful sunset that we are about to witness! And then go home, get some sleep and do it all over again!”

KindnessCryWitnessExistentialismSunsetHugBeauty Of Life
Book:2018: Our Summer of Creeping Boredom and Beautiful Shimmering
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“Joe shuddered. "Old people are horrible." "No," Mrs Jinks corrected him. "There's nothing wrong with being old. Don't forget - you'll be old one day. Nobody can avoid it." "Well, I won't be like Granny," Joe said. "Of course you won't," Mrs Jinks agreed. "If you're kind and cheerful when you're young, you'll be kind and cheerful when you're old ... only more so. Old age is like a magnifying glass. It takes the best and the worst of you and magnifies them. Granny was selfish and cruel all her life. But you can't blame her for being old.”

KindnessOld AgeSelfishness
Book:Granny
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