Taming the Mind
With so many fires raging in the world, there has to be some means for dousing the flames and taming the fuming mind that gave rise to them. Among other afflictive states, anger and hatred are major factors contributing to the eruption of chaos in the human psyche and across the globe. They certainly have a fiery reputation, sparking violence, war, and myriad other types of conflict.
Sages have long ventured to address the damaging effects of anger, often likening it to fire, embers, coal, flames, and anything else that simmers and burns. Seething and scathing, these sparks can ignite disaster. When indulging hatred and anger in our own minds, not only do we set fires in the world as a whole, but we burn ourselves from within. Who in their right mind would hurt themselves on purpose?
In response to such reflections, taming the mind seems to be in order.
Rather than merely talk about the effects of these burning afflictions, such sages have ventured to come up with practical solutions to douse the flames. Many propose taming the very mind from which fires erupt. The Buddha, for instance, proposed various antidotes as a means of overcoming the afflictions that burn in our minds. Rather than let those flames rage unattended, leading to the spread of fires in the form of interpersonal conflict and other societal challenges, Buddhism (and others) offer a way to put out the fire.
Metta as Antidote
In the Buddhist framework, mettā, or loving-kindness, is the go-to antidote for countering the poison of anger, hatred, and aversion. These poisons boil in the cauldron of the mind, producing a nasty concoction. Mettā is the water that douses the flames.
For the sake of parsimony, we’ll call mettā “good-will” and its opposites “ill-will,” which captures the contrast far better than the alternatives.
We definitely should note that mettā as antidote for poisonous mind states is not just for Buddhists or unique to Buddhism. Parallel practices exists across various religions, secular contexts, philosophies, and so forth, all of which aim to cultivate good-will. Anyone can benefit from this type of practice, which could even be considered a universal antidote. Here we focus on mettā as an antidote specifically in order to provide a glimpse into one way of dousing the flames.
Metta Means Good-Will
“Mettā means good-will,” according to the title of a piece by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Western Thai Forest monk and abbot of the aptly named southern California temple “Wat Metta.” As a term from the Pāli language, a dialect native to India of bygone days, mettā has quite the history. It derives from the earlier Sanskrit forms maitra and maitrī, which similarly connote friendliness, benevolence, and kindness. In fact, the related Pāli form mitta and the Sanskrit form mitra are featured in the compounds kalyāṇa-mitta and kalyāṇa-mitra which mean “spiritual friend.” Indeed, “universal metta [is] friendliness for all,” writes Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
First we should note that mettā (good-will or loving-kindness) is counted among the four brahmavihārās or sublime abodes, which also include compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. Each of these will be covered in due time. Mettā is by far the biggest of the brahmavihārās in terms of the emphasis it receives.
While some steer away from commentaries, they nonetheless lend insight into how others have understood mettā and other practices, and thus they deserve at least some consideration. A fifth century commentator from the South Asian Buddhist tradition, Buddhaghosa shares wise reflections on mettā in a piece called the Atthasālinī, namely by reflecting that mettā has the mode of beneficence (the quality of benefiting others) and the function of bringing about goodness. According to Buddhaghosa, mettā manifests specifically to eliminate hatred. Its proximate cause is seeing the friendliness within all beings, its consummation is in subduing ill-will, and its failure is the production or generation of lust. Good-will douses the flames of ill-will. It is an antidote used to fight poison. No further flames emerge from good-will, which instead puts the conflagration out on the spot.
Metta as Protection
When we look at the context in which it was first taught by the Buddha, we often find mettā serving as a form of protection, supporting the well-being of both the individual and the community. Importantly, mettā dispels danger, misfortune, and disaster by sowing the seeds of harmony in the inner and outer worlds. According to Ācariya Buddharakkhita, mettā entails the giving of fearlessness (abhayadāna) and security (khemadāna) for the well-being of all beings. No one is excluded for any reason. All are equal recipients of and participants in good-will.
Note that mettā holds the potential to bestow beings with courage. How does that work when society seems to consider good-will such a feeble quality? Perhaps mettā is much stronger than meets the eye.
On this topic, it may be helpful to consider the commentarial backstory for the origins of the “Metta Sutta” (Sn 1.8), a discourse that we will cover in detail in the future. In this case, the Buddha prescribes mettā as a protective formula (paritta) for forest-dwelling monks who felt harassed and frightened by a group of tree-spirits.
A bit more context is necessary here. These spirits felt their homes had been invaded by the monks, who meditated beneath the trees, sitting on their roots for the day's abiding. The monks, in turn, felt threatened when the displaced spirits began to lash out at them. Thus we can see the first sparks of conflict begin to shimmer, like embers waiting to burst into full flame.
However, when the Buddha prescribed mettā as an antidote, the spirits did not cause any further trouble. In fact, the monks were able to continue their meditation in the forest. Water douses fire. Antidote overcomes poison. Here, mettā functioned precisely as a means to provide security and protection. The spirits and monks no longer quarreled with each other and everyone was able to go back to their lives as usual. All could finally coexist in harmony, the spirits guarding the trees and the monks meditating at ease.
How does mettā provide protection and what does mettā protect us from, exactly? According to Ācariya Buddharakkhita, the enemies of the mind (greed, hatred, lust, and jealousy) are the source of afflictive and destructive states of beings. The tree spirits in the story behind the “Mettā Sutta” can be likened to enemies of our mind that come to disturb our peace. Ācariya Buddharakkhita notes, “Transformed by metta, the mind is no longer haunted by greed, hatred, lust, jealousy and those other mind-polluting factors which are one’s real enemy and source of misfortune.” As such, our own pollutants of the mind are transformed into good-will and other wholesome mental factors that lead to happiness and liberation, a life devoid of suffering. Hence, we are protected by the practice of mettā, which transforms the mind and culminates in freedom.
Good-Will and Social Harmony
How is mettā relevant to the fires that burn within and without?
We propose that good-will is key to social harmony. When individuals cultivate harmony within themselves, that sense of harmony and ease naturally extends to the surrounding world, pervading it slowly but surely. Social harmony is the inevitable byproduct of good-will.
Fear of the other is a major source of disharmony. Recall the monks and tree spirits. Each side feared the other, causing disharmony and conflict. In the dark forest of the mind, sometimes fires break out. Under such conditions, we become fearsome of anything perceived as different from us. Constantly on guard, we tend to act on impulse. When we fan the flames of this fear, disharmony spreads and the forest burns.
When we perceive another being as threatening, we attribute our experience of fear to them, as coming from them as some object of fear. In actuality, such fear comes from us and our own perceptions. When we experience fear, even if such fear is triggered by an external cue, the actual experience is an internal response to that cue based on a projection that we layer on top of that other being. Such projections often take the form of stereotypes. They usually dehumanize the other, making them out to be less than human. If we can pacify those projections, then we will no longer experience that fear. While this is no easy task, the social harmony it guarantees is well-worth the effort, even transforming ill-will into good-will for others. In taming the mind in such a way, social harmony is sure to grow in place of fire.
More on this and other topics soon!
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