Maitrī

Maitrī (Sanskrit; Pali: mettā) means benevolence,[1] loving-kindness,[2][3] friendliness,[3][4] amity,[4] good will,[5] and active interest in others.

The "near enemy" (quality which superficially resembles mettā but is in fact more subtly in opposition to it), is attachment (greed): here too one likes experiencing a virtue, but for the wrong reason.

[8] According to Martin Wiltshire, prior to the advent of the Buddha, there existed traditions of Brahmaloka and of meditation with the four virtues of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity.

[16]: 248–264  The early Buddhist texts assert that pre-Buddha ancient Indian sages who taught these virtues were earlier incarnations of the Buddha.

[16]: 248–264  Post-Buddha, these same virtues are found in the Hindu texts such as verse 1.33 of the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, wherein the word maitri is synonymous with metta.

[18] The Buddha never claimed that the "four immeasurables" and related metta-meditation were his unique ideas, states Harvey Aronson, in a manner similar to[clarification needed] "cessation, quieting, nirvana".

[16]: 248–264 In the Jain text, the Tattvartha Sutra (Chapter 7, sutra 11), which is accepted by all Jain sub-traditions as authoritative, there is a mention of four right sentiments: Maitri, pramoda, karunya, and madhyastha: Benevolence towards all living beings, joy at the sight of the virtuous, compassion and sympathy for the afflicted, and tolerance towards the insolent and ill-behaved.In the Pāli Canon, the term metta appears in many texts such as the Kakacupama Sutta and Karaniya Metta Sutta.

Iti uddhamadho tiriyaṃ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ mettāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati.

[28] In this instruction, a general formula (below, in English and Pāli), essentially identical to the aforementioned Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta verse (especially evident in the Pāli), is provided for radiating benevolence: In addition, this instruction categorizes twenty-two ways in which "the mind-deliverance of benevolence" (mettācetovimutti) can be radiated with Moreover, the directional pervasions can then be applied to each of the unspecific and specific pervasions.

; then, one radiates it to all breathing things in this fashion (Sabbe puratthimāya disāya pāṇā...), then all creatures, persons, and so forth until such is extended for all those born in the lower realms.

[needs copy edit][33] A different set of practical instructions, still widely used today, is found in the 5th century CE Visuddhimagga; this is also the main source for the "near and far enemies" given above.

Mettā is found in pre-Buddhist Vedic Sanskrit texts as Maitrī, Maitra, and Mitra, which are derived from the ancient root Mid (love).

[13] These Vedic words appear in the Samhita, Aranyaka, Brahmana, and Upanishad layers of texts in the Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda.

[40] In Jainism, Yogabindu – the 6th-century yoga text by Haribhadra – uses the Sanskrit word maitri in verses 402–404, in the sense of loving-kindness towards all living beings.

[8] In one proof-of-concept study, uncontrolled in sample selection and benchmarking, the researchers report therapeutic potential for psychological problems like depression or social anxiety, when combined with other reliable treatments.

[42] Compassion meditation, a Science Daily article states, may reduce inflammatory and behavioral responses to stress that have been linked to depression and a number of medical illnesses.

[43] Mettā meditation is a central practice within mindfulness-based pain management (MBPM),[44] the effectiveness of which has been supported by a range of studies.

"[11] In a 2014 review of multiple studies, Galante et al. reach a similar conclusion, stating "results were inconclusive for some outcomes, in particular against active controls; the methodological quality of the reports was low to moderate; results suffered from imprecision due to wide CIs (confidence intervals) deriving from small studies" and that "the kindness meditation methods show evidence of individual and community benefits through its effects on their well-being and social interaction".