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Sutta Nipāta 1.8 · Pali Canon · Snp 1.8
The Metta Sutta: on goodwill towards all beings
A short text of ten stanzas [1]. In Theravada countries it is learned by heart and recited aloud as a protective text [3]; the same text appears ninth in the Khuddakapāṭha [2]. The first half describes how a person seeking peace lives; the second, how to develop goodwill towards all beings without exception [3].
Original (Pali) · Retelling
Original (Pali)Retelling
1
Karaṇīyamatthakusalena, Yanta santaṁ padaṁ abhisamecca; Sakko ujū ca suhujū ca, Sūvaco cassa mudu anatimānī.
Whoever understands what truly matters and wishes to reach inner peace lives like this: capable and honest — truly honest — easy to approach, gentle, and not placing themselves above others.
2
Santussako ca subharo ca, Appakicco ca sallahukavutti; Santindriyo ca nipako ca, Appagabbho kulesvananugiddho.
Content with little and no burden on others, not swamped by business, living lightly; collected, not led by their cravings, courteous, and not currying favour with those they depend on.
3
Na ca khuddamācare kiñci, Yena viññū pare upavadeyyuṁ; Sukhino va khemino hontu, Sabbasattā bhavantu sukhitattā.
They do not do even small things that sensible people could reproach them for. And they wish: may everyone be happy and safe, may everyone feel at ease.
4
Ye keci pāṇabhūtatthi, Tasā vā thāvarā vanavasesā; Dīghā vā ye va mahantā, Majjhimā rassakā aṇukathūlā.
Every living being there is, leaving none out: weak and strong, long and large, middling, small, tiny and round,
5
Diṭṭhā vā ye va adiṭṭhā, Ye va dūre vasanti avidūre; Bhūtā va sambhavesī va, Sabbasattā bhavantu sukhitattā.
seen and unseen, living far and near, those already born and those yet to be born — may they all be happy.
6
Na paro paraṁ nikubbetha, Nātimaññetha katthaci na kañci; Byārosanā paṭighasañña, Nāññamaññassa dukkhamiccheyya.
Let no one deceive another or look down on anyone anywhere. Even when hurt or irritated, let people not wish each other pain.
Standing, walking, sitting or lying down, as long as sleep has not taken you, keep this in mind. This, they say, is the best way to live, here and now.
10
Diṭṭhiñca anupaggamma, Sīlavā dassanena sampanno; Kāmesu vinaya gedhaṁ, Na hi jātuggabbhaseyya punaretī.
Whoever does not cling to opinions, lives honestly, sees clearly and has calmed the pull of pleasures will not be born again.
Pali: Mahāsaṅgīti edition, SuttaCentral [1]. Bhikkhu Sujato's canonical translation is on SuttaCentral at the link [1]: the translator asks that his work not be used for generative AI [6], so we do not reproduce it beside a retelling prepared with AI. SuttaCentral · Snp 1.8 ↗
Table of correspondences
Term
How we rendered it
What is lost
mettā
goodwill
Not romantic love or attachment, but an unselfish wish for the good of any being, including strangers and people we dislike.
santaṁ padaṁ
inner peace
In the tradition this is nibbāna, complete liberation; the word “peace” sounds more modest than intended.
mānasaṁ aparimāṇaṁ
a heart without limits
Literally “a measureless mind”: it means mind and feeling together, not emotion alone.
sīlavā
lives honestly
Sīla is a whole system of rules of conduct and vows, not honesty alone.
brahmaṁ vihāraṁ
the best way to live, here and now
Literally “an abiding of Brahmā”: one of the four immeasurable states — goodwill, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.
na gabbhaseyyaṁ punar eti
will not be born again
Literally “will not lie in a womb again”; the line rests on the teaching of rebirth, which the retelling does not explain.
Attempts at interpretation
Interpretation 1 · Tradition
A protective text
According to the commentary, the Buddha gave this sutta to monks who were being frightened in a forest by tree spirits unhappy about their arrival. The monks went back, lived with goodwill towards everything around them, and the spirits left them in peace [3]. Hence the text's role in Theravada: it is recited aloud as a protective text, a paritta [3]. The commentary divides the sutta into two parts: the first describes a moral way of life, the second the method of developing goodwill itself [3].
Interpretation 2 · Philology
A poem that was extended
The translator Bhikkhu Sujato notes that the last stanza is in a different metre and was probably added later: the poem ends naturally with the ninth stanza, and the doctrinal ending apparently appeared because the original was felt not to be Buddhist enough [1]. The phrase “frail or firm” (tasa-thāvara) is a common idiom in Jain texts [1]: the vocabulary was shared by different ascetic movements of ancient India.
Interpretation 3 · Psychology
An exercise for the feelings
Read as an instruction, the sutta is an exercise: wishing good to an ever wider circle of beings. A review of research on loving-kindness and compassion meditation links it with more positive and fewer negative emotions, though much of the evidence is still preliminary [4]. In a randomised field experiment with 139 working adults, this practice increased daily positive emotions and, through them, life satisfaction, and reduced depressive symptoms [5]. A caveat: the sutta was not written as psychotherapy, and the studies examine modern methods, not the text itself.
Interpretation 4 · A bold editorial hypothesis
Goodwill for machines?
The sutta draws a circle of care without limits: seen and unseen, far and near, already born and yet to be born. This resembles a question put to AI developers today: how should a system take into account people it never “sees” — those indirectly affected by its answers, and future generations? This is neither the teaching of the tradition nor a research finding, but a question we invite you to discuss.
