Loving Kindness
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
In the Buddhist myth of the god Brahma, Loving Kindness is seen as one of the four faces of the unencumbered and unselfish heart. Together with Compassion, Sympathetic Joy and Equanimity these are expansive and virtuous qualities of love referred to as the Divine Abodes.
Practices around these aspects of the expansive heart guide us as we cultivate their capacities. We come to understand that a deep and abiding Love doesn’t require ideal circumstances, but rather intentional living in ways that help us recognize, awaken, and develop these natural loving capacities that become our own open heart. These states were also prescribed as the antidotes to hatred and aversion.
There are many “flavors” or aspects of the faces of love such as care, friendliness, goodwill, and benevolence. These are virtuous aspects we extend for all beings without exception. And, of course, we remember to make sure we offer ourselves the same Loving Kindness.