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14-September-2008 12:50:24 - Brahmavihara Part of a series on Buddhism Portal of Buddhism History Timeline - Buddhist councils Major Figures Gautama Buddha Disciples · Later Buddhists Concepts Four Noble Truths Noble Eightfold Path Karma - Nirvana Three marks of existence Skandha · Cosmology Samsara · Rebirth · Dharma Dependent Origination Practices and Attainment Buddhahood · Bodhisattva Four Stages of Enlightenment PÄ?ramitÄ?s · Mation · Laity Precepts · Three Jewels Countries and Regions Bhutan · Cambodia · China India · Indonesia · Japan Korea · Laos · Malaysia Mongolia · Burma · Nepal Russia · Singapore · Sri Lanka Thailand · Tibet · Vietnam Western countries Schools TheravÄ?da · MahÄ?yÄ?na VajrayÄ?na Early and Pre-sectarian Texts Pali Canon · Tibetan Canon Chinese Canon Related topics Comparative Studies Cultural elements This box: view talk The four BrahmavihÄ?ras are a series of virtues and Buddhist mation practices designed to cultivate those virtues. BrahmavihÄ?ra is a term in PÄ?li and Sanskrit meaning Brahma abidings. They are also known as the Four Immeasurables Sanskrit: apramana.1 According to the Brahmavihara Sutta, Shakyamuni Buddha held that cultivation of the BrahmavihÄ?ras has the power to cause the practitioner to be re-born in the 'realm of the Brahma' Sanskrit: Brahmaloka.citation needed The mator is instructed to radiate out to all beings in all directions the mental states of: 1 loving-kindness or benevolence, 2 compassion, 3 sympathetic joy, and, 4 equanimity. These virtues are also highly regarded by Buddhists as powerful antidotes to those negative mental states non-virtues like avarice, anger, pride and so on. Contents 1 Nomenclature and etymology 2 Exegesis 2.1 Brahmavihara sadhana 3 Legacy 4 The BrahmaviharÄ? in Early Buddhism 5 The BrahmaviharÄ? in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra 6 Notes 7 See also 8 External links 9 Further reading Nomenclature and etymology Sanskrit: catvÄ?ri brahmavihÄ?rÄ?ḥ Pali: cattÄ?ri brahmavihÄ?rÄ? Tibetan: tshans pa'i gnas bzi English: four divine abodes, four divine emotions, four immeasurables, four sublime attitudes BrahmavihÄ?ra Pali and Sanskrit may be parsed into Brahma/Brahman and vihara; which is often rendered into English as Sublime Attitudes or Abodes of God. They are also called the Four Immeasurables,2 or the four sublime attitudes loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity., and are Buddhist virtues that followers can cultivate endlessly, that is without limits, as good qualities for any Buddhist to possess in good measure. They form a sequence of Buddhist virtues recommended in the Pali and the Sanskrit Brahmavihara Sutra. Exegesis Metta/Maitri: loving-kindness towards all; the hope that a person will be well; loving kindness is the wish that all sentient beings, without any exception, be happy.3 Karuna: compassion; the hope that a person's sufferings will diminish; compassion is the wish for all sentient beings to be free from suffering.4 Mudita: altruistic joy in the accomplishments of a person, oneself or other; sympathetic joy, is the wholesome attitude of rejoicing in the happiness and virtues of all sentient beings.5 Upekkha/Upeksha: equanimity, or learning to accept both loss and gain, praise and blame, success and failure with detachment, equally, for oneself and for others; equanimity means not to distinguish between friend, enemy or stranger, but regard every sentient being as equal. It is a clear-minded tranquil state of mind - not being overpowered by delusions, mental dullness or agitation.6 Metta and Karuna are both hopes for the future leading, where possible, to action aimed at realizing those hopes, while Mudita and Upekkha are attitudes to what has already happened, but also having consequences for future action. It would be ironic not to point out that while these four might be delineated as attitudes of the future or past, they within their core as a living embodied practice contain the seed of the present. This is the essence of the spiritual laws of karma, self-responsibility, and samma sankkalpa -- right thoughts. A dedicated intention that all beings are in the here and now tranquil, happy, in touch with their gifted talents/accomplishments, and feel interconnected by that synergy to eschew suffering by abdication. Brahmavihara sadhana The BrahmaviharÄ? practices are explained in The Path of Purification Visuddhimagga, written in the fifth century CE by the scholar and commentator Buddhaghosa. They are often practiced by taking each of the Immeasurables in turn and applying it to oneself, wishing oneself well omitted while training oneself in mudita, and then to others nearby, and so on to everybody in the world, and to everybody in all universes interestingly, the Buddha himself is not presented in the relevant suttas as specifically teaching the directing of these mental attitudes towards oneself. Buddhism accepts, but does not insist on, the Hindu cosmology of multiple universes throughout space and time, a notion that has models in current physics. Legacy Although this form of these ideas has a Buddhist origin, the ideas themselves are in no way sectarian. The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement uses them in public mation events in Sri Lanka bringing together Buddhists, Hindu, Muslims, and Christians. Rudyard Kipling's inspirational poem If refers to the idea of Upekkha in calling Triumph and Disaster impostors. The BrahmaviharÄ? in Early Buddhism In the Subha Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya set of scriptures, Buddha Shakyamuni is asked the way to fellowship/companionship/communion with Brahma. Shakyamuni Buddha replies that he personally knows the world of Brahma and the way to it, and explains the mative method for reaching it by using an analogy of the resonance of the conch shell of the Ashtamangala Sanskrit: A monk suffuses the world in the four directions with a mind of benevolence, then above, and below, and all around - the whole world from all sides, completely, with a benevolent, all-embracing, great, boundless, peaceful and friendly mind ... Just as a powerful conch-blower makes himself heard with no great effort in all four cardinal directions, so too is there no limit to the unfolding of this heart-liberating benevolence. This is a way to communion with Brahma.7 The Buddha then says that the monk must follow this up with an equal suffusion of the entire world with mental projections of compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity regarding all beings with an eye of equality. In the two Metta Suttas of the Anguttara Nikaya AN 4.1251, AN 4.1262, the Buddha states that one who practices radiating the brahmaviharas in this life is destined for rebirth in a heavenly realm in their next life. In addition, if such a person is a Buddhist disciple Pali: sÄ?vaka and thus realizes the three characteristics of the five aggregates, then after his heavenly life, this disciple will reach nibbana. However, if one is not a disciple, then after the heavenly life, they may still be reborn in a hell realm or as an animal or as a hungry ghost.8 The BrahmaviharÄ? in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra In the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Buddha teaches that the BrahmaviharÄ? are characteristic qualities of the Buddha-dhatu Buddha-nature or Buddha-Principle, the all-pervading essence of the Buddha. He states: Great Benevolence or Loving-kindness and Great Compassion are the Buddha-dhatu. Great Sympathetic Joy and Great Equanimity are the Buddha-dhatu. The Buddha-dhatu is at once the Tathagata9 Shakyamuni Buddha identifies the consummate Brahmaviharic qualities as nondifferent to moksha Sanskrit and nirvana Sanskrit: The Tathagata is Benevolence, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity. Benevolence, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity are Liberation moksha. Liberation is Nirvana, and Nirvana is Benevolence, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity.10 In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra as in other Mahayana sutras, a central place is accorded to the Brahmaviharas of benevolence and compassion. Benevolence/ friendliness/ loving-kindness maitri is especially viewed in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra as the root of all good qualities, the very heart and inner soul atman of what the Buddha and Mahayana ultimately are. Shakyamuni Buddha states: All the roots of goodness of all ... Bodhisattvas and all Tathagatas have as their foundation Loving-kindness maitri... If any person asks about the root of any aspect of good, say that it is Loving-kindness ... Loving-kindness is Mahayana. Mahayana is Loving-kindness. Loving-kindness is the Tathagata. The Tathagata is Loving-kindness ... Loving-kindness is the Buddha-dhatu of all beings.... Loving-kindness is the Self. The Self is Dharma. Dharma is the Sangha. The Sangha is Loving-kindness. Loving-kindness is the Tathagata.... Loving-kindness is the Immortal amrta. The Immortal is Loving-kindness.... Loving-kindness is the Supreme Way of all Bodhisattvas. The Way is Loving-kindness. Loving-kindness is the Tathagata .... Loving-kindness is the limitless world of the Blessed Buddha. The limitless world is Loving-kindness. Know that Loving-kindness is the Tathagata.11 Notes ^ http://www.buddhistethics.org/9/wetle021.html Jon Wetlesen, Did Santideva Destroy the Bodhisattva Path? Jnl Buddhist Ethics, Vol. 9, 2002 ^ http://www.tara.org/Teachings/The_Four_Immeasurables.pdf Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo, The Four Immeasurables ^ http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/bs-s15.htm Buddhist Studies for Secondary Students, Unit 6: The Four Immeasurables ^ http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/bs-s15.htm Buddhist Studies for Secondary Students, Unit 6: The Four Immeasurables ^ http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/bs-s15.htm Buddhist Studies for Secondary Students, Unit 6: The Four Immeasurables ^ http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/immeasurables_love_compassion_equanimity_rejoicing.html A View on Buddhism, THE FOUR IMMEASURABLES: Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity ^ Majjhimanikaya, tr. by Kurt Schmidt, Kristkeitz, Berlin, 1978, p.261, tr. by Tony Page. ^ http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.125.nymo.html Ñanamoli's translation ^ Nirvana Sutra, Vol. 9, p. 59. ^ Yamamoto, Kosho tr. Page, Tony revision 2000. The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra. London, UK: Nirvana Publications. Vol. 10, p. 50. ^ Yamamoto, Kosho tr. Page, Tony revision 2000. The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra. London, UK: Nirvana Publications. Vol. 5, pp. 16-18 See also Metta Karuna Mudita Upekkha External links Berzin, Alexander 2005. The Four Immeasurable Attitudes in Hinayana, Mahayana, and Bon Brahma-Vihara Foundation The Four Sublime States by the Venerable Nyanaponika Thera. Online Metta Contemplation The Four Brahma Viharas The Four Immeasurables Further reading Buddhas Reden Majjhimanikaya, Kristkreitz, Berlin, 1978, tr. by Kurt Schmidt Yamamoto, Kosho tr. Page, Tony revision 2000. The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra. London, UK: Nirvana Publications. v d e Buddhism topics History Timeline · Gautama Buddha · Buddhist councils · History of Buddhism in India · Decline of Buddhism in India · Ashoka the Great · Greco-Buddhism · Silk Road transmission of Buddhism Foundations Three Jewels Buddha, Dharma, Sangha · Four Noble Truths · Noble Eightfold Path · Nirvana · Middle Way Key Concepts Three Marks of Existence: Impermanence, Suffering, Not-self · Dependent Origination · Five Aggregates · Karma · Vipaka · Rebirth · Samsara · Defilements · Five Hindrances · Ten Fetters · Enlightenment Qualities · Perfections · JhÄ?na · Sense Bases · Four Great Elements · Renunciation · Bodhi · Parinirvana · Two truths doctrine · Emptiness · Bodhicitta · Bodhisattva · Buddha-nature · Bhumi · Trikaya Cosmology Ten spiritual realms · Six Realms Hell, Animal realm, Hungry Ghost realm, Asura realm, Human realm, Heaven · Three Spheres Practices Threefold Training: Morality, Concentration, Wisdom · Buddhist devotion · Taking refuge · Four Divine Abidings: Loving-kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic joy, Equanimity · Mindfulness · Merit · Puja: Offerings, Prostration, Chanting · Paritta · Generosity · Morality: Five Precepts, Eight Precepts, Ten Precepts, Bodhisattva vows, Patimokkha · Bhavana · Mation: Kammaá¹á¹hÄ?na, Recollection, Mindfulness of Breathing, Serenity mation, Insight mation, Shikantaza, Zazen, KÅ?an, Mandala, Tonglen, Tantra Attainment Types of Buddha · Bodhisattva · Four stages of enlightenment: Stream-enterer, Once-returner, Non-returner, Arahant Monasticism Monk · Nun · Novice monk · Novice nun · Anagarika · Ajahn · Sayadaw · Zen master · Roshi · Lama · Rinpoche · Geshe · Tulku · Householder · Lay follower · Disciple · Ngagpa Texts Tipitaka Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka, Abhidhamma Pitaka, Commentaries · Mahayana sutras · Chinese Buddhist canon Tripitaka Koreana · Tibetan Buddhist canon Major Figures Gautama Buddha · SÄ?riputta · MahamoggallÄ?na · Ananda · Maha Kassapa · Buddhaghosa · Nagasena · Bodhidharma · Nagarjuna · Asanga · Padmasambhava · Dalai Lama Branches Theravada · Mahayana: Chan/Zen, Pure Land, Tendai, Nichiren, Madhyamaka, Yogacara · Vajrayana: Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon · Early Buddhist schools · Pre-sectarian Buddhism · Basic points unifying Theravada and Mahayana Countries Bhutan · Burma · Cambodia · China · India · Indonesia · Japan · Korea · Laos · Malaysia · Mongolia · Nepal · Russia · Singapore · Sri Lanka · Thailand · Tibet · Vietnam · Western countries Comparative Buddhism Science · Psychology · Hinduism · Jainism · East Asian religions · Christianity · Theosophy · Gnosticism Lists Buddhists · Buddhas · Twenty-eight Buddhas · Bodhisattvas · Temples · Books · Buddhism-related topics · Terms and concepts Miscellaneous topics TathÄ?gata · Maitreya · AvalokiteÅ›vara Guan Yin · AmitÄ?bha · BrahmÄ? · MÄ?ra · Dhammapada · Visuddhimagga · Vinaya · Sutra · Abhidharma · Buddhist philosophy · Eschatology · Reality in Buddhism · God in Buddhism · Liturgical languages: Pali, Sanskrit · Dharma talk · Buddhist calendar · Kalpa · Buddhism and evolution · Buddhism and homosexuality · Fourteen unanswerable questions · Ethics · Culture · Monastic robe · Cuisine · Vegetarianism · Art · Greco-Buddhist art · Buddha statue · Budai · Symbolism Dharmacakra · Flag · Bhavacakra · Mantra Om mani padme hum · Prayer wheel · Mala · Mudra · Holidays · Vesak · Uposatha · Vassa · Architecture: Vihara, Wat, Stupa, Pagoda · Pilgrimage: Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar · Bodhi tree · Mahabodhi Temple · Higher Knowledge · Supernormal Powers · Miracles of the Buddha · Physical characteristics of the Buddha · Family of the Buddha Category · Portal Retrieved from http://en..org/wiki/Brahmavihara Categories: Buddhist philosophical concepts | Mation | Buddhist practices | Buddhist terms | Pali words and phrases | Sanskrit words and phrasesHidden categories: All articles with statements | Articles with statements since December 2007 Views Article Discussion this page History Personal tools Log in / create account Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Search Go Search Interaction Community portal Recent changes Contact Donate to Help Toolbox What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Printable version Permanent link Cite this page Languages ÄŒesky Deutsch Esperanto Français Nederlands Polski ไทย This page was last modified on 20 August 2008, at 01:41
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