1. Now this is how you should train yourselves here: “Our minds will remain unaffected, we shall utter no bad words, we shall abide friendly and compassionate, with thoughts of loving-kindness and no inner hate. We shall abide with loving-kindness in our hearts extending to that person, and we shall dwell extending it to the entire world as our object, with our hearts abundant, exalted, measureless in loving-kindness, without hostility or ill-will.”
Majjhima Nikaya, Sutra 21 (spoken by the Buddha)

2. A Few Basics of Buddhism
New Four-Part Session Structure
Chanting & Meditation with Ven. Yi-Hung Shifu
Exploring the teachings of Śākyamuni Buddha
Today we’re following our new four-part session structure. [click]
We’ll start with chanting and meditation, led by Venerable Yi-Hung Shifu, the abbot of Fo Guang Shan Hawai`i. [click]
Next we’ll have a brief exploration of some of the teachings of Śākyamuni Buddha. [click]
After a short break [click] we’ll be introduced to Gong’an meditation practice, which many Americans know by its Japanese name, Kōan. [click]
Finally, a discussion of an article by Ven. Master Hsing Yun, the founder of Fo Guang Shan, on how to apply Buddhist teachings in our daily lives.
[Korean Buddhists call it Kongan]
Break
Introduction to Gong’an (Japanese: Kōan) meditation practice
Discussion of article on applying Buddhism in one’s daily life

3. A Few Basics of Buddhism and How to Integrate Them
into Our Daily Lives
[click]
Today we’ll continue discussing a few of the basic concepts of Buddhism.
And how to integrate those ideas into our daily lives. [click]
Session 8
Session 8

4. A Few Basics of Buddhism (Four Divine Abidings, Immeasurable Minds;
Four Brahmavihāra
(Four Divine Abidings, Immeasurable Minds;
Chinese: 四無量心)
In this section of the class, we explore some of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Today, we’ll be talking about the Brahmavihāra.
So what are they?
In brief: [click]
Mettā or Maitrī – Loving Kindness [click]
Karuna – Compassion [click]
Mudita – Empathetic Joy [click]
Upekkha or Upekṣā – Equanimity
四無量心 - Sì wú​liàng xīn
Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈)
Muditā – Empathetic Joy (喜)
Karuṇā – Compassion (悲)
Upekṣā – Equanimity (捨)

5. What’s in a name? Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Oftentimes, in Buddhism, when someone gives a talk on a sutra or other text, the speaker first talks about the name of that sutra or text.
This is because in Buddhism a name or title of something is often rich with meaning.
So let’s talk about the meaning of the term “Brahmavihāra.”

6. Brahmā Vihāra Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Brahmavihāra is actually a compound term that contains two words: Brahmā and Vihāra.
Let’s start with the meaning of the word “Brahmā.” (click)

7. Brahmā Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心) The name of a god
“…the Buddhist myth of the god Brahma, who had four faces, one for each of the four kinds of unselfish love championed in Buddhism … metta, karuna, mudita, and upekkha.”
Gil Fronsdal
[click] First of all, Brahmā is the name of a god. Those of you who took an introduction to religion course in college may remember the Hindu gods of Brahmā, Shiva, and Vishnu.
[click] Here is a picture of a statue depicting Brahma with four faces.
This god also appears in Buddhist literature, as we’ll see in a moment.
[click]
One commentator associates the four faces of Brahma with the four Brahmavihāra.

8. Brahmā Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心) The name of a god
Brahmin: “It would be good if the Reverend Gotama were to teach us the way to union with Brahmā, may the Reverend Gotama help the people of Brahmā.”
Buddha: “…with his heart filled with loving-kindness, he dwells suffusing one quarter, the second, the third, the fourth. … Then with his heart filled with compassion, … with sympathetic joy, with equanimity he dwells suffusing one quarter…”
Tevijja Sutta: The Threefold Knowledge—The Way to Brahmā (Digha Nikaya 13)
Is there any confirmation of that association of the deity Brahmā with these four states in the sutras? [click]
There is an interesting sutra in which several Brahmins are arguing about the way to union with Brahmā. They decide to ask the Buddha, who is known to them as a sage.
So they go to the Buddha and tell him about their argument. Then one of the Brahmins asks the Buddha to explain to them the way to union with Brahmā.
The Buddha then gives a short talk in which he emphasizes cultivating endless loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity as the way to Brahmā.

9. Brahmā Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心) The name of a god
Divinities (Sanskrit: Deva; Chinese: 天)
The name of a god
Demigods (S: Asura; C: 阿修羅)
Highest gods (the Brahma Deva)
“One who assiduously develops these four sublime states [Brahmavihāra], by conduct and meditation, is said to become an equal of Brahma (brahma-samo). If they become the dominant influence in his mind, he will be reborn in congenial worlds, the realms of Brahma. Therefore, these states of mind are called God-like, Brahma-like.”
Nyanaponika Thera
There is another aspect to the term “Brahma” which references the Brahmaloka, the Brahmā worlds. [click]
We won’t go into detail today but Buddhist literature talks about various realms occupied by beings in accordance with their previous actions. Really, really bad actions result birth in the hell realm. Really, really good actions result in rebirth in the realm of the divinities.
Now, unlike some other religions, one’s time in either the hell realm or the deva realm or any realm in between is not eternal. So, you don’t stay a ghost or a god forever.
Practicing the Four Brahmavihara both in our everyday lives and in our meditation but without insight into the underling truth of existence can lead us to rebirth in the Brahmaloka. However, adding to our Brahmavihara practice the practice of insight meditation can lead us to liberation, to enlightenment. [click]
In the meantime, in this lifetime when we are truly behaving in accordance with the Brahmavihara we can be considered Brahma-like.
Humans
Animals
Ghosts
Hell denizens

10. Brahmā Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心) The name of a god
This is why “Brahma” in this context is often translated as divine.
Highest gods (the Brahma Deva)
Divine

11. Brahmā Vihāra Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
We’ve been talking about the meaning of the word Brahmā. [click]
But what about the word “Vihāra”? (click)

12. Vihāra Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心) Monastery, abiding/abode
The term Vihāra is often used to denote a dwelling place for monks and nuns and thus is translated in that context as “monastery.”
But the term literally means abode, a place of abiding. That is the meaning of the word within the compound term Brahmavihara. [click]
“[The Brahmavihāra] are called abodes (vihara) because they should become the mind’s constant dwelling-places where we feel ‘at home’; they should not remain merely places of rare and short visits soon forgotten.”
Nyanaponika Thera

13. Appammaññā (Sanskrit: Apramāṇa)
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Appammaññā
(Sanskrit: Apramāṇa)
Boundless states, limitless qualities
There is another term that is used to indicate the Brahmavihara, Appamañña. [click]
The Boundless states. [click]
Which gives us a clue as to where the Chinese term comes from.
Let’s see what this means.
Chinese: 四無量心 (Sì wú liàng xīn)

14. Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心) Friendly person Mean person
Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈)
Let’s start with Mettā, loving kindness. We’ll talk more about this vihara in a moment.
[click] For now, let’s say there’s a really nice, friendly person at your workplace. She always has a smile for people, steps forward and genuinely helps people when they need it. She’s someone you can always count on.
[click] Are you likely to feel kindly toward her, have the urge to befriend her, spend time with her? Do you wish her to be happy?
[click] What about a mean person in your workplace, one who frequently loses his temper and says things to people to purposely hurt them, make them feel really stupid or inadequate?
[click] Are you likely to feel friendly toward him, want to spend time with him, wish him to be happy?
We are often choosy about whom we choose to feel friendly toward, yes?
Mettā being unlimited means that we do not discriminate. We wish for the happiness of everyone.
Friendly person
Mean person
Feel friendly toward her, wish her to be happy?
Feel friendly toward him, wish him to be happy?

15. Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心) Homeless person who damaged park to power t.v.
Karuṇā – Compassion (悲)
What about compassion? We all like to think that we are compassionate people.
[click] Here we have a picture of a child who is suffering.
[click] My guess is that everyone in this room, when we see a suffering child, feel compassion, a desire to help the child, yes?
[click] What about a homeless person who damages a park’s electrical system to power his flatscreen t.v.?
[click] When you see a picture of this on the news, at the instant you see the picture do you feel compassionate toward the homeless person who did that? How about seeing a pile of used syringes where a group of homeless people have been—how do you feel?
Compassion does not mean that we condone negative behavior. It does mean that we feel compassion toward any person who is suffering.
Does this mean that we beat ourselves up when we have non-compassionate thoughts? No. The Brahmavihara practice means our intention is to become compassionate without discrimination.
Homeless person who damaged park to power t.v.
Sick child
Feel compassion toward her?
Feel compassion toward him/her?

16. Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心) Topper, the Biggest Braggart in the workplace
Muditā – Empathetic Joy (喜)
Topper, the Biggest Braggart in the workplace
One last example: empathetic joy.
[click] Let’s say you see a baby experiencing bubbles for the first time, laughing, trying to catch the bubbles.
[click] Do you feel joy at seeing the joy the child is experiencing?
That’s empathetic joy. The child is happy and seeing the child’s happiness we feel happy.
[click] Okay, some of you read the comic strip Dilbert. There is a character referred to as “Topper.” No matter what the topic of discussion, Topper wants to top whatever anyone else has said or done. He constantly brags.
Let’s say the Topper in your workplace gets a raise and you don’t. Do you feel joy for him?
Our goal in Brahmavihara practice is to experience empathetic joy, rather than envy or jealousy when we learn of another person’s good fortune.
If Topper gets a raise and you don’t, do you Feel joy for him?
Baby first experiencing bubbles
Feel the joy?

17. Without limits, nondiscriminatory
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Appamañña
Boundless states
[click]
When we say that the Brahmavihara are boundless states, we mean that they are nondiscriminatory. We do not pick certain people and feel kindness, compassion, and empathetic joy toward them while fearing and reviling others.
Without limits, nondiscriminatory
Chinese: 四無量心 (sì wú liàng xīn)

18. (Karaṇīya) Mettā Sutta: Good Will (Sutta Nipata 1.8)
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
(Karaṇīya) Mettā Sutta: Good Will (Sutta Nipata 1.8)
Happy, at rest,
may all beings be happy at heart.
Whatever beings there may be,
weak or strong, without exception,
long, large,
middling, short,
subtle, blatant,
seen & unseen,
near & far,
born & seeking birth:
May all beings be happy at heart.
[click]
This notion of nondiscrimination is evident in the Mettā Sutta. Here is an excerpt.
Would someone like to read this?

19. Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈)
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈)
“Just as I wish to be happy and free from suffering, so may that being, may all beings be happy and free from suffering.”
Let’s talk a bit more about mettā, loving kindness.
Our practice of each of the Brahmavihara has two parts: meditation, and the way we treat others in our daily lives.
During meditation, we use words internally to develop and expand each mental state.
In this and some of the following slides, the pink box contains words that commentators have suggested for use in our meditation.
Metta comes from the Pali word “mitra,” which means friend. Thus Bhante Gunaratana prefers to translate “metta” as loving friendliness.” We naturally wish our friends to be happy. Bhante also points out that the Sanskrit word “Mitra” also refers to the sun, which warms all of us. Likewise, metta flows in the hearts of all of us. Our practice is to expand that metta, that loving friendliness, to all beings.
Comes from the Pali word “mitra,” which means “friend.”
The Sanskrit word mitra also refers to the sun … the warmth and radiance of metta flows in the heart of all living beings.
Bhante Gunaratana. Mindfulness in plain English, p. 175

20. Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈) Mettā is an antidote for ill-will
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈)
Mettā is an antidote for ill-will
“From a Buddhist psychological perspective, ill will is rooted in fear—the fear of loss, the fear of harm.”
Feldman, Christina Boundless heart: the Buddha’s path of kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, p. 14
[click]
Metta is considered to be an antidote to ill-will.
So we’ll just spend a moment talking about why metta is so important in that role.
In Buddhist psychology, ill-will is seen to be rooted in fear. That can be fear of loss or fear of harm, or both.

21. Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈)
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈)
Ill-will
Fear of Harm
Judgment, blame, harshness, rejection, condemnation, and suspicion leave a powerful imprint on our hearts and minds.
[click] Fear of harm often arises out of interactions with others that caused us pain. When others judge us, blame us, reject us, this leaves a powerful imprint on us.
After someone treats us that way, especially repeatedly, we may start to obsess about that person. We think about what he did. We think about ways to get away from him, or somehow to get back at him, ways to avoid experiencing that pain again.
[click] Remember the mean guy in our workplace?
[click] We may think about him over and over again until he grows larger and larger in our mind.
In Buddhist terms, we begin to abide in aversion. It becomes our home.
We are prone to obsess about those we fear and dislike. We begin to abide in aversion.
Feldman, Christina Boundless heart: the Buddha’s path of kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, p. 13, 18

22. Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈)
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈)
Ill-will
Negative Effects of Our Ill-Will toward Others
Inner pain when we judge, condemn, or are harsh to another in defense
Sickens us and leaves powerful footprint on the world
Sets in motion downward spirals of depression and debilitating anxiety
Isolation, mistrust, defensiveness toward others as well as self-loathing
And that is a pretty shabby home to live in.
It can make us sick.
It can result in depression, anxiety.
We may take to isolating ourselves from others.
Feldman, Christina Boundless heart: the Buddha’s path of kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

23. Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈)
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Mettā – Loving Kindness (慈)
Making Better Choices
In every moment there is a choice about where we make our home
Metta means making better choices.
Every moment we choose where we make our home.
Do we wish to abide in a world of fear of aversion?
Or do we wish to abide in the world of kindness and mindfulness?
Abide in the world of fear and aversion?
Abide in the world of kindness, mindfulness, and befriending?
Feldman, Christina Boundless heart: the Buddha’s path of kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

24. Meditation on Mettā – from the Visuddhimagga*
Start with oneself
“May I be happy and free of suffering.”
“Just as I want to be happy and dread pain, as I want to live and not to die, so do other beings, too.”
A teacher or preceptor, a benefactor
For our metta meditation we can consult the Visuddhimagga (in English known as the Path of Purity), a text written over a thousand years ago.
In our meditation on the Brahma Vihara we begin with Loving Kindness. [click]
This may surprise you but the meditator starts with herself or himself. The Visuddhimagga tells us that the meditator does this in order to use himself as an example, setting a pattern for the following steps. [click]
Think to yourself: “May I be happy and free of suffering.” And then, this is crucial in order to expand our hearts, “Just as I want to be happy and dread pain, as I want to live and not to die, so do other beings, too. This second thought sets the stage for the following meditative absorptions. [click]
When the first absorption is fully realized, we next bring to mind a teacher or preceptor. This person must still be alive and should not be of the opposite sex, in order to prevent the arising of feelings of lust. [click]
A dearly beloved friend[click]
A neutral person – one towards whom we feel neither great affection nor enmity. [click]
A hostile or difficult person. One commentator mentioned that the first time you do this meditation you might want to start with someone whom you find simply mildly annoying rather than someone you truly fear.
清净道论的 Qīngjìng dào lùn de
“May ____________ be happy and free of suffering.”
A dearly beloved friend
A neutral person
A hostile (difficult) person
*Visuddhimagga (English: The Path of Purity; Chinese: 清净道论的)

25. Above North West East South Below
All-pervasive loving kindness
Above
North
West
East
Once we are able to extend loving kindness to those we know or at least have met we are ready to extend our loving kindness to others. [click]
So we concentrate on extending loving kindness to all beings in the East. [click]
All beings in the West. [click]
All beings in the North. [click]
All beings in the South. [click]
All beings in the direction above us. [click]
All beings in the direction below us. [click]
And then all other directions. [click]
Thereby we extend loving kindness to all beings.
South
Below

26. Karuṇā – Compassion (悲)
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Karuṇā – Compassion (悲)
“May you find healing. May you be free from sorrow. May you find peace.”
So let’s briefly touch upon Compassion. [click]
Would someone like to read the words we can use in our meditation? [click]
Nyanaponika Thera wrote that compassion expands our hearts as well as helping us to reconcile ourselves to our own destiny by seeing the suffering of others.
It is compassion that removes the heavy bar, opens the door to freedom, makes the narrow heart as wide as the world. … Compassion reconciles us to our own destiny by showing us the life of others, often much harder than ours.
Nyanaponika Thera

27. Karuṇā – Compassion (悲)
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Karuṇā – Compassion (悲)
Two parts
Empathy – we care enough not to turn our gaze away from the suffering of others
There are two parts to compassion. [click]
Empathy – we start by caring enough not to turn our gaze away from the suffering of others [click]
And then we add the impulse to help alleviate that suffering
Impulse to help alleviate that suffering

28. Muditā – Empathetic Joy (喜)
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Muditā – Empathetic Joy (喜)
“I take joy in your good fortune. May your happiness continue.”
[click]
Mudita, empathetic joy, means that we feel joyful when something good happens to someone else. [click]
Would someone like to read our words for meditation on empathetic joy?
Empathetic joy is a counter to the suffering we see in the world. It also helps us counter any feelings of envy or jealousy we may have when others succeed.
Your life will gain in joy by sharing the happiness of others as if it were yours. … It is in your power to increase such experience of sympathetic joy, by producing happiness in others, by bringing them joy and solace…one possessed of joy finds that serene calmness leading to a contemplative state of mind.”
Nyanaponika Thera

29. Uppekkha, Upekṣā – Equanimity (捨)
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Uppekkha, Upekṣā – Equanimity (捨)
“May I embrace change with stillness and calm. May I deeply accept this moment as it is. May my home be a home of balance and spaciousness.”
And last, we have Uppekkha, equanimity. [click]
Would someone like to read words we may use in meditating on equanimity? [click]
Buddhism teaches us that nothing is permanent, nothing is unchanging, and that includes us. At times that can be difficult to deal with. So Buddhism teaches us to live mindfully in the moment. Ultimately this requires a deep insight that comes from our meditation.
Equanimity also helps us with the other three Brahmavihara.
“Equanimity is a perfect, unshakable balance of mind, rooted in insight. … the kind of equanimity required has to be based on vigilant presence of mind, not on indifferent dullness.”
Nyanaponika Thera

30. Uppekkha, Upekṣā – Equanimity (捨) Two insights needed for equanimity
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Uppekkha, Upekṣā – Equanimity (捨)
Two insights needed for equanimity
Karma – the various experiences we undergo result from our actions in thought, word, and deed performed in this life and in previous lives. Knowing this we can:
Take refuge from our fear by concentrating on confidence in good deeds in the past.
Summon the courage to perform more good deeds right now, despite the discouraging hardships of our present life
Nyanaponika Thera
Nyanaponika Thera has pointed out that two insights are need for equanimity. [click]
The first insight is to have a clear understanding that the vicissitudes of life we experience are the result of karma—the thoughts, words, and deeds performed in this life and in previous lives. In Buddhist thought the suffering we experience in our life is not the product of an angry deity. We are in charge.
When fear arises we can take refuge in concentrating on our confidence in good deeds we have performed in the past.
But we can also use our understanding of karma to give us the courage to perform good deeds in the present, right now, and thus take charge of our destiny.

31. Uppekkha, Upekṣā – Equanimity (捨) Two insights needed for equanimity
Brahmavihāra (C. 四無量心)
Uppekkha, Upekṣā – Equanimity (捨)
Two insights needed for equanimity
No-Self – … in the ultimate sense deeds are not performed by any self, nor do their results affect any self. … It is the delusion of a self that creates suffering and hinders or disturbs equanimity. If this or that quality of ours is blamed, one thinks: "I am blamed" and equanimity is shaken. If this or that work does not succeed, one thinks: "My work has failed and equanimity is shaken. If wealth or loved ones are lost, one thinks: "What is mine has gone" and equanimity is shaken. … To the degree we forsake thoughts of "mine" or "self"' equanimity will enter our hearts Nyanaponika Thera
The second insight is a deep understanding of no-self.
The delusion of a self, the clinging to the notion of “me” and “mine” leads to disturbances in our equanimity.
Think about this: if you are at a meeting and someone labels an idea you have just put forth as “stupid” what do you think? My idea is being attacked. I am being belittled. I am a failure. I am shamed.
When we let go of this constant clinging to the false notions of “me” and “mine” we allow equanimity to enter our hearts.
And equanimity supports loving kindness, compassion, and empathetic joy, just as loving kindness, compassion, and empathetic joy support equanimity.

32. May all beings be happy and free of suffering
May all beings be happy and free of suffering. May they achieve enlightenment in this lifetime.