My teacher, Ven. Ayya Khema, said that she thought the Buddha felt the only four emotions worth having were Mettā, Karuṇā, Muditā, and Upekkhā – the Four Brahma Viharas. This book dives into definitions of the Pāḷi words, common translations, near and far enemies, and my preferred translation. There will also be links to articles and books (where available) on each Brahma Vihara. There also are discussions of each Brahma Vihara in some detail as well as instructions on practicing each of them both during meditation and in daily life. And for each Brahma Vihara we will look at suttas where that Brahma Vihara is mentioned in order to glean a better understanding of what each of these mind states actually entails.

Having studied each of the Four Brahma Viharas individually, we will look at all 38 suttas where the Four Brahma Viharas are taught as a practice. Then, with an eye towards the context, we will be able to understand what the suttas actually say about the Brahma Viharas and what results can flow from Brahma Vihara practice.

This eBook is available in multiple formats and is free to download.
It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported.

Leigh Brasington's other books:
Right Concentration - https://leighb.com/rc
Dependent Origination and Emptiness - http://leighb.com/sodapi
The Gradual Training - https://leighb.com/gt
On The Way To The Far Shore - https://leighb.com/wttfs/