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Mettābhāvanā in Traditional and Popular Buddhist Contexts

2013; Routledge; Volume: 23; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09552367.2013.831532

1469-2961

Deven M. Patel,

Anthropological Studies and Insights

Abstract Some have referred to relatively recent forms of popular Buddhism as an 'engaged' Buddhism that has revived or redirected traditional Buddhist ideas and practices found in meditation texts to reflect a greater social or worldly emphasis than suggested in earlier historical moments. One of these ideas is the quadripartite framework of the 'immeasurable states' (aprameya/appameya) or 'divine abidings' (brahmavihāra), the most prominent of which in popular Buddhism is mettā (friendliness/loving-kindness). This article traces the philosophy of the 'immeasurable states' found in meditation texts from various Indic traditions (Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu) and then presents the ways in which these traditional ideas (especially mettā) have informed popular Buddhist movements in the twentieth century. Points of discussion include: 'engaged' Buddhism's relationship with traditional Buddhist ethics; arguments concerning the coalescence of monastic-centred meditation practices with popular Buddhist notions of social service; and the distinct utilization of mettā in contemporary Buddhist societies in contrast to the mobilizing impulses of comparable religious communities (Hindu and Jain) with a similar heritage of mettā discourse in South Asia. Notes 1. I give the Sanskrit and Pali terms, where necessary, since both sets of terms are frequently employed in the primary and secondary literature. On the term brahmavihāra ('Brahmā-like ways of living' or 'dwellings in Brahman' or the less literal 'divine abidings' or 'sublime abodes'), Werner (Citation2000, p. 418) writes: 'The designation of appamāṇas as brahmavihāras (which is something of an embarrassment to the strict Theravādins, hence their effort to gloss over the Upaṇiṣadic meaning of the term when translating it as, for example, "sublime abodes") may be a relic of that early stage of Buddhist terminology.' 2. Aronson's Citation1980 study Love and Sympathy in Theravāda Buddhism remains a standard work on the textual and philosophical aspects of the brahmavihāras, while important works from W. King (Citation1964) and Spiro (Citation1972) also provide a provocative discussion about the so-called 'nibbanic' and 'kammatic' Buddhism in relation to aspects of brahmavihāra discourse. Aronson raises two questions in his work that are relevant to the topic at large and have been taken up by multiple scholars of Buddhist ethcis: 'Does the realization of selflessness allow a subsequent relation with others? What ethical attitudes would be consonant with this realization?' (Aronson, Citation1980, p. 92). 3. Bhagavad-Gītā 12.13: adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca/nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī//. 4. Yogasūtra 1.33: maitrī-karuṇā-muditopekṣāṇāṃ suhkha-duḥkha-puṇyāpuṇya-viṣayāṇāṃ bhāvanātaś citta-prasādanam. 5. Vyāsa's commentary on Yogasūtra 1.33: tatra sarva-prāṇiṣu sukha-saṃbhogāpanneṣu maitrīṃ bhāvayet. duḥkhiteṣu karuṇām. puṇyātmakeṣu muditām. apuṇya-śīleṣūpekṣām evam asya bhāvayataḥ śuklo dharma upajāyate. tataś ca cittaṃ prasīdati. prasannam ekāgraṃ sthitipadaṃ labhate. 6. Bhoja's commentary on Yogasūtra 1.33: tad evaṃ maitryādi-parikarmaṇā citte prasīdati sukhena samādher āvirbhāvo bhavati. parikarma caitad bāhyaṃ karma. yathā gaṇite miśrakādi-vyavahāro gaṇita-niṣpattaye saṃkalitādi-karmopakārakatvena pradhāna-karma-niṣpattaye bhavati tathā dveṣa-rāgādi-pratipakṣa-bhūta-maitryādi-bhāvanayā samutpādita-prasādaṃ cittaṃ saṃprajñātādi-samādhi-yogyaṃ saṃpadyate. rāga-dveṣāv eva mukhyatayā vikṣepam utpādayataḥ. tau cet samūlam unmūlitau syātāṃ tadā prasannatvān manaso bhavaty ekāgratā. 7. Vācaspati Miśra's commentary on Yogasūtra 1.33: tataś cāsya rājasa-tāmasa-dharma-nivṛttau sāttvikaḥ śuklo dharma upajāyate. sattvotkarṣa-saṃpannaḥ sambhavati vṛtti-nirodha-pakṣe tasya prasāda-svabhāvyāc cittaṃ prasīdati. prasannaṃ ca vakṣyamāṇebhya upāyebhya ekāgraṃ sthiti-padaṃ labhate. asatyāṃ punar maitryādi-bhāvanāyāṃ na ta upāyāḥ sthityai kalpanta iti. 8. The usual meaning of parikarma concerns preliminary practices and sustaining aids to establish the object in meditation. Even in Sanskrit literature, for example, this is the most common use of this rather rare term (Śiśupālavadha 4.55, Saundarānanda 15.2). The term parikarma also apparently refers to technical art architectural techniques of 'daubing or plastering' that is applied to a wall surface (as cited in Coomaraswamy 1932, pp. 126–129). Parikarma is also referred in the Divyāvadāna with reference to a ceremonial circumambulation (of a mountain) as well as the preparation of cotton (as cited in Cowell-Neil 1886, p. 276). 9. Hemacandra's Yogaśāstra 4.118: mā kārṣīt ko 'pi pāpāni mā ca bhūt ko 'pi duḥkhitaḥ/mucyatāṃ jagad apy eṣā matir maitrī nigahyate//. 10. Hemacandra's Yogaśāstra 4.119: apāstā-śeṣa-doṣāṇāṃ vastu-tattvālokinām/guneṣu pakṣapāto yaḥ sa pramodaḥ prakīrttitaḥ//. 11. Hemacandra's Yogaśāstra 4.120: dīneṣvāt teṣu bhīteṣu yācamāneṣu jīvitam/pratīkāra-parā buddhiḥ kāruṇyam abhidhīyate//. 12. Hemacandra's Yogaśāstra 4.12: krūra-karmasu niḥśaṅkaṃ devatā-guru-nindiṣu/ātma-śaṃsiṣu yopekṣā tan mādhyasthyam udīritam//. 13. While it has sometimes been downgraded as an ideal path toward complete spiritual realization as śamatha practice itself becomes overshadowed by vipassana prescriptions in Theravāda contexts, Werner explains the relationship between brahmavihāra and the goal of realizing anatta: 'But there is also a suggestion that even the practice of jhanas by developing the four appamāṇas was originally understood as leading to the elimination of the notion of self and thereby to the realisation of anattā which amounts to liberation. This is because the boundlessness of mettā and the other three states of mind which are made during meditation to radiate in all directions encompasses all living beings so that the notion of "self" becomes expanded beyond measure and consequently, in the last instance, transcended which comes to the same as its elimination by analysis of the personality constituents (saṅkhāras) and finding them empty of self' (Werner, Citation2000, p. 418). 14. Aronson translates a similar passage from Buddhaghosa's commentary on Aṅguttara Nikāya 2.204 (Aronson, Citation1980, p. 70): 'When a youth is in the womb, the parents think with a loving mind, 'When will we see our soon healthy and endowed with all his major and minor limbs?' Then, when this tender creature lies on his back and cries or wails because of being bitten by lice or fleas or because of being bothered by troubled sleep, the parents hear this noise and feel simple compassion. Furthermore, when the parents observe the youth in his most desirable years, either at the time of his play while he runs and races or at the time he rests, their minds become tender, like a hundred fluffy balls of cotton soaked in the finest clarified butter. The parents' minds are satisfied and joyous. They have sympathetic joy at that time. Then, when the son is able to provide adornments for his wife and settle in his own house, the parents become even-minded and think, 'Now, our son can live on his own.' In this way, they have equanimity at that time.' 15. The Thai intellectual and social critic Sivaraksa, in fact, even practices mettā and extends it 'to all parties in a political struggle' (Queen and King, 1996, p. 36). 16. A focus on mettā appears in Sinhala Buddhism as traditionally part of Pirit (paritta) rituals to connect lay people to monks, involving such things as the chanting of the Mettā Sutta. The word paritta, as Harvey explains, means 'protection' or 'safeguard' and 'are selected suttas, portions of them, or sets of later verses that can be and [are] chanted by lay people,' but generally 'seen as most powerful when chanted by monks at the request and for the protection of the laity' (Harvey, Citation1993, p. 53). Among these parittas, the ones on mettā are among the most powerful where, in fact, mettā itself is considered a paritta against 'hostile spirits, animal or person, making them more well-disposed towards the person doing or listening to the chanting' (Harvey, Citation1993, p. 60). 17. Mettā practices as restorative of good health seem to be closely aligned with qigong practices associated with Chinese Buddhist movements like Falungong (Dharma Wheel Practice) and Zhonggong (Chinese Divine Practice), which demonstrate that 'concern for public health and vitality override' strictly religious considerations (Yuet Chau, Citation2005, p. 240). From another direction, Richard Davidson, in a number of papers from 2003–2008, has explored the ways in which mettā practice induces changes in the brain function, while other forms of contemporary research on the subject has attempted to demonstrate the ways in which mettā practice may increase social-connectedness, reduce inflammation, and boost positive emotion. 18. The importance of mettā in helping to construct a bridge between clergy and lay people in popular Buddhism is underscored by Anagārika Dharmapāla—diminishing the 'rigid distinction between clergy and laity' (Gombrich & Obeyesekere, Citation1988, p. xi). 19. Dharmapāla mentions mettā meditation part of a daily routine for Sinhala school children. 20. Candland (Citation2000, p. 366) writes: 'Underdevelopment or suffering is thought to be dependent upon undesirable and correctable psychological states, such as ill will and possessiveness, while development and removal of suffering is achieved through love and selflessness. While over a thousand monks are involved in Sarvodaya activities and their participation has reportedly helped to revitalize the Sangha [union of monks] (Ariyaratne, 6 July 1999; Macy, 1983, pp. 64–73), it is not only the involvement of religious figures but also the application of religious norms that makes the Movement effective in building social capital.' 21. In recounting three popular Buddhist movements in Southeast Asia, for example, Bobilin (Citation1988, p. 5) underscores their moves to undermine the 'religious' nature of their organization in favour of an emphasis on development: 'Three of the four movements considered are deeply influenced by Buddhist traditions. The Asian Cultural Forum on Development is indeed interfaith in purpose and organization. Early in its development, the decision was made not to include the word "religion" in its organizational name. However, since its coordinator is a leading Buddhist layman and its headquarters is in Bangkok, Buddhism provides an important influence on its development. The Thai Interreligious Committee on Development has Catholic board members and participants, but the young people who are the body of the movement are Buddhists. Buddhatat's writing and thought provide the central intellectual and religious focus for the group. He is the leading monk intellectual in present-day Thailand. It is interesting to note that Buddhatat's interpretations draw on Mahayana Buddhist thought, chiefly Zen, as well as reasserting a classical dharmic foundation.' The scope with which mettā is invoked as a rubric for interfaith dialogue and new syntheses of 'East/West' techniques of pedagogy is reflected in Orr's review of a book on educational practice (Liston & Garrison, Editors (as cited in Orr, 2005)), which explains mettā as a 'ground of all action': 'Buddhist philosophy is grounded in the notion of the interdependence of all things and this view is developed on the practical level by understanding that there is no essential separation between oneself and others. Thus, the practice of mettā (translated as kindness, loving-kindness, or friendship) becomes the ground of all action. That is, all others are treated as one treats oneself, with the same dignity, respect, and care' (Orr, Citation2005, p. 232). 22. This has been debated as part of a larger conversation about 'Protestant Buddhism', a controversial label for a set of nineteenth and twentieth-century religious and political movements within Buddhism that are largely lay-based and lean on textual pedigree (Gombrich & Obeyesekere, Citation1988; Holt, Citation1991; Johnson, Citation2004). 23. In a discussion about 'devotion to the Buddha' (Buddha-bhakti), Mahinda Deegalle (Citation2000, pp. 331–345) discusses Vidyācakravartī's Butsaraṇa, a thirteenth-century Sinhala text that presents Buddha-bhakti as a response to deva-bhakti in Sri Lanka (p. 335). Deegalle cites Martin Wickramasinghe, a Sinhala literary critic of the twentieth century, as disapproving of this kind of devotionalism as unedifying sentimentality (p. 340). Contemporary moves to exalt mettā-bhāvanā practices as a mode of consciousness-raising for social mobilization seems to echo the Butsaraṇa's impulse to counter Śaiva devotional models introduced to Śrī Lankā in the thirteenth century. Does the mettā discourse fit better with the 'modern' temperament? Or, again, is it too reductive a perspective to link the emergence of mettā discourse in the twentieth century and, likewise, too reductive to see the Butsaraṇa as merely a response to Śaiva devotionalism? 24. In his article on the 'Indigenization of Rāmāyaṇa in Cambodia', Pou (Citation1992) also makes an interesting point about Ram becoming a representative of mettā perfection in Ramakerti exegesis in Cambodia.