I have experienced illness, heartbreak, aging, and disability. As a Black, elder, cis-gendered woman, I live with the trauma of social oppression on a daily basis. Like many of us, I’m also profoundly disturbed by the current suffering in the world. In these troubled and troubling times, metta (loving-kindness) is my foundational practice. I am truly grateful for metta meditation, and I practice when I’m afraid, uncertain, or despairing. Metta helps me stay grounded and keeps my heart open to others. I use it to send affirmations of unconditional love to friends and benefactors, and to affirm the well-being and safety of survivors of climate catastrophe, war, and social injustice.
The term metta comes from a Pali word connoting benevolence at both the individual and collective levels. English words that convey its meaning include friendliness, amicability, goodwill, altruism, unconditional love, and nonviolence. In many Englishspeaking dharma circles in the United States, metta is translated as loving-kindness in order to better distinguish it from love based on selfishness or wanting something back.
According to the Buddhist tradition, metta was developed to aid a group of monks who had entered a forest to practice meditation. Engrossed in their practice, the monks failed to notice that the land
