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Itivuttaka 22

Mettasutta

The Benefits of Love · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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Vuttañhetaṁ bhagavatā vuttamarahatāti me sutaṁ:

This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.

“Mā, bhikkhave, puññānaṁ bhāyittha.
Sukhassetaṁ, bhikkhave, adhivacanaṁ iṭṭhassa kantassa piyassa manāpassa yadidaṁ puññāni.
Abhijānāmi kho panāhaṁ, bhikkhave, dīgharattaṁ katānaṁ puññānaṁ iṭṭhaṁ kantaṁ piyaṁ manāpaṁ vipākaṁ paccanubhūtaṁ.
Satta vassāni mettacittaṁ bhāvetvā satta saṁvaṭṭavivaṭṭakappe nayimaṁ lokaṁ punarāgamāsiṁ.
Saṁvaṭṭamāne sudaṁ, bhikkhave, kappe ābhassarūpago homi;
vivaṭṭamāne kappe suññaṁ brahmavimānaṁ upapajjāmi.

“Mendicants, don’t fear good deeds. For ‘good deeds’ is a term for happiness, for what is likable, desirable, and agreeable. I recall undergoing for a long time the likable, desirable, and agreeable results of good deeds performed over a long time. Having developed a mind of love for seven years, for seven eons of the cosmos contracting and expanding I didn’t return to this world again. As the eon contracted I went to the realm of sublime luminosity. As it expanded I was reborn in an empty mansion of divinity.

Tatra sudaṁ, bhikkhave, brahmā homi mahābrahmā abhibhū anabhibhūto aññadatthudaso vasavattī.
Chattiṁsakkhattuṁ kho panāhaṁ, bhikkhave, sakko ahosiṁ devānamindo;
anekasatakkhattuṁ rājā ahosiṁ cakkavattī dhammiko dhammarājā cāturanto vijitāvī janapadatthāvariyappatto sattaratanasamannāgato.
Ko pana vādo padesarajjassa.

There I was the Divinity, the Great Divinity, the vanquisher, the unvanquished, the universal seer, the wielder of power. I was Sakka, lord of gods, thirty-six times. Many hundreds of times I was a king, a wheel-turning monarch, a just and principled king. My dominion extended to all four sides, I achieved stability in the country, and I possessed the seven treasures. Not to mention regional kingship!

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi:
‘kissa nu kho me idaṁ kammassa phalaṁ, kissa kammassa vipāko, yenāhaṁ etarahi evaṁmahiddhiko evaṁmahānubhāvo’ti?
Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi:
‘tiṇṇaṁ kho me idaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ, tiṇṇaṁ kammānaṁ vipāko, yenāhaṁ etarahi evaṁmahiddhiko evaṁmahānubhāvoti, seyyathidaṁ—
dānassa, damassa, saññamassā’”ti.
Etamatthaṁ bhagavā avoca.
Tatthetaṁ iti vuccati:

Then I thought, ‘Of what deed of mine is this the fruit and result, that I am now so mighty and powerful?’ Then I thought, ‘It is the fruit and result of three kinds of deeds: giving, self-control, and restraint.’” The Buddha spoke this matter. On this it is said:

“Puññameva so sikkheyya,
āyataggaṁ sukhudrayaṁ;
Dānañca samacariyañca,
mettacittañca bhāvaye.

“One should practice only good deeds, whose happy outcome stretches ahead. Giving and moral conduct, developing a mind of love:

Ete dhamme bhāvayitvā,
tayo sukhasamuddaye;
Abyāpajjaṁ sukhaṁ lokaṁ,
paṇḍito upapajjatī”ti.

having developed these three things yielding happiness, that astute one is reborn in a happy, pleasing world.”

Ayampi attho vutto bhagavatā, iti me sutanti.
Dutiyaṁ.

This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.

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