One must be able, upright, straight and not proud,
Easy to speak to, mild and well content,
Easily satisfied
And not caught up in too much bustle,
And frugal in one's ways,
With senses calmed, intelligent, not bold,
Not being covetous when with other folk,
Abstaining from the ways that wise ones blame,
And this the thought that one should always hold:
"May beings all live happily and safe
And may their hearts rejoice within themselves.
Whatever there may be with breath of life
Whether they be frail or very strong, without exception,
Be they long or short or middle-sized,
Or be they big or small, or thick,
Or visible, or invisible,
Or whether they dwell far or they dwell near,
Those that are here, those seeking to exist
May beings all rejoice within themselves.
Let no one bring about another's ruin
And not despise in any way or place,
Let them not wish each other any ill
From provocation or from enmity".
Just as a mother at the risk of life
Loves and protects her child, her only child,
So one should cultivate this boundless love
To all that live in the whole universe
Extending from a consciousness sublime
Upwards and downwards and across the world
Untroubled, free from hate and enmity.
And while one stands and while one walks and sits
Or one lies down still free from drowsiness
One should be intent on this mindfulness
This is divine abiding here they say.
But when one lives quite free from any view,
Is virtuous, with perfect insight won,
And greed for sensual desires expelled,
One surely comes no more to any womb.
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/ Revised 10 Apr 06