AN 4.126  Dutiya mettā sutta - Loving-kindness (Second)

“Cattārome, bhikkhave, puggalā santo saṁvijjamānā lokasmiṁ. Katame cattāro?

“Bhikkhus, there are these four kinds of persons found existing in the world. What four?

Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco puggalo mettāsahagatena cetasā ekaṁ disaṁ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṁ tathā tatiyaṁ tathā catutthaṁ. Iti uddhamadho tiriyaṁ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṁ lokaṁ mettāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati. So yadeva tattha hoti rūpagataṁ vedanāgataṁ saññāgataṁ saṅkhāragataṁ viññāṇagataṁ te dhamme aniccato dukkhato rogato gaṇḍato sallato aghato ābādhato parato palokato suññato anattato samanupassati. So kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā suddhāvāsānaṁ devānaṁ sahabyataṁ upapajjati. Ayaṁ, bhikkhave, upapatti asādhāraṇā puthujjanehi.

Here, bhikkhus, a certain person abides pervading one direction with a mind imbued with |loving-kindness::goodwill towards, friendliness to, benevolence for [mettā]|, likewise the second, the third, and the fourth. Thus above, below, across, everywhere, encompassing all living beings, he abides pervading the entire world with a mind imbued with loving-kindness, expansive, exalted, immeasurable, without hatred and free of affliction. In this state, he perceives whatever phenomena are present — whether |form::materiality, material existence, experience of the material world, i.e. encompassing both one’s body and external objects, whether near or far, gross or subtle, deficient or refined; first of the five aggregates [rūpa]|, |felt experience::pleasant, neutral, or painful sensation, feeling felt on contact through eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; second of the five aggregates [vedanā]|, |perception::The mental process of recognizing and giving meaning to experience. It marks sensory information by signs, labels, or associations drawn from memory and the field of contact. Perception shapes how one experiences the world; third of the five aggregates [sañña]|, |intentional constructs::intentions, volitions, choices; mental and bodily volitional activities; thought formations and constructed experiences (including proliferative tendencies); kamma-producing processes; fourth of the five aggregates [saṅkhāra]|, or |consciousness::quality of awareness — distinctive knowing that arises in dependence on the meeting of eye and form, ear and sound, nose and odor, tongue and taste, body and tangible object, mind and mind object; fifth of the five aggregates [viññāṇa]| — as |impermanent::not lasting, transient, unreliable [anicca]|, |dissatisfactory::uncomfortable, unpleasant [dukkha]|, a disease, a boil, a dart, misery, an affliction, alien, disintegrating, empty, and |not-self::not suitable to identify with, impersonality [anatta]|. After the breaking up of the body, after death, he is reborn in the company of the gods of the |Pure Abodes:: [suddhāvāsa]|. This rebirth, bhikkhus, is not shared with the ordinary persons.

Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, idhekacco puggalo karuṇā …pe… muditā …pe… upekkhāsahagatena cetasā ekaṁ disaṁ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṁ tathā tatiyaṁ tathā catutthaṁ. Iti uddhamadho tiriyaṁ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṁ lokaṁ upekkhāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati. So yadeva tattha hoti rūpagataṁ vedanāgataṁ saññāgataṁ saṅkhāragataṁ viññāṇagataṁ te dhamme aniccato dukkhato rogato gaṇḍato sallato aghato ābādhato parato palokato suññato anattato samanupassati. So kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā suddhāvāsānaṁ devānaṁ sahabyataṁ upapajjati. Ayaṁ, bhikkhave, upapatti asādhāraṇā puthujjanehi.

Again, bhikkhus, here a certain person abides pervading one direction with a mind imbued with |compassion::mental quality of wise empathy in response to suffering, which counters qualities of harm or cruelty [karuṇā]|, with |appreciative joy::mental quality of rejoicing in the success and happiness of others, which counters envy [muditā]|, with |equanimity::mental poise, mental balance, equipoise, non-reactivity, composure [upekkhā]|, pervading one direction, likewise the second, the third, and the fourth. Thus above, below, across, everywhere, encompassing all living beings, he abides pervading the entire world with a mind imbued with equanimity, expansive, exalted, immeasurable, without hatred and free of affliction. In this state, he perceives whatever phenomena are present — whether form, felt experience, perception, intentional constructs, or consciousness — as impermanent, dissatisfactory, a disease, a boil, a dart, misery, an affliction, alien, disintegrating, empty, and not-self. After the breaking up of the body, after death, he is reborn in the company of the gods of the Pure Abodes. This rebirth, bhikkhus, is not shared with the ordinary persons.

Ime kho, bhikkhave, cattāro puggalā santo saṁvijjamānā lokasminti.

These, bhikkhus, are the four kinds of persons found existing in the world.”