Metta

Metta means loving or adoring by wishing the welfare of others. It also has the nature of
protecting from the destruction of others.1
While expressing the wish for the welfare of the beings, metta can be divided into three kinds.
They are-
(1) Kaya kamma metta- helping and caring physically for the welfare of the beings
(2) Vacci kamma metta – uttering verbally with loving-kindness
(3) Mano kamma metta – minding mentally in order that the beings are away from troubles. 2
The loving-kindness of the Boddhisattva can form and exist firmly even on the enemies who can
cause destruction for them. They can have equal kindness on the beings as their offspring
without distinguishing between friends and enemies.
Similarly, a good leader should treat his staff equally without distinguishing between enemies
and friends.
For a good leader, daya is the fifth quality. Sympathy means wishing to rescue others if they are
suffering from trouble by eliminating it. It has the quality of wishing to remove the trouble
although the suffering can or cannot be removed.3 Daya has the same quality as water since it
happens equally without discriminating between the inferior and the superior. A leader should
have empathy for his followers.
Moreover, daya is defined as sympathy, empathy and kindness; it is also defined as love. It is
also defined as metta since it has the nature of loving all the beings. By keeping metta on all the
beings, 10 benefits of metta can be gain. It has the nature of looking after the beings.
In this chapter, two jatakas which highlight the benefit of being tolerant are presented.

1
Khuddaka, tha, 212.
2
Cariya, tha, 313.
3