Karaniya Metta Sutta: Pali chant with translation and meaning

The Karaniya Metta Sutta in Pali with the meaning of every verse: the conduct of one who seeks peace, and loving-kindness for all beings

The Karaniya Metta Sutta is the Buddha's discourse on loving-kindness (mettā), goodwill toward others and toward all living beings. It is ten verses of Pali, found in the Sutta Nipāta (Snp 1.8) and in the Khuddakapāṭha, and it is one of the most widely chanted of the protective chants in Theravada countries. It says two things: how someone who wants to reach peace should live, and how to extend goodwill to every kind of living being, leaving no one out. Below on this page is the Karaniya Metta Sutta in Pali with a translation of each verse. This introduction explains what it means, what each part says, when it is chanted, and how to chant it with understanding.

What is the Karaniya Metta Sutta, and where does the name come from?

In the Pali canon the sutta is simply called the Metta Sutta. The name in common use adds its first word, karaṇīya, meaning 'what should be done'. The first verse begins karaṇīyam atthakusalena, 'this is what should be done by one skilled in the good'. The name sets this chant apart from other suttas about loving-kindness. Mettā comes from mitta, 'friend': it is friendliness, the goodwill a true friend has for you. It is not attached love and not giving in to everything, but the wish that the other be happy and safe.

The Karaniya Metta Sutta falls into four parts. The first (verse 1 to the first half of verse 3) describes the qualities of someone heading for peace. The second (the second half of verse 3 to verse 6) is the wish of loving-kindness for all beings. The third (verses 7 to 9) compares a loving mind to a mother protecting her only child, and asks that this mind be kept up in every posture. The last (verse 10) moves from loving-kindness to wisdom: not holding to views, living virtuously, seeing rightly, and letting go of desire for sensual pleasures.

Fifteen qualities before the wishes of loving-kindness

What many people miss is that the sutta does not begin with wishing others well; it begins with how to live. One who wants to reach the peaceful state (santa pada) should have these fifteen qualities:

1. Sakko: capable, able to do what needs doing.
2. Ujū: upright.
3. Suhujū: thoroughly upright, without guile.
4. Suvaco: easy to speak to, open to advice.
5. Mudu: gentle.
6. Anatimānī: free of pride.
7. Santussako: content with what one has.
8. Subharo: easy to support, not a burden on others.
9. Appakicco: with few duties, not busy with what is unnecessary.
10. Sallahukavutti: living lightly, without clutter.
11. Santindriyo: with calm senses, eyes, ears and mind not chasing everything.
12. Nipako: prudent, sensible in looking after oneself.
13. Appagabbho: not brash or rude.
14. Kulesu ananugiddho: not clinging to or seeking favours from the families one visits.
15. Not doing even the slightest thing the wise could criticise.

Some of these, such as not clinging to the families one visits, fit the life of monks who go on alms round, but the point applies to anyone. A person who lies, takes advantage of others or is constantly busy with wanting can say the words of loving-kindness, but the mind will not be calm enough for it to grow. So the sutta lays the ground of conduct first.

Karaniya Metta Sutta translation: may all beings be happy

Sukhino va khemino hontu,
Sabbasattā bhavantu sukhitattā.

May they be happy and safe. May all beings be happy at heart.

Snp 1.8

This is the heart of the chant. After it the sutta goes through being after being so that no one is left out: the trembling and the steady; the long, the large, the middle-sized, the short, the tiny and the stout; the seen and the unseen; those living far and near; those already born and those still to be born. Listing them like this helps in meditation, because the mind tends to wish well only to those it likes. Bringing each group to mind lets it widen, little by little, until it takes in every life.

Verse 6 gives the other side of loving-kindness, what not to do: let no one deceive another or look down on anyone anywhere, and even when angry or irritated, let no one wish suffering on another. This verse can be used in daily life straight away. When you are angry with someone, the anger may arise, but you can choose not to build it up into a wish for the other person to be hurt.

A mother guarding her only child: a boundless heart

Mātā yathā niyaṁ puttam
Āyusā ekaputtamanurakkhe;
Evampi sabbabhūtesu,
Mānasaṁ bhāvaye aparimāṇaṁ.

Just as a mother would guard her own child, her only child, with her life, so toward all beings one should develop a boundless heart.

Snp 1.8

This is the best-known image in the sutta. The point of the comparison is how sincere and unconditional the care is, not possessiveness: a mother does not wish her child well because the child is good to her. The sutta asks for that kind of mind toward every life, above, below and all around, a mind that is unconfined, without hostility and without enemies, and asks that this mindfulness be kept whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down, as long as one is not drowsy. The sutta calls this way of living a divine abiding here and now, the same word used for the four divine abidings: loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity.

The last verse turns from loving-kindness to wisdom: one who does not cling to views, who is virtuous and complete in vision, and who has let go of desire for sensual pleasures, will not come to lie in a womb again. It is a reminder that loving-kindness is a good foundation for the mind, but the aim of the Buddhist path is to see things as they are until one is free. Someone whose mind has grown calm through loving-kindness can go on to see the impermanence of all things, along the lines of vipassana.

When is the Karaniya Metta Sutta chanted?

The Karaniya Metta Sutta belongs to both the seven-chant and the twelve-chant sets of protective chants, which monks chant at merit-making ceremonies such as house blessings, birthdays and other auspicious occasions. People who chant at home often include it. Three times work well: after the morning chanting to the Buddha, to set good intentions for the day; before sleep, to calm the mind; and before sitting for loving-kindness meditation. There is no rule about when it must be chanted. The best time is when the mind is ready to attend to the meaning.

The commentary, a later explanation, tells that the Buddha taught this sutta to a group of monks who had gone to meditate in a forest and became so frightened they could not stay. He sent them back with it, to chant it and to develop loving-kindness. The story is not part of the sutta itself, and the sutta's own words are about how to live and how to wish every life well; they promise no special result from chanting.

Chanting the Karaniya Metta Sutta three or nine times, and the short form

Many people chant the Karaniya Metta Sutta three times, nine times or more, as they have resolved to, a custom that keeps the mind with the chant for longer. The sutta itself sets no number of repetitions and says nothing about results from repeating it. What gives chanting its meaning is real goodwill in the mind while chanting. If you chant it several times, let the first round be chanted with the meaning in mind, then slow down a little with each round after, letting the feeling of goodwill grow clearer each time.

If you are looking for a short form, there is no official shortened version. The whole sutta is only ten verses and takes a few minutes to chant. If time is really short, you can chant just the two lines at its heart, sukhino va khemino hontu, sabbasattā bhavantu sukhitattā, or use the chant for spreading loving-kindness, a separate short chant made for spreading goodwill directly.

Chanting with understanding

1. Read the translation of each verse below once before chanting, so you know what you are saying.
2. Sit comfortably, take a few slow breaths, and set the intention to wish others well.
3. Chant slowly and clearly. During verses 1 to 3, ask yourself how far you lived by those qualities today.
4. In verses 3 to 5, really bring each group to mind: the people at home, strangers, and the small creatures around you.
5. When you finish, sit quietly for two or three minutes and let the goodwill stay in the mind. To practise further, read about metta meditation.
6. During the day, use verse 6 as a reminder: no deceiving, no looking down on anyone, and no wishing suffering on anyone, even in anger.

The sutta teaches that loving-kindness is not words to be recited in full, but both a way of living and a state of mind that can be trained. Chanting is only the first door. Not harming, not deceiving, and wishing well even to people we dislike are what make loving-kindness really grow.

The sutta in translation

Machine translation from: Karaṇīyamettā Sutta (SNP 1.8) · Commentary on the Sutta Nipāta (Paramatthajotikā)