English
For one whose resentment towards the enemy person has thus subsided, the mind proceeds with loving-kindness towards that person, just as it does towards dear, very dear, and neutral friends. Then, by repeatedly practicing loving-kindness, by achieving equanimity of mind towards oneself, a dear person, a neutral person, and an enemy person—these four individuals—the breaking of boundaries should be done. This is its characteristic: if, when this bhikkhu is seated in one place with a dear person, a neutral person, and an enemy person, making four in all, thieves were to come and say, "Venerable sir, give us one bhikkhu," and when asked "For what reason?" they were to say, "To kill him, take his throat blood, and offer it as a sacrifice," and if that bhikkhu were to think, "Let them take so-and-so or so-and-so," When is the breaking of boundaries accomplished? Even if he thinks, "Let them seize me, not these three," the breaking of boundaries is not accomplished. Why? For whomever he wishes to be seized, he is an enemy to them; he is a friend only to the others. But when, among the four people, he sees not even one to be given to the robbers, and he directs his mind equally towards himself and those three people, then the breaking of boundaries is accomplished. Therefore, the ancients said: In oneself, in friends, in neutrals, And in enemies, in these four kinds; When one sees no difference, One is indeed a friend to beings. Not one who gains at will through loving-kindness, Is called skilled; But when the four boundaries Are broken for the bhikkhu. He pervades equally with loving-kindness, The entire world with its devas; A great distinction from before, For whom no boundary is known. Thus, at the very moment of the breaking of boundaries, this bhikkhu has obtained both the sign and access concentration. But when the breaking of boundaries is accomplished, cultivating, developing, and making much of that same sign, he attains absorption concentration without much difficulty, in the same way as described for the earth-kasiṇa. By this much, he has attained the first jhāna accompanied by loving-kindness, which is free from five factors, endowed with five factors, excellent in three ways, and possessed of ten characteristics. And having attained that, cultivating, developing, and making much of that same sign, he gradually attains the second and third jhānas in the fourfold system, and the second, third, and fourth jhānas in the fivefold system. For he dwells pervading one direction with a mind accompanied by loving-kindness, by means of one of the first jhānas and so on. Likewise the second, Likewise the third, Likewise the fourth. Thus, above, below, across, everywhere, in all ways, he dwells pervading the entire world with a mind accompanied by loving-kindness, vast, exalted, immeasurable, without enmity, without ill-will. Indeed, this transformation occurs only for a mind that has attained absorption concentration by means of the first jhāna and so on. And here, in loving-kindness accompanied by one endowed with loving-kindness. By mind means by citta. "One direction" means having taken a being first grasped in one direction, it is said in the sense of pervading the beings included in that one direction. "Having pervaded" means having touched, having made it an object. "Dwells" means he maintains the posture-dwelling established by the divine abiding. "Likewise the second" means just as he pervades and dwells in any one direction among the eastern and other directions, likewise immediately after that the second, third, and fourth; this is the meaning. "Thus upwards" means in this same manner the upper direction is meant. "Downwards, across" means the downward direction and the across direction are likewise. And there, "downwards" means below. "Across" means in the intermediate directions. Thus, in all directions, like a horse in a horse stable, he directs and redirects his mind accompanied by loving-kindness. Up to this point, the pervasion of loving-kindness in a specific way, having taken one direction, has been shown. But "everywhere" and so on is said to show it in an unspecified way. There, "everywhere" means in all places. "With all selfhood" means in all distinctions of inferior, middle, and superior, friend, enemy, neutral, and so on, with selfhood. It is said in the sense of not making the distinction "this is another being," but with self-equality. Or, "with all selfhood" means without scattering even a little outside with the entire mental part. "All-containing" means containing all beings, meaning endowed with all beings. "World" means the world of beings. Since the phrase "with vast" and so on is seen here, it is again said "accompanied by loving-kindness." Or, since here the word "likewise" or the word "thus" is not mentioned again as in the specific pervasion, it is again said "with a mind accompanied by loving-kindness." Or, this is said by way of conclusion. And here, in "with vast," vastness should be seen in the sense of pervasion. But in terms of plane, this is "exalted"; and in terms of proficiency, it is "immeasurable"; and in terms of having immeasurable beings as object, it is "immeasurable"; by the abandonment of ill-will and enmity, it is "without enmity"; by the abandonment of displeasure, it is "without malevolence"; it is said to be "without suffering." This is by the method of "with a mind accompanied by loving-kindness" and so on. The meaning of the manifestation of rising up. 255. Just as this manifestation occurs only for the mind that has attained absorption, so too, what is said in the Paṭisambhidāmagga (Paṭi. Ma. 2.22) — "the liberation of mind through loving-kindness pervading without limitation in five ways, the liberation of mind through loving-kindness pervading with limitation in seven ways, the liberation of mind through loving-kindness pervading the directions in ten ways" — that too is understood to occur only for the mind that has attained absorption. And therein, May all beings be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all living things, May all creatures, May all persons, May all those with an individual existence, be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. By these five ways, the liberation of mind through loving-kindness pervading without limitation is to be understood. May all females be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all males, May all noble ones, May all ignoble ones, May all devas, May all humans, May all those in states of woe, be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. By these seven ways, the liberation of mind through loving-kindness pervading with limitation is to be understood. May all beings in the eastern direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all beings in the western direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all beings in the northern direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all beings in the southern direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all beings in the south-eastern intermediate direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all beings in the north-western intermediate direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all beings in the north-eastern intermediate direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all beings in the south-western intermediate direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all beings in the lower direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all beings in the upper direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all living things, creatures, persons, those with an individual existence in the eastern direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. ... May all females in the eastern direction, May all males, May all noble ones, May all ignoble ones, May all devas, May all humans, May all those in states of woe, in the eastern direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. May all females in the western direction, May all males, May all noble ones, May all ignoble ones, May all devas, May all humans, May all those in states of woe, in the western direction be free from enmity, free from ill-will, free from trouble, and maintain themselves in happiness. ... By these ten ways, the liberation of mind through loving-kindness pervading the directions is to be understood. being. 256. Here, "all beings" means all without remainder. "Beings" (sattā) means those who are attached and clinging due to desire and lust for the aggregates such as form. This was said by the Blessed One: "Whatever desire, whatever lust, whatever delight, whatever craving there is for form, Radha, there one is attached, there one clings, therefore one is called a being... for feeling... for perception... for volitional formations... for consciousness, whatever desire, whatever lust, whatever delight, whatever craving there is, there one is attached, there one clings, therefore one is called a being."