The Four Immeasurables

The Four Immeasurables

"Compassion and love, joy and equanimity are not mere luxuries.
As the source both of inner and external peace,
they are fundamental to the continued survival of our species."
--His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama

During the time of Buddha’s enlightenment, there was the beginning of a shift from a purely agrarian economy to some capitalism that was springing up in small towns around Northern India. One of the things that Buddha discovered was that along with the process of selling and buying also came greed, corruption, stealing, killing. Although the time may have been long ago, it seems that our financial situation continues to have elements of greed, corruption, stealing, killing. Buddha identified a reaction in people, that can happen in good times and in bad, when people feel a primitive sense of lack and poverty, have a sense of separation from one another, a desire, a craving to gain advantage over others, a need to put up defenses. As Buddha reflected on the negative impact of these thoughts and feelings, he could see that they were arising out of a sense of craving, aversion and ignorance. This reaction caused great suffering in the world then, and it causes great suffering in the world now.

So what do we do? Where do we begin? Is it an impossible task to overcome these historic and monumental struggles within and around us? The Buddhist teachings encourage us that there is a way to get better address the challenges we face. The Buddha discovered that we can get beyond these struggles: First, by recognizing them for what they are, then by practicing a kinder way of being and living, to see things more clearly, to act more compassionately and wisely.

One of the practices that the Buddha developed to help cultivate these attitudes and actions are call The Four Immeasurables, The Four Sublime States, which are LOVING-KINDNESS, COMPASSION, SYMPATHETIC JOY and EQUANIMITY.

The short prayer practice goes like this:

May all beings have happiness and the cause of happiness,

May all beings be free from suffering and the cause of suffering

May all beings have sympathetic joy which is free from suffering

May all beings come to rest in the great equanimity which is beyond attachment or aversion to friend, enemy or stranger.

The Buddha taught the following to his son, Rahula (from "Old Path White Clouds" by Thich Nhat Hahn):

"Rahula, Practice loving kindness to overcome anger. Loving kindness has the capacity to bring happiness to others without demanding anything in return. Practice compassion to overcome cruelty. Compassion has the capacity to remove the suffering of others without expecting anything in return. Practice sympathetic joy to overcome hatred. Sympathetic joy arises when one rejoices over the happiness of others and wishes others well-being and success. Practice equanimity to overcome prejudice. Non-attachment is the way of looking at all things openly and equally. Myself and others are not separate. Do not reject one thing only to chase after another. I call these the four immeasurables. Practice them, and you will become a refreshing source of vitality and happiness for others."

So, the practice of the Four Immeasurables calls upon each of us to try to cultivate these four feelings and actions. In these practices, sometimes we don’t initially feel very loving or joyful. We start to say this prayer about everyone being happy and peaceful, and we don’t feel very happy or peaceful ourselves. Just sit with those thoughts and emotions; make friends with them. Feel it completely, then go back to the practice of visualizing being loving and kind. This practice is not to whitewash over longstanding emotions. RATHER, it is to uproot those old habitual emotions, see them for the illusion that they are, and replace them with kinder and more productive ways of viewing the world.

Loving-kindness - I want all beings to have happiness and feel love.

Compassion - I want all beings to be free from suffering.
Sympathetic Joy - I want all beings to never be separated from sublime joy
Equanimity - I want all beings to live in equanimity, beyond judgments of friend, enemy, stranger.

Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity practice is a way to transform our world:

1. We see more clearly how we are interacting in the world.

2. We explore a new way of being, to be open to new ways of seeing ourselves and others.

3. We learn to fully embody these experiences as we deal with ourselves and others.