Brahma-vihara, being kind to the beings there at that very moment
Excerpt from the Viet-Eng Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom on November 4th 2020.
Brahma-vihara, being kind to the beings there at that very moment
[Q:] At the moment when saddha is there, are the cetasikas of metta and mudita also there?
[A. Sujin:] Okay, so now, studying just one word at a time; we use many, many paññatti for each different moment, but they have their own different aspects too. For example, is metta a cetasika? [I'm not sure, Ajahn.]
That's why we should learn about just one word at a time to understand the differences of the same characteristic at different levels and of different aspects. Can you metta a tree? Can anyone metta a tree or a flower or the food? [I don't think so.]
So, no one can have metta towards that which is not a being, right? The nature of metta is adosa cetasika because as long as anger is not there, even if you hear some very bad words, there can be metta, see? Different. Being friendly is different from getting angry. At the moment when there is anger, that means that there is no metta towards that person, right?
But actually, the reality of it is adosa cetasika. That's why we have to understand that there is no metta cetasika, but there can be dosa and adosa, which are different.
So at the moment of having no-dosa, whether it is the moment of attachment - and there can be attachment to anything - while for metta, karuna, mudita, and upekkha, the four brahma-vihara, it means the moment of having the feeling of kindness or being kind to the beings which are the object at that very moment.
No understanding until hearing the true words about whatever is appearing now
When someone gets the best things in life, or something very good or very pleasant, do you have karuna? But when you see a sick person or poor people, there can be the moment of feeling sympathetic to that person. And with understanding, there can be more and more friendliness and karuna when that person gets something bad.
That's why, for the Buddha, he had karuna for all beings because those beings could not understand the truth until they could hear the right words or the true words about whatever is appearing now. So you can understand that very moment, what reality is there.
Karuna, when people get something bad, sickness or whatever, losing money, for example. But when people are living happily and have everything they like, enjoying life, do you have karuna or do you have mudita? These are just examples in life, what moment is karuna and what moment is metta and what moment is mudita.
When someone gets good things and you appreciate or rejoice, not with lobha, but understanding the truth, that all must be conditioned to be such and such. It can be upekkha or metta or mudita, but when one is in hardship, it is karuna. Sympathizing with that person so much about his kamma, which conditioned such a situation. And there can also be kindness too, to help, see? Being friendly.
But metta and lobha are very close: it is said that they are close friends because one cannot see the danger of lobha. But actually, the moment of lobha cannot be metta. So is there an example to understand the difference between metta and lobha? When you help just this person, not the other person at all, who is in the same situation, is that metta or lobha? That's why metta does not have limitations at all. It's not limited to that person only or this person only, but to any being.
The understanding of no-self, no-one, only suññata, can condition more metta
So at the moment of getting angry, is that metta? And when you like that thing or that person so much, is that metta? Pañña can understand the difference between moments of metta and moments of lobha. For example, parents love, are attached, to their own children, but what about others' children? That's why lobha can condition dosa. When the person you like so much changes or something like that, it brings sorrow, not from kindness or metta, but from attachment. Understanding the difference between metta and lobha in a day can condition more moments of kindness instead of attachment.
And what about today? How many moments of metta or karuna or mudita or upekkha? It's not from your own thinking, but from understanding the truth of each different reality. And the understanding of no-self, no-one at all, only suññata, can condition more and more metta in a day, and less and less akusala realities. So there's no one who knows besides the understanding which knows exactly the difference between akusala and kusala.
Mp3 audio file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yHmt61PnE-UAT5TCc_gTRRUrTl6ic8p0
Dhammahome source video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMeAl3Wj_00