Training a Mind Filled with Loving-Kindness, without Hostility or Ill Will

Monks, there are these five courses of speech that others may use when they address you:

(1) Their speech may be timely or untimely,

(2) true or untrue,

(3) gentle or harsh,

(4) connected with benefit or unbeneficial,

(5) spoken with a mind of loving-kindness or with inner hate.

Herein, Monks, you should train thus:

Our minds will remain unaffected, and we shall speak no evil words; we shall reside compassionate for their welfare, with a mind of loving-kindness, without inner hate. We shall reside enveloping that person with a mind filled with loving-kindness, and starting with him, we shall reside enveloping the all-encompassing world with a mind filled with loving-kindness, abundant, joyful, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will. That is how you should train, Monks.

Monks, suppose a man came with crimson, turmeric, indigo, or carmine and said: I shall draw pictures and make pictures appear on empty space.

What do you think, Monks? Could that man draw pictures and make pictures appear on empty space?

‘No, Venerable Sir’

Why is that?

Because empty space is formless and invisible; he cannot possibly draw pictures there or make pictures appear there. Eventually the man would reap only tiredness and disappointment.

So too, Monks, there are these five courses of speech that others may use when they address you.

Herein, Monks, you should train thus: Our minds will remain unaffected, and we shall speak no evil words; we shall reside compassionate for their welfare, with a mind of loving-kindness, without inner hate. We shall reside enveloping them with a mind filled with loving-kindness; and starting with them, we shall reside enveloping the all-encompassing world with a mind filled with loving-kindness, abundant, joyful, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will: That is how you should train, Monks.

(The Buddha also spoke several other similes. A simile of a man who came with a hoe and a basket and said ‘I shall make this great earth to be without earth’. A simile of a man with a blazing grass-torch and said ‘I shall heat up and burn away the river Ganges with this blazing grass-torch’. Eventually that man would reap only tiredness and disappointment.)

Monks, even if criminals were to sever you savagely limb by limb with a two-handled saw, he who gave rise to a mind of hate towards them would not be practicing my Teachings.

Herein, Monks, you should train thus: Our minds will remain unaffected, and we shall speak no evil words; we shall reside compassionate for their welfare, with a mind of loving-kindness, without inner hate. We shall reside enveloping them with a mind filled with loving-kindness; and starting with them, we shall reside enveloping the all-encompassing world with a mind filled with loving-kindness, abundant, joyful, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will: That is how you should train, Monks.

Monks, if you keep this advice on the simile of the saw constantly in mind, do you see any course of speech, insignificant or significant, that you could not endure?

‘No, Venerable Sir.’

Therefore, Monks, you should keep this advice on the simile of the saw constantly in mind. That will lead to your welfare and peacefulness for a long time.

(Reference: MN 21)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares the types of speech that one may encounter in the course of their daily life.

People may speak to you in the following ways:

(1) Their speech may be timely or untimely,

(2) true or untrue,

(3) gentle or harsh,

(4) connected with benefit or unbeneficial,

(5) spoken with a mind of loving-kindness or with inner hate.

However one should choose to speak to you, The Buddha provides guidance that a Practitioner who is training their mind towards the attainment of Enlightenment should remain unaffected residing with a mind filled with loving-kindness. “Our minds will remain unaffected, and we shall speak no evil words; we shall reside compassionate for their welfare, with a mind of loving-kindness, without inner hate”.

Hate is not eliminated and extinguished through being hateful. Hate can only be eliminated and extinguished through the practice of loving-kindness.

While this may be challenging and completely opposite of what you have been taught or practiced your entire life, continuing to be angry, hateful, or have ill will is only going to produce more anger, hatred, and ill will towards you. This is The Natural Law of Kamma of “cause and effect” or “action and results”, essentially the results of your decisions.

The reason why anger, hatred, and ill will is continuing around you is because you are continuing to put that out into the world, therefore, it will continue to come back to you. It is only when you train the mind to improve your wisdom, moral conduct, and mental discipline that you will see a different result.

Continuing to do what you have done in the past will only produce the same results as you are experiencing now. It is only when you make changes to your life practice that you will observe improvements to the condition of the mind and your life.

While others may speak to you untimely, untrue, harsh, unbeneficial, with a mind of inner hate and blamefully, you will need to train the mind to speak at the right time, truthful, gentle, beneficially, with a mind of loving-kindness, and blamelessly to attain Enlightenment.

Learning, reflecting, and practicing The Five Factors of Well Spoken Speech is highly important to ensure one is not causing harm through their speech or communication. Improving your practice to accomplish this goal is going to take patience and dedication to ensure you are working in the direction of Right Speech.

Through a well developed practice of Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and Loving-kindness Meditation, a Practitioner can transform the mind eliminating craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality) making it much easier to practice Right Speech and all the other Teachings on The Path to Enlightenment.

The mind needs to be filled and permeating with loving-kindness for all beings for one to attain Enlightenment. Anger, hatred, ill will and all the lesser versions of these qualities of mind, do not exist in the mind of an Enlightened being. It is training the mind through a well developed practice of The Eight Fold Path that the mind can be trained to fully extinguish all unwholesome Kamma to include Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and Loving-kindness Meditation. Then, in daily life, one needs to ensure they are practicing The Eight Fold Path to perfection in all situations and interactions.

Through the continuous patience and diligence to learn and practice in this way, a Practitioner will move the mind towards the ultimate goal of Enlightenment.