May all beings before me be well, happy, and peaceful.

Now, extend metta to all beings in front of you saying mentally, “May all beings before me be well, happy, and peaceful.” Repeat it three times and then suffuse metta to all beings in your front direction. Then, do the same thing to your back direction, right direction, left direction, upper direction, lower direction, and then it is recommended that we extend metta, loving-friendliness, in these six directions. The Buddha said, “Keep pervading the first direction with an awareness imbued with good will, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth. Thus above, below, and all around, everywhere, in its entirety, keep pervading the all-encompassing cosmos with an awareness imbued with good will — abundant, expansive, immeasurable, without hostility, without ill will.”

Bhikkhu T. Seelananda. Bhavana: Six Different Methods of Meditation (Pages 55, 56). Bhavana Society Forest Monastery (2015).

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