MettÄ
Metta ( pali metta, Sanskrit maitri, friendship '; engl loving kindness. ) Is one of the 40 taught by the historical Buddha Siddharta Gautama objects of meditation. Translations for metta are: friendliness, active interest in others, love, friendship, sympathy. Metta is often " loving-kindness " or " infinite goodness " translated yet with the term, because in the eyes of some Buddhist writers the word "love " is too strong, so fraught with tendencies of selfish Have volition with tendencies.
In the Metta Sutta, a discourse of the Buddha Metta describes this as being comparable with the love of a mother for her child. The aim is to extend this attitude of loving kindness to all sentient beings.
In Theravada Buddhism metta is one of the "Ten transcendent virtues" ( pāramī ) and the "Four Immeasurable " ( brahmavihārā ).
Metta Meditation
In the Metta meditation is a friendly and benevolent attitude towards all sentient beings is practiced.
Research on Metta Meditation
A controlled psychological experiment at Stanford University showed that even a short metta meditation of a few minutes (when not practiced in metta meditation people) leads on average to a greater sense of social connectedness with, and a more positive attitude towards unknown persons.
A controlled study by Barbara Fredrickson ( University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ) and colleagues in 139 employees of Compuware found that a multi-week course in metta meditation led to an increase in positive emotions, which in its course with an increased mindfulness, a greater sense experience, more positive relationships with other people and less physical discomfort accompanied. As a result of these individuals showed greater satisfaction with their lives and reported fewer depressive symptoms.
Johnson and colleagues presented in 2009 in three case reports the application of Metta Meditation in schizophrenic patients with negative symptoms represent a subsequent pilot study of 18 schizophrenic patients showed a decrease in negative symptoms and an increase in positive emotions and psychological well-being after weeks of training in metta meditation.