Taking Action

Metta works energetically, in the subtle realms. We live in the physical plane, and must also work on this plane. Metta is not a replacement for activism. This point in our history requires that we bring our intentions into the real world. Metta doesn't replace activism, volunteerism, charity, or service. It is no substitute for action. Metta is the depth beneath and the ground for action. Metta sensitizes us when we would otherwise shut down. Metta practice inspires us and keeps us from giving up. Metta coaxes out our capacity to care more deeply- and then to get our hands dirty while we work- we volunteer, we donate, we demonstrate, we make soup and give it to someone who needs it. If we simply sit and listen to the news we will overwhelm ourselves- and go down into despair, for our conscience requires that we act in response to the suffering we become privy to. It is a strange and unnatural symptom of our global information age that we happen to know about so much suffering and do nothing about it; Darfur, the Niger Famine, AIDS children in Zambia, Zimbabwe, S. Africa, beyond. The suffering in the Southeast may be in our awareness today, but what about those who are still suffering deeply in the wake of the Tsunami? If we shut down to the suffering all around us, we risk numbing out to all of life. Sending metta is a practical way to keep one's heart open to all of life, and in so doing, precipitates a life that aligns with one's conscience.
Turn constantly in the direction of awakening.

Read the original text of the metta sutta, delivered by the Buddha, and learn more about the practice's origins.