Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) — "May all beings be happy and safe, and may their hearts be filled with joy."
May all beings be happy and safe, and may their hearts be filled with joy.
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More from Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
"The thoughtless man, even if he can recite a large portion of the law, but is not a doer of it, has no share in the priesthood, but is like a cowherd counting the cows of others."
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Details
A common translation of a phrase from the Metta Sutta (Snp 1.8), often used in metta meditation.
Date: c. 5th century BCE
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Understanding this quote
What it means
This is a wish of unconditional goodwill extended to every living creature without exception. The speaker hopes everyone experiences well-being, physical safety from harm, and inner contentment. It is not limited to friends or family but reaches strangers, enemies, and even animals. The phrase expresses an attitude of universal kindness, asking that others thrive and feel genuine joy rather than fear, pain, or suffering in their daily existence.
Relevance to Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
This line comes directly from the Metta Sutta, a core teaching the Buddha gave on loving-kindness meditation. After abandoning his royal life in Kapilavastu and awakening under the Bodhi tree, he taught that cultivating boundless compassion toward all beings was essential to ending suffering. He rejected caste distinctions and extended moral concern to animals, which aligned with his refusal to sanction ritual sacrifice. The words reflect his lived practice of radical inclusivity and mental training.
The era
In 5th-6th century BCE northern India, Vedic Brahmanism dominated with rigid caste hierarchies and animal sacrifices performed for spiritual merit. Society was stratified, and religious access was gated by birth. The Ganges plain was simultaneously undergoing the Second Urbanization, producing sixteen mahajanapadas and a class of wandering shramana ascetics who challenged orthodox authority. Extending unconditional goodwill to all beings, regardless of caste or species, was a direct counter to sacrificial religion and social exclusion.
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