Metta is a Pali word that is roughly translated into English as "loving kindness" or "loving friendliness." It is the practice of thinking, speaking, and acting in accordance with the wish "may all beings everywhere, without exception, be well, happy, and peaceful." It is also a meditation practice, where the meditator might begin with wishing themselves well, then radiates this same well wishing to family, friends, neighbors, co workers, all people within an area, city, state, country, and eventually the entire world/universe, all beings everywhere, seen and unseen, known and unknown. The aim is to cultivate boundless love.
The song postulates that this love is the solution to most, if not all, problems that we face.
lyrics
We must love each other...
Loving unconditionally
Accepting reality
Erasing the phrase "I hate"
Completely out of my vocabulary
Because life's too short to hate
And I don't got the time to waste
I'd much rather cultivate
A loving mind state
To have the ability
To clearly comprehend and see
The scope of others' suffering
Wishing them be well & happy
There are no enemies
Only friends who are suffering
From hatred, delusion, and greed
We need to reach the understanding...
That we must love each other...
The obstacles on the path to peace
Are hatred, delusion, and greed
So if we really want to be
The change that we wish to see
We need to individually
Come out of our own suffering
Cultivating loving kindness
Understanding & living simply
Can't fight fire with fire
When we hate we fan the flames
They grow higher and higher
Consuming you
Consuming me
Consuming this community
Now country & globally
But love like water
It's a universal solvent
If there was a problem
Love will solve it!
We must love each other...
I know to say so
Sounds so simple
When in reality the practice
Can be oh so difficult
But that don't mean
That it's impossible
Unless we never try
Try.
From Buddha to Gandhi
And every prophet in between
You'd think by now we'd understand
What the teachings really mean
But more importantly
How we apply them to the lives we lead
Are we living angrily
Or are we constantly forgiving
What we can't let go
Will only hold us down
Stuck in a cycle of revenge & violence
Going 'round & 'round
If we use the same means
Then we reach the same dead end
Violence begets violence
And around we go again & again & again...
The only solution is not being a part of the problem.
credits
from Metta Movement,
released August 16, 2012
tim krupar sang, played acoustic guitar, bass, and synths.
rj dietrich produced, engineered, sang harmonies, and played lead electric guitar
ed skero played rhythm electric guitar
ty sobczak played accordion
finger played drums
loving kindness choir:
myra au, sean barill, kara bialecki, heather costello, joe cramer, karen dietrich, rj dietrich, robert dietrich, doug ewers, mary furlo, dawn gasbarro, brenda goodwin, sue goodwin, bhawani harrell, kelsey james, jordan keenan, michelle keenan, cindy lanyon, marcelle mcmillen, jim platt, bhante punna, anne richardson, bill scalera, ed skero, and william walker.
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