"May all beings be happy and free" is one of the most loved wishes in the world. You may have heard it at the end of a yoga class, seen it on a poster or said it yourself. But where does it actually come from? There are two answers, and both are worth knowing.
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The yoga-class version: a Sanskrit mantra
The line most people know is an English rendering of the Sanskrit mantra:
Lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu
May all beings everywhere be happy.
It comes from Hindu and yogic practice and is often chanted at the end of yoga classes. Its exact textual origin is unclear, and the words "and free" are a popular modern addition in English.
The older Buddhist wish: the Metta Sutta
Buddhism has its own version, much older than the poster, and at the center of one of its best-known texts. The Metta Sutta (Snp 1.8), the Discourse on Love, is still chanted every day in Theravāda temples. Its heart is this wish:
Sukhino va khemino hontu, sabbasattā bhavantu sukhitattā.
"May they be happy and safe! May all beings be happy!"
The discourse goes on to say who "all beings" means, "with not a one left out": the frail and the firm, the large and the tiny, the seen and the unseen, those living far and near. Nobody is outside the wish.
What the words mean
| Pāli | Meaning |
|---|---|
| sabbe / sabba | all |
| sattā | beings, living creatures |
| bhavantu | may they be |
| sukhitattā | happy at heart |
| khemino | safe, secure |
Notice that the Buddhist wish includes being safe. The same discourse also asks something of the person wishing: "Let none deceive another, nor look down on anyone anywhere." A kind wish is meant to change how we act.
And "free"?
In Buddhism, the deepest freedom is freedom from suffering, and many modern teachers add a wish for it to their practice: may all beings be free from suffering. This is a common modern phrase for compassion (karuṇā), not a quotation from the Metta Sutta. So "may all beings be happy and free" joins two Buddhist ideals, love and compassion, in a single line.
How to use it every day
- Morning: after a few slow breaths, say it once and mean it. Then choose one person you will be kind to today.
- In a hard moment: when someone frustrates you, silently say may you be happy. It is hard to stay angry at someone you are wishing well.
- Evening: end the day by widening the wish to everyone you met, and everyone you did not.
For the full practice, try our metta meditation or the 10-minute loving-kindness meditation script.
Questions people ask
Is "may all beings be happy and free" Buddhist?
The exact English line is usually a translation of the Sanskrit mantra Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, which comes from Hindu and yogic practice. A very similar wish, "may all beings be happy," is at the heart of the Buddhist Metta Sutta.
What does Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu mean?
Roughly: may all the worlds (or all beings everywhere) be happy. The words "and free" are a popular modern addition in English.
What is the Pāli version?
Sabbe sattā bhavantu sukhitattā: may all beings be happy. It comes from the Metta Sutta (Snp 1.8), which Theravāda Buddhists still chant.
How do I use it as a practice?
Say it slowly, silently or aloud, at the start or end of the day, and let yourself mean it. Then carry it into one kind act.