Metta meditation is the practice of wishing well, first to yourself and then, step by step, to everyone. It is one of the simplest Buddhist practices and one of the most needed when life is under pressure. Here are the phrases, a 5-minute script, and the words this practice comes from.
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The phrases
Most teachers today use a few short wishes like these. Say them silently, slowly, letting each one land:
May I be happy.
May I be well.
May I be safe.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
These modern phrases are a teaching aid, not a scripture. If other words feel more honest, use them. What matters is the wish behind them.
A 5-minute metta meditation script
- Settle (1 minute). Sit comfortably. Take a few slow breaths and let your face soften.
- Yourself (1 minute). Say the phrases for yourself: May I be happy. May I be well. May I be safe. May I be peaceful and at ease.
- Someone who helped you (1 minute). Picture someone who has been kind to you, and offer them the same wishes: May you be happy…
- Someone neutral, then someone difficult (1 minute). A person you barely know, then, if you can, someone you find hard. Start with someone only mildly difficult.
- Everyone (1 minute). Let the wish widen: May all beings be happy. Then sit quietly for a few breaths.
If wishing yourself well feels awkward, start with the person who helped you, and come back to yourself later. Many people find that easier.
The original words
Metta practice goes back to the Metta Sutta (Snp 1.8), the Discourse on Love, which Theravāda monasteries still chant. Its heart is a simple wish:
Sukhino vā khemino hontu, sabbe sattā bhavantu sukhitattā.
"May they be happy and safe! May all beings be happy!"
And its most loved image, in Bhikkhu Sujato's translation:
"Even as a mother would protect with her life her child, her only child, so too for all creatures unfold a boundless heart."
The discourse also says this practice is not only for the meditation cushion: it is to be kept in mind "when standing, walking, sitting, or lying down."
Taking it into your day
Try one wish in an ordinary moment: in a slow line, on a hard call, when someone cuts you off in traffic. Silently: May you be well. That is metta practice too, and it is how a quiet morning practice turns into care for the people around you.
Want it guided? Our free 3-minute practice ends with a kind intention for the day, and the Buddhist morning prayer is a natural way to begin before it.
Questions people ask
What does metta mean?
Mettā is a Pāli word usually translated as loving-kindness, friendliness or love. It means sincerely wishing that yourself and others are well and happy.
What are the metta phrases?
Common modern phrases are: May I be happy. May I be well. May I be safe. May I be peaceful and at ease. They are a teaching aid, not a fixed text; use words that feel true to you.
Where does metta meditation come from?
The best-known early source is the Metta Sutta (Snp 1.8), the Discourse on Love, which Theravāda Buddhists still chant today. It describes wishing all beings to be happy, with a heart as protective as a mother's for her only child.
What if I feel nothing during metta practice?
That is common, especially at the start. The practice is the wishing, not the feeling. Warmth often comes later, and sometimes it shows up first in how you treat people during the day.