Mindfulness meets Mettā
Original source: satipanya.org.uk
This essay by Noirin Sheahan explores how classical mettā (goodwill) practice naturally emerges within vipassanā meditation, specifically through the 'internal and external' dimensions outlined in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10). While mettā and mindfulness practices are often seen as separate, Sheahan demonstrates how the Buddha's instructions for practicing the four foundations of Right Awareness both internally and externally creates a bridge between these approaches.
The teaching focuses on practical applications, such as walking meditation where practitioners first cultivate awareness of their own bodily sensations, then extend this awareness to notice others walking nearby. This 'external' practice naturally develops empathy and connection, though it can also reveal underlying interpersonal challenges like irritation or self-consciousness. Sheahan provides clear guidance for working skillfully with both positive and negative emotions that arise during external practice.
The essay offers concrete examples for daily life situations - sitting on buses, walking in parks, feeling tired or happy - showing how external awareness can transform ordinary moments into opportunities for developing goodwill and reducing isolation. This approach grounds mettā practice in embodied mindfulness rather than visualization, making it particularly accessible for vipassanā practitioners seeking to integrate loving-kindness into their meditation.
In classical metta (goodwill) practice we bring people to mind and wish them well. Often this is placed in contrast to vipassana, or mindfulness practice. However, one of the exercises in the Satipatthana Sutta – the teaching on the “Four Foundations for Mindfulness” - can be seen as a form of metta practice which is very firmly embedded in mindfulness.In this teaching, the Buddha describes a number of exercises which bring us along the path to liberation. He starts with mindfulness of breathing and other exercises relating to the body, follows with the various feelings we experience, then the different mind-states we can notice, and ends with his core teachings, showing us how we can study these mindfully, moment after moment.After each exercise he gives a number of options for practice. The first option – to do the exercises “internally” or “externally” – can be used as a form of metta practice. The most common interpretation is that ‘internal’ means our subjective, felt experience, while ‘external’ means knowing objectively what is happening. We canfeelangry (internal practice) and alsoknowthat we are angry (external practice). Knowing experience both subjectively and objectively is the essence of mindfulness – knowingwhatwe’re experiencingwhilewe’re experiencing.Another interpretation has ‘internal’ referring to our own experience and ‘external’ to that of another person. Becoming aware of others as they walk is to practice walking meditation ‘externally’.This gives a very practical way of sensitising ourselves to others.Say we are walking in a park. We bring awareness to sensations - the feet lifting and falling, the knees bending and straightening, the arms swinging. After a while, we broaden the awareness to notice anyone else walking nearby. Their feet are also lifting and falling … knees bending … To keep ourselves focussed we note “he / she is walking … walking”. This is to practice walking meditation ‘externally’.Sometimes it brings a sense of joy and connection to practice externally. We suddenly feel quite friendly towards whoever is walking nearby, interested in them. The link with metta is obvious here. It helps to bring attention back regularly to our own body so as to keep the meditation grounded, remind ourselves what the other person might be experiencing. This often strengthens goodwill.Sometimes the opposite happens, we don’t want to acknowledge that others are walking nearby. It might bring up irritation, we might suddenly feel hostile to a complete stranger. Or we might feel self-conscious or shy, perhaps even intrusive, as though we’re peering into their private experience. External practice shows up underlying issues we have in relating to others, and is an excellent way of learning to work skilfully with these.It's helpful to bring awareness back inside our own body when an emotion becomes strong. This has a steadying effect. Instead of noting “he / she is walking” we note ‘irritation’ or ‘self-conscious’ or whatever word fits. As we bear with the emotion mindfully, it starts to burn out. Within a few minutes we may even feel friendly towards whoever disturbed us. This gives confidence that we can move beyond negativity triggered by interactions with others, strengthen resilience in the face of interpersonal conflict.Practicing mindfulness externally isn’t always a challenge – it can be uplifting and a bit of fun! As we’re sitting on a bus, we feel our sitting posture and then reflect that others are sitting nearby. The heightened awareness of others can stir joy. When we’re feeling happy, we remember that there are others who are also feeling this way. This grounds the happiness, prevents it spinning off into excitement and daydreams. Likewise, when we’re feeling tired and worn out, we can remember that this is being experienced by many others right now. Suddenly we don’t feel so alone.The exercises offer a very practical and embodied way to strengthen our deep connection with others. Why not give them a try? If you like,let me know how you get on.