Metta Sutta

Credit: (http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~beatrice/buddhist-practice/)

Metta: Loving Kindness.

This is what should be done by one who is skilled in goodness
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright, straightforward and gentle in speech,
Humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied.
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm, and wise and skilful,
not proud and demanding in nature.

Let them not do the slightest thing that the wise would later reprove.
They should wish:

In gladness and in safety
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be,
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born,
May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another, or despise any being in any state,
Let none through anger or ill-will wish harm upon another.

Even as a mother protects with her life her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings,
Radiating kindness over the entire world,
Spreading upwards to the skies, and downwards to the depths,
Outwards and unbounded, freed from hatred and ill-will.

Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down,
Free from drowsiness, one should sustain this recollection.

Metta is one of the four mental state that a Buddhist must Cultivate, Metta is "Loving Kindness" the other 3 is "Compassion" "Sympathetic Joy" and "Equanimity" . Each of the 4 mental states corresponds to the "Four Immeasurables"

The four immeasurables

May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all beings rejoice in the well-being of others.
May all beings live in peace, free from greed and hatred.

Mental state	Definition	Far enemy	Near enemy	Comments
Loving kindness	Wanting others to be happy	Hatred, anger	Conditional love	State to avoid: attachment
Compassion	Wanting others to be free from suffering	Cruelty	Pity	State to avoid: sentimentality
Sympathetic joy	Rejoicing in the good fortune of others	Envy	Hypocritical admiration	Good against depression
Equanimity	Regarding every sentient being as equal	Anxiety, doubt, worry	Indifference	State to avoid: apathy