THUS HAVE I OBSERVED. People who practice the Buddhist method of metta bhavana (loving kindness practice) can transform the world around them (a big statement, but observable to be true). It starts with a thought and becomes a living action.

In Buddhism, rather than praying and asking of an external power to come and intervene between us and our problems and to sort them out for us, using metta we go deep inside our consciousness and see things as they really are. Very often we discover that we are our problem, or rather our attitude is - our mind creates the world around us and this mind is self-obsessed. So we try to lose this self and transform if from selfish to selfless. It seems paradoxical! By accepting the self with its multitude of faults we can breath in universal love, which is timeless, limitless, and free of charge. Breathing it in we tranquilise and pacify the mind, allowing it to become contented and clear. We give this loving kindness thought out to our immediate family and friends. When we do this practice for 10-15 minutes a day it builds up. The more you give away the more powerful it gets. You then direct it to people you have never met, to everyone everywhere. When this metta flows sufficiently we are able to transform our minds from dislike, aversion and hatred into a calm state of equanimity. We find we have no enemies. All is in the mind and transformation is under our control. Wherever our mind goes we direct this metta, transforming the world around us.

But what about living action, you might ask? Here is an example. I have a friend from an Italian Catholic background who has been a practising Buddhist for many years. She acts as a foster parent caring for two Muslim boys, refugees from the war in Kosovo. Metta has no conditions attached to it, however; there are no barriers. It does not discriminate. She won't even admit that what she does is special. She claims she's just being herself. If that's so, it's an example of the selfless self.
THUS HAVE I OBSERVED METTA IN ACTION.

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