Metta, or loving kindness, is a boundless quality of heart that embraces all beings, including oneself.
Metta overcomes the tensions that arise from human interaction, by gradually dissolving the forces of selfishness at their root. It is therefore a great peace-maker and promoter of harmony.
The Buddha said that whatever one frequently reflects upon becomes the inclination of the mind (Dvedavitakka Sutta). This retreat will encourage the flourishing of loving kindness as a way of relating to our experience and as a systematic cultivation that dissolves the barriers we erect between “self” and “other.”
As we learn to incline away from harmful states of mind through loving kindness, the heart opens to ever deeper experiences of well-being and calm, which provide a powerful basis for insight.