Dimitri Papadopoulos

The Four Immeasurable Abodes

Dec 02, 20244 min read

Overview

The four sublime states (also called the four immeasurables or the four divine abodes) are a set of virtues, with corresponding meditation practices. We can view these not as prescriptions, but rather descriptions of what is possible. The four are as follows:

  1. Loving-Kindness (Mettā): Loving-kindness is the wish for all beings to be happy and to have the causes of happiness.
  2. Compassion (Karuṇā): Compassion is the wish for all beings to be free from suffering and its causes.
  3. Sympathetic Joy (Muditā): Sympathetic joy, or empathetic joy, is the ability to rejoice in the happiness and success of others.
  4. Equanimity (Upekkhā): Equanimity is an even-minded mental state or dispositional tendency toward all experiences, people, and objects, regardless of their origin or their affective valence (pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral).

Near and Far Enemies

Each of the four sublime states has a near enemy and a far enemy. The near enemy of a virtue is a state that can be mistaken for the virtue itself. The far enemy is a state that hinders the virtue from arising.

  • Loving-Kindness (Mettā)
    • Near enemy: Attachment or selfish affection
    • Far enemies: Hatred, ill-will, aversion
  • Compassion (Karuṇā)
    • Near enemy: Pity or grief based on worldly life
    • Far enemy: Cruelty
  • Sympathetic Joy (Muditā)
    • Near enemy: Frivolity or superficial joy
    • Far enemy: Envy, jealousy, resentment
  • Equanimity (Upekkhā)
    • Near enemy: Indifference or apathy
    • Far enemies: Attachment and aversion (or anger)

The near enemies as especially difficult to spot, because, from the outside, they can resemble the virtuous state. Take equanimity, for example. A person who is genuinely indifferent toward others and their well-being, might seem, calm, cool, and collected.

This is why it’s important to consider all four of these sublime states as interrelated and mutually supportive. Loving-kindness is often the first one that we learn to practice. In mettā practice, we see what happens when we repeat well-wishes for others in our minds. These can be uniquely personal, but a simple example might go like this:

May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.

We might mistake this for a prayer (and some do indeed practice this way). However, in the spirit of the laboratory model we’ve been working with, think of this as just another experiment. Though it might feel awkward, remember that we wish others well all the time:

happy birthday, have a nice day, have a great weekend, take care, have fun, enjoy, etc.

What makes this a mindfulness practice is the orientation of curiosity we bring to it, without any expectations. As with every other practice we’ve done, we can investigate what happens in the mind and body as we repeat these phrases.

  • If there’s resistance, notice that. What’s that feel like?
  • If there’s a sense of openness, notice that. What’s it feel like?
  • If there’s judgment, notice that. What’s that feel like?
  • If there’s happiness, notice that. What’s that feel like?
  • If there’s sadness, notice that. What’s that feel like?

Benefits of Loving-Kindness (Mettā) Practice

  1. Increases positive emotions and decreases negative emotions:
    • A 7-week study showed increases in love, joy, contentment, gratitude, pride, hope, interest, amusement, and awe1.
    • It can decrease depression and social anxiety1.
    • A meta-analysis found medium effect sizes for increasing daily positive emotions2.
  2. Reduces stress and anxiety:
    • A 2023 review found it significantly decreased burnout and stress3.
    • It can reduce psychological distress4.
  3. Decreases pain:
    • One session reduced migraine pain and tension by 33% and 43% respectively1.
    • An 8-week program was more effective than standard care for chronic lower back pain1.
  4. Enhances social connection:
    • It increases feelings of social connectedness and positivity toward strangers4.
    • It strengthens empathy and compassion toward others1.
  5. Improves physical health:
    • It’s associated with longer telomeres, a biological marker of aging1.
    • It increases vagal tone, which is linked to better physical health4.
  6. Reduces bias:
    • Six weeks of practice decreased implicit bias against minorities4.
  7. Helps with mental health conditions:
    • It reduced depression and PTSD symptoms in veterans4.
    • It decreased negative symptoms in people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders4.
  8. Promotes self-compassion:
    • It fosters self-compassion and reduces negative self-directed emotions3.

Citations

Footnotes

  1. https://www.stresscoach.app/blog/7-powerful-reasons-to-try-loving-kindness-meditation/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4630307/ ↩

  3. https://www.healthline.com/health/metta-meditation ↩ ↩2

  4. https://www.mindful.org/18-science-based-reasons-to-try-loving-kindness-meditation/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

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