The four immeasurables are loving-kindness (maitri/metta), compassion (karuna), sympathetic joy (mudita), and equanimity (upeksha/upeka). They are also known as the four brahmaviharas (divine abodes) or the four infinite minds. The four brahmaviharas were practiced even before the Buddha, but it was Buddha who taught that when practiced with the wisdom of the middle way, the brahmaviharas could be a part of the path to liberation.

Loving-kindness is the wish that all sentient beings be happy and have the causes of happiness: both in the worldly sense (good health, good friends, success, and whatever else they need), as well as the cultivation of an inner understanding of things as they are: impermanent, selfless, and unsatisfactory. Loving-kindness serves as the antidote to ill will.
Compassion is the wish that beings be free from suffering and its causes, and is the antidote to cruelty. This sentiment is commonly experienced when we see humans or animals we care about who are sick or in pain. On an inner level, it’s the wish for beings to be free of confusion.
Appreciative or sympathetic joy revolves around the happiness we feel when others achieve success and joy. It also refers to the joy that we feel at the prospect of ourselves and others being free from confusion and cultivating wisdom. Sympathetic joy acts as the antidote to jealousy.
Equanimity involves viewing all beings as equal to oneself, irrespective of their current relationship with us. It serves as the antidote to clinging and aversion. Instead of sorting people into those we like and dislike and treating them accordingly, we aim to treat everyone with equal positive regard.

Buddhist practitioners cultivate the four immeasurables in order to develop a deep understanding of and connection to other beings. A practice session can involve contemplating all four immeasurables, or one can focus on each quality individually.

A common way to begin this practice is by generating positive feelings toward one’s friends and family for a time, then moving on to people for whom one holds no positive or negative feelings, and finally practicing with those for whom one feels aversion. This step-by-step approach guides us from the limited, conditional way we experience these feelings to an unlimited, immeasurable experience, as we generate these four attitudes toward all beings without exception.

It is possible to practice and cultivate wholesome states of mind towards ourselves and others. Just like anything, improving one’s capacity to generate these states depends on diligence and discipline. The Buddha taught four immeasurable attitudes that can be practiced daily as a reminder: love, compassion, joy and equanimity.

Reflect on the experience of participating in guided meditations for each of the four immeasurables.

• Which of the four immeasurables feels easier to generate and which seems more challenging?
• What is the difference between practicing these immeasurables from a worldly perspective vs. a wisdom perspective?

Analyze the distinctive qualities and antidotes of each immeasurable by examining their progression from conditional to unconditional states, evaluate how systematic cultivation of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity transforms relationships with all beings, and implement guided meditation practices that demonstrate the expansion from limited affection to boundless regard for all sentient beings.