The Four Eternal Hearts - Four Brahmaviharas

four eternal hearts in Buddhism - kindness compassion and wisdom

The Four Brahmaviharas – The Four Eternal Hearts

The ancient texts call them Brahmaviharas, but we can use a modern explanation called eternal heart qualities.

  1. Kindness without Ego: you have no expectations or possessiveness behind any act of kindness you perform.
  2. Care without negative personal emotion: you do not take on another person’s negative emotion when you show them compassion.
  3. Joy without stupidity: you allow no ignorant behaviour when you create joy. (See Joy with Wisdom.)
  4. Freedom without greed: you don’t try to hold anything and allow nothing to hold you.

For more details on the Four Brahmaviharas, see here.