Buddhism, Brahmavihara

Am studying loving-kindness (or loving-friendliness) meditation. Mindfulness in Plain English has a wonderful section on this, though it is not available in the online edition of the book. Thus, I stumbled across the "four sublime states".

Brahmavihāras ("four sublime states", "Brahma abindings", "sublime attitudes")

1 ☸ metta (love, loving-kindness, loving-friendliness)

"..that lies like a soft but firm hand on the ailing beings, ever unchanged in its sympathy, without wavering, unconcerned with any response it meets."

2 ☸ karuna (compassion)

"The compassion of the wise man does not render him a victim of suffering. His thoughts, words and deeds are full of pity. But his heart does not waver; unchanged it remains, serene and calm."

3 ☸ mudita (sympathetic/appreciative joy)

"Let us teach real joy to men! Many have unlearned it. Life, though full of woe, holds also sources of happiness and joy, unknown to most. Let us teach people to seek and to find real joy within themselves and to rejoice with the joy to others!"

4 ☸ upekkha (equanimity)

"True equanimity, however, should be able to meet all these severe tests and to regenerate its strength from sources within. It will possess this power of resistance and self-renewal only if it is rooted in insight."

"Equanimity is the crown and culmination of the four sublime states. But this should not be understood to mean that equanimity is the nega-tion of love, compassion, and sympathetic joy, or that it leaves them behind as inferior."

being mindful of the skhandas.

http://www.buddhanet.net/bvihar.htm (all quotes)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmavihara
Mindfulness in Plain English, by Bhante Gunaratana