Loving-kindness
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Look up loving-kindness in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Loving-kindness (or "lovingkindness") is a term coined by Myles Coverdale for his Coverdale Bible of 1535,[1][2] as an English translation of the Hebrew word chesed (which appears in the Latin Vulgate as "misericordia"); in that text it is spelled "louinge kyndnesse". It is also used in this sense in the American Standard Version and various other versions of the Bible. It is sometimes associated with the Greek term agape.[citation needed] This term is used often in the book of Psalms, and refers to acts of kindness, motivated by love. It is used primarily to describe God, rather than people.
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[edit] Use in Buddhism
Loving-kindness is also used as an English equivalent for the Buddhist term Mettā, as described in the Metta Sutta of the Pali Canon's Sutta Nipata (Sn 1.8) and Khuddakapatha (Khp 9), and practiced in Loving kindness meditation.
[edit] Use in Bahá'í Faith
English translations of the writings of the Bahá'í Faith often use the term loving-kindness when referring to the original Persian mohabbat. This is in line with the style chosen by Shoghi Effendi to use a slightly archaic form of English.[3]
[edit] See also
- Chesed, Hebrew word, given the association of kindness and love
- Agape, Greek word, given the association of "loving-kindness" or "love"
- Mettā, Pali word, given the association of "loving-kindness" and "friendliness", conferring with the Sanskrit word Maitreya.
- Charity (virtue)
