The Buddhist Pathcan be taken as a subject of meditation and developed as a
'divine abiding'. Loving kindness is understood as the wish for allbeings-oneself and others-to be well and happy. It is likened
to the feelings of a mother towards her child. Loving kindness is
the basis of the second 'divine abiding', compassion (karu!Jii),
which is the wish for the suffering of all beings to cease, and is
likened to the feelings of a mother towards her sick child. The
third divine abiding is 'sympathetic joy' (muditii), the delight in
the good fortune of others and the wish for it to continue; this
is likened to the feelings of a mother at her child's successes. The
final divine abiding is 'equanimity' (upek~iilupekkhii), a state
of calm balance with regard to the sufferings and pleasures of
beings; it is likened to the attitude of a mother to a child that is
busy withits own affairs, indicating that equanimity should not
be misunderstood as mere indifference.^34
The four divine abidings are described as being developed by
beginning with the wish for one's own well-being and happiness;
this feeling is then gradually extended-through a dwelling, a town,
across a country-to other beings, until the meditator dwells per-
vading all directions with a mind that is imbued with loving kind-
ness and free from enmity.^35
The stages of insight meditation
With the es~ential work of calming the mind completed, with
the attainment of the fourth dhyiina, the meditator can focus
fully on the development of insight and the wisdom that under-
stands the four truths. Insight meditation aims at understanding
three aspects of the nature of things: that they are impermanent
and unstable (anitya/anicca), that they are unsatisfactory and
imperfect (du/:tkha/dukkha), and that they are not self (aniitman/
anattii). The philosophical nuances of these three terms may
be expressed differently in the theoretical writings of various