Skip to content
ZenBodyLove

Loving-kindness meditation

Loving-kindness (metta) meditation, a Buddhist practice of wishing well to oneself and others, has been tested in many small randomised trials. Meta-analyses find small to medium gains in positive emotions, compassion and self-compassion, and fewer low-mood symptoms, compared with doing nothing, but no clear advantage over other active activities. No claim reaches moderate or high certainty because the trials are small, mostly compared against wait-list or passive controls, and of low to moderate methodological quality.

  • Mind

Evidence retrieved up to

What the research shows

In adults, kindness-based meditation such as loving-kindness practice increased self-reported compassion and self-compassion scores compared with passive control groups.

Low certaintyFurther research is likely to change this.
No known concerns at usual amountsBenefit

Who this is about

adults

Sources

In adults, loving-kindness and compassion meditation raised life satisfaction in before-and-after studies, but in randomised controlled trials alone the effect was small and not statistically clear.

Very low certaintyThis is uncertain; treat it as a lead, not a finding.
No known concerns at usual amountsUnclear

Who this is about

adults

Sources

In adults, loving-kindness programmes lowered self-reported low mood, negative feelings and psychological symptom scores compared with passive control groups, but did not show a clear advantage over active control activities or other established psychological programmes.

Low certaintyFurther research is likely to change this.
No known concerns at usual amountsBenefit

Who this is about

adults in community and university samples

Safety note

One review noted that exposure to kindness-based meditation may initially be challenging for some people.

Sources

In adults, loving-kindness meditation programmes increased self-reported daily positive emotions compared with wait-list or no-intervention groups, with small to medium average effects.

Low certaintyFurther research is likely to change this.
No known concerns at usual amountsBenefit

Who this is about

adults in community and university samples

Practical note

Programmes in the reviewed trials varied in length; neither intervention length nor time spent meditating clearly changed the effect sizes, while programmes without a teaching component showed smaller effects.

Safety note

One review noted that exposure to kindness-based meditation may initially be challenging for some people.

Sources

What the tradition holds

A few minutes of loving-kindness meditation increased feelings of social connection and positivity toward unfamiliar people compared with a closely matched control task in a laboratory trial.

No known concerns at usual amountsBenefit

Who this is about

adults

The tradition's frame

Buddhist

In Buddhist teaching, metta (loving-kindness or goodwill) is the first of the four brahmaviharas, the 'sublime abidings'; the Karaniya Metta Sutta describes cultivating a boundless heart of goodwill toward all living beings, near and far.

Practical note

The supporting evidence is a single brief laboratory trial measuring short-term feelings toward strangers; longer-term effects on social relationships were not tested there.

Vegan note

The tradition extends goodwill to all living beings, not only to people.

Sources