Illustration of “sabbe satta sukhi hontu” by Jayarava of Visible Mantra
Sabbe sattā sukhi hontu is a Pali phrase meaning “May all beings be happy”.
It’s not, properly speaking, a mantra, but is a chant that is used in exactly the same way as a mantra.
Unlike most mantras, it has a definite grammatical meaning.
Sabbe = each, every, or all
Sattā = living beings, creatures, sentient and rational beings, people
Sukhi = happy
Hontu = may they be
The chant has an attractive tune (there’s a recording below), and it’s lovely to chant this at the end of a period of the metta bhavana (development of lovingkindness) practice. It makes a beautiful group chant as well.
Outside of formal meditation, you can chant this mantra while walking, driving, or while engaged in any other such activity. It can help if you keep your attention centered on your heart, and also if you imagine that light is flowing from your heart and touching other people.
If you’re interested in the English meaning of the very similar phrase, sabbe satta bhavantu sukhitatta, it also translates as “May all beings be happy.” This particular phrase is found in the famous Metta Sutta.
There are many other Pali chants that are similar and that are also closely related to the practice of lovingkindness, yet none seem to be as common as sabbe satta sukhi hontu, which really expresses the essence of lovingkindness.
Variants include:
Click below to listen to an MP3 version:
Sabbe satta sukhi hontu is the key of the development of lovingkindness and compassion. Although most religions teach us to love our neighbors and even our enemies, it’s often hard to know exactly how to do that. Buddhism, being a very practical tradition, offers a number of practices, including the development of lovingkindness (metta bhavana), and the development of compassion (karuna bhavana) meditations. Each of these practices helps us to develop a healthier and more loving relationship to oneself and others.
Metta is often translated as love as well as lovingkindness, and the essence of love in this sense is that we recognize that all beings, just like us, wish to experience happiness and do not wish to experience suffering. Metta is an empathetic sense of caring for others’ well-being. It’s for that reason that sabbe satta sukhi hontu (“may all beings be happy”) is considered to express the heart of the lovingkindness practice.
In cultivating lovingkindness we commonly repeat phrases such as “May all beings be well; May all beings be happy; May all beings be free from suffering.” The accumulated effect of those words, when they are mindfully repeated, is to create a genuine sense of caring.
View Comments
this mantra is beautiful. i am new to busdhism but so far i'm really enjoying it!! i love meditating and saying/singing this mantra and i also have a few other mantras i love to chant. i also love the meaning of this one.
This is a beautiful mantra! I just wish there was audio for the variants as well.
Good point, Tony. When I have the time I'll add chants for those mantras as well.
thank you for this website. i do not have much literature detailing different mantras at my disposal, but this website has made them available, and i am quite grateful. i use mantra almost everyday and always notice a difference when i do. you have done me a great deed. Namaste.
I love this mantra. It really helps me to focus. I use it daily. Thank you for this wonderful website.
i love this mantra too,it help me to wake and sleep in night
I am still relatively new to Buddhism and I am just starting to learn to meditate and find my inner peace. I have just chanted this mantra 'Sabbe satta sukhi hontu'. For some reason a few tears rolled down my face. What a wonderful mantra and one which I will chant when I finish meditating every time. Loving kindness to all.
This is a beautiful mantra! I just wish there was audio for the variants as well.
Yes this is a good mantra.may all beings be happy
i think Metta actually comes from the sanskrit word maitri which means - friendliness. So the most litteral meaning would be to consider all beings as your friends. Btw, i remember hearing a sanskrit chant once - lokah samastha sukhino (or sukhin?) bhavantu, which would translate as "may everyone in the world be happy". Not sure whether it's vedantic or mahayana, though.
There's a difference between friendliness and considering people as being your friends. Friendliness (metta) is an attitude of kindness, which you can have for strangers, people you don't like, and (of course) friends. You don't have to consider beings to be friends in order to have metta for them.