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
Thank you so much! I love this mantra (and this site)! As a new buddhist, I find this site extremely helpful. Where could I find audio clips for the variants listed?
Thanks again! Michelle
I don't know of any, I'm afraid. Sorry, Michelle!
How do you chant 'May I be well' ; "May you be well" in Pali ?
My Pali is very rusty I assume there are various ways those could be expressed. "Ahaṃ sukhito homi" means "May I be well/happy/at ease," and "(Tvaṃ) sukhaṃ hotu" means "May you be well/happy/at ease." I believe "sukhito hohi" also works for "May you be happy."
But take this with a pinch of salt and do some verification!
Dear all namobudaya,
I'm looking for the right writting language of thai and pali
For this mantra (sabbe satta sukhi hontu) does anyone know?
I've planned for tattoo work..tq all namobudaya
Pali doesn't have its own script, and it's written in whatever the local alphabet happens to be. Jayarava's site doesn't have Sabbe Satta Sukhi Hontu in Thai script, but he has it in several others.
My computer won't open the "realaudio" file, and the link to the mp3 seems to have ceased working. Is this just me? I sure would like to hear to chant.
Thanks
The MP3 file should work now, Michael.
Thank you for posting this. I just returned from a retreat where we chanted this at the end of each day. I got online to look it up and found all this great information here. Thanks for the links to the written form too. Would be beautiful in a tattoo.
Brilliant site. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this treasure. I am new to Buddhism and was directed to your site. I love everything about it and being able to listen to the mantras /chants is fantastic. Thank you again.
Love it considering getting this as a tattoo. Do I have your permission? Also may I ask if you wrote in siddham MAY ALL BEINGS BE LOVE. what it would look like? I guess love is metta? Thank you
It's not my image, so I'm not the person you should be asking for permission or for other images. The image has an attribution, so you can use that to track down the copyright owner.
Hi, Can someone please explain why is this not a mantra? Thanks !
This Pali chant is from the Theravada tradition, and to the best of my knowledge they don't call this kind of chant a mantra. Im not sure what they call it — maybe a paritta?
Mantras proper are usually invocations of particular deities, often in the form of the deity's name preceded by Om and with a syllable like Hum or Svaha at the end.