brahmavihāra [brahmavihāra] divine abodes. The term Brahmavihāra connotes four varieties of philanthropy. Good and evil forces are dormant in human nature. In order to walk on the spiritual path man has to keep himself away from vices such as anger, violence, and hatred. They should be substituted by loving kindness, compassion and altruistic joy, respectively. Association with unpleasant, and separation from pleasant perturb mind of a human being. Equanimity keeps the mind balanced in favourable as well as adverse conditions. These four sublime qualities, namely, loving kindness (maitrī) [mettā], compassion (karuṇā), altruistic joy (muditā) and equanimity (upekṣā) [upekkhā] are collectively known as Brahmavihāra. They are also known as boundless states because they are to be extended to one and all [appamañña]. "The monk with a mind full of loving kindness, compassion, altruistic joy and equanimity pervading first in one direction, then the second one, then the third one, then the fourth one, and also above, below and all around; and everywhere identifying himself with all, he is pervading the whole world with mind full of loving kindness, compassion, altrulistic joy and equanimity with mind wide, developed, unbounded, free from hate and ill will."

     It will be interesting to know that in his Yoga-Sūtra (1.33) Patañjali states, "The mind becomes clarified by cultivating attitudes of loving kindness (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), gladness (muditā) and indifference (upekṣā), towards happiness, misery, virtue and vice respectively."

 (1) maitrī [mettā] loving kindnessMaitrī means aspiration for the well-being and happiness of all living-beings including friends and foes, feeble or strong, tall, medium, short, big or small, seen or unseen, those who are far and those who are near, those who are born and those who are yet to be born. The thoughts of boundless love should pervade the whole world, above, below and across. There should be no place for hatred or for enmity. As a mother would protect her child at the risk of her life one should cultivate a boundless loving heart for everybody. Identification of oneself with all living-beings is the culminating point of loving kindness.(See also under pāramitā.)

(2) karuṇā [karuṇā] compassionKaruṇā is the desire to remove the afflictions of the afflicted. The heart that melts due to sufferings of others is said to be compassionate. One should be compassionate to the virtuous and the vile. The Buddha was compassionate to Aṅgulimāla who was a murderer before he took refuge in him. The Vyāghrī Jātaka is a story of the Bodhisattva who sacrificed his life to save the life of a starving tigress and her cubs.

(3) muditā [muditā] altruistic joyMuditā is a feeling of 'sharing' the happiness of others. It keeps one away from jealousy. It cultivates a positive attitude that accepts the progress of the other.

(4) upekṣā [upekkhā] equanimity

In the context of brahmavihāra, upekṣā means equal love towards all. (For detailed note on upekṣā, see under bodhyaṅgāni.)

Buddhānusmṛti - A Glossary of Buddhist Terms

Aṭṭhasālinī. I. 133, 280, 289, 304-309. Avadāna Kalpalatā. VI. 52. Dīgha Nikāya. Tevijja. MA. II. 89-90; IX. 336-337. Majjhima Nikāya. Saḷāyatanavibhaṅga. Mahāyāna-Sūtrālaṅkāra. XVII. 119. Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtram. V. 194. Saṃyutta Nikāya. Mettāsahagata. Visuddhimagga. III. 89.

Brahma-vihāra

(Sanskrit; Pāli, abode of Brahma). A key set of four meditative practices often translated as the four ‘Immeasurables’, the four ‘Pure Abodes’, or the four ‘Stations of Brahma’. The four are loving-kindness (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), sympathetic joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā). The practice of the four Brahma-vihāras involves radiating outwards the postive qualities associated with such states of mind, directing them first towards oneself, then to one's family, the local community, and eventually to all beings in the universe.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)