With this article I review distinctive aspects of the early Buddhist practice of the appamāas, the boundless states of benevolence (mettā), compassion (karuā), sympathetic joy (muditā) and equanimity (upekkhā). My concern is specifically the function and potential of the appamāas in relation to the unfolding of the spiritual path of the individual. Quite apart from their beneficial relational and social effects, how are they meant to support the path to liberation? Since I focus on the early phases of Buddhist thought, and its position vis-à-vis the contemporary ancient Indian context, I employ the early Buddhist textual material as my main source, generally leaving aside commentaries and later developments. A close reading of the texts indicates that the specifics of appamāa meditation in the context of the early Buddhist soteriological scheme are the prescription to develop it in dependence on the factors of awakening (sambojjhagas) and the use of this practice as a platform for insight (vipassanā) and thereby for the realisation of awakening.
