I was reading through somewhat old posts and came across this excellent last comment by Akvan.
Lal says somewhere that the practical value of Metta Bhavana, in contrast with the mere wishing ,and in truer terms the futility of it all as far as the attainment of Nibbana of those beings is concerned, is that Metta Bhavana helps cleanse one’s OWN mind.
For, if Metta Bhavana had any real effect on the beings in the whole of Existence, and keeping in mind that it would necessarily have been going on from ‘an indiscernible beginning’, suffering would likewise not only be eliminated by now, but would have been eliminated at a point likewise indiscernible in the past, i.e., there would be no such point, and the validity of the first Noble Truth, to start with, that the Buddhas ever teach would not apply, and would never have applied…and there would be no end to the dizzying ramifications that arise and no way out of the tangle.
Akvan has it in different words. My own reason for sharing Akvan’s view that – ‘No amount of metta bavana will lead to someone else to understand the dhamma. Also it is foolish for us to think that we can get the infinite number of beings to attain nibbana (by say teaching them the Dhamma or in any other way)’ – is, as ever with me, that ‘It must be so because it cannot be otherwise’. (for the reason given in the preceding para): There is suffering. It is the Dhamma proclaimed by all the Buddhas and that Dhamma does not change, therefore suffering always will be. It is only ‘individual’beings that can be free of suffering – through that Dhamma.
So, when I am doing Bhavana I concentrate on Pattidana, the Metta Bhavana serving only as a door to enter into the first. For IT IS A FACT that we are indebted to an innumerable number of beings, and so are they likewise indebted to us. The merits thus transferred do IN ACTUAL FACT serve to pay off those debts, helping to reduce the time spent in sansara for both giver and receiver (it would appear) because ultimately, the cessation of suffering in sansara will depend on those beings attaining Magga Phala, thus leading to the nullifying of all debts contracted in sansara.
(still !) Metta to all beings