In Buddhism, spreading loving kindness empowers the mind, because it makes the mind bright and without murkiness.
If a Buddhist monk spreads loving kindness with his bright heart, with his pure heart, his loving kindness is full of power and virtue which can make all sentient beings live happily without exploiting each other, even elephants, tigers, snakes and various other animals can live happily together. If the heart of a Buddhist monk consists of loving kindness, brightness and purity, this heart has enough power to make all sentient beings happy and peaceful.
Thus, loving kindness is the pole which supports this world and makes the world happy, a world that is without anger, hatred, envy, revenge or vindication. When a person has good conduct and moral practice he also has loving kindness for himself. This loving kindness will make him love and have mercy to all others as well.
So this loving kindness is the great power which spreads limitlessly, that is to say: to himself, friends, kinsmen, enemies, people in every country, all sentient beings in the three worlds, and even to all beings who are in suffering, with the thought of good will that all may be happy, escape from all dangers and find more and more happiness.
The pure and bright loving kindness which spreads from one’s heart in the manner above can be the great power and regarded as the most important virtue which must be applied and developed all the time.
Before one likes to spread one’s loving kindness to others, one must indeed make up one’s mind to be brightly illuminated and pure. Only this kind of loving kindness can support the world.