Mettabhavana

Mettabhavana is a conceptual piece conceived by Munro in the late 1990s.

Of the origins of the work Munro says: “During the Easter holiday of 1997 my family and I were invited to stay at a beautiful Oliver Messel beachside home in Barbados. On the first night we arrived I had an unforgettable dream. It was about a building. I could not see where the light came from; it just came softly through the walls. I had a great inner sense of peace and unity; feelings of such clarity, which remain with me today.

The moment I woke, I knew this was a building not just for me but for everyone: a space that could unite people, a space to simply practice Metta Bhavana, nothing more. It was about drawing light back into the world, both literally and spiritually”.

In the months after the dream the ideas and design came naturally to Munro. Although the building is visually complex, the functional side is extremely simple. There’s no electricity, it is lit by sunlight by day and beeswax candles by night. In essence the building would be a light space, a place to practise the compassionate meditation (Mettabhavana) or a simple meditation of the breath. Although this is Buddhist meditation/prayer the building is completely non-denominational, in other words, the building is for everyone.

For now it exists as a concept, but of remains one of the Munro’s life’s ambitions to build the Mettabhavana.

Huge thanks to James at Augustini Design, James & Mike at Amalgam, Chris at Zushi Design and Seamus at Designworxs who have helped develop this project to this stage.