The Perfection of Loving-kindness - Metta is a divine abiding

A monk who used to live in Indonesia spoke about an Indonesian woman who had lost her husband because of a young man’s reckless driving. However, she did not like to take legal action because she did not want to cause unhappiness to someone else. Moreoever, she also expressed the intention to give a scholarship for the education of that young man. This was very difficult for her, but she was able to do so. Such great acts of charity can be performed by someone who has accumulated loving-kindness and compassion. One may wonder whether the action of the Indonesian woman was a perfection developed in daily life. People have accumulated different degrees of kusala. Whether kusala is a perfection or not depends on its strength. When it is a perfection it is a supporting condition leading to the eradication of wrong view. When akusala dhamma is strong, it will not be possible to abandon the wrong view which takes realities for beings,  people or self.
True metta is extended to beings and people whoever they are and wherever they may be. If someone has accumulated metta, he will be ready to assist other people time and again. Metta is a “divine abiding”, brahmavihara, that is, a dhamma which is a sublime way of abiding.
We read in the “Basket of Conduct” that the citta of the Great Being, the  Bodhisatta, could without difficulty become established in calm, because he could quickly extend loving-kindness even towards his enemies. Someone may at times be irritated about others, he may believe that particular persons obstruct his own welfare in various ways. However, if he accumulates kusala and has the determination to eradicate defilements, his citta will without difficulty become established in calm. He will quickly be able to extend metta even to his enemies.
If we become angry with someone, we should know that anger arises only for a short moment and then falls away, and that metta can arise instead. When we have accumulated the perfections we can become like the Bodhisatta who could without difficulty be established in metta and extend it quickly towards his enemies. We should verify for ourselves whether we are angry with someone else for a long time or not. If we can have metta instead, it shows that we have accumulated the inclination to eradicate defilements.