Hi Beloved Community!
—Venerable Bhante Sujatha, USA.
Some people call today Valentines day. I would like to call it True Love day. This day has lots of different meanings and doesn’t have any tradition in Buddhism directly— but the way I see it, any day where the collective society is talking about love we have a opportunity.
One of my great teachers and a great teacher to the whole world, Thich Nhat Hanh died this last week. I have sat a long time thinking about the love this man has brought into the world and the immeasurable impact he’s made. On this valentines day, however you celebrate it, we know for sure we can use our spiritual practice and our kind spirit to add even more love to the world. Hanh talked about “engaged Buddhism” — bringing the practice into every aspect of our everyday life. Can you imagine a world where we brought love into every aspect of our lives? If we stopped making it about us and turned it into selfless love? I think whole world would heal.
A simple way to describe The Buddha would be to say he was a teacher of love. True love. Buddha taught that True Love needs four elements:
1) Help others — in any way possible that feels true to you.
2) Offer continuous Compassion - kind energy that helps remove suffering
3) Live with and extend joy - create the conditions of joy wherever you can
4) Be Inclusive no matter what. - Your problem is my problem. your suffering is my suffering.
The buddha taught that these 4 conditions must exist for you to experience true love. Therefore, as I see it, Love is a verb. It’s a set of practices we can work on and keep repeating over and over again. I sit with so many people “looking for love” but love isn’t something to “look for”— love is something to do, to practice, to offer.
I think practicing true love might be a remedy for the world. Help others, offer compassion, live with joy and be inclusive no matter what. Simple, not easy, but I know we can do it. Will you join me?
Happy True Love day.
—Venerable Bhante Sujatha
Credit: Buddhism For World Peace And Humanity
______________________
Other articles: Karaniya Metta Sutta Chanting , Mangala Sutta Chanting - The greatest blessing , Are Buddhists Idol Worshippers? , Attainment of Buddhahood , Faith, Confidence and Devotion , Loving-Kindness , Can We Justify War? , Dreams and Their Significance , Buddhism and Women , Modern Religion , Is Buddhism a Theory or a Philosophy? , Hi Beloved Community! , Are Buddhists really idol worshippers? , Which is the Proper Religion? , Religion in a Scientific Age , How to Save Yourself , Why is there no Peace? , You Protect Yourself , Moral and Spiritual Development , Do It Yourself , Everything is Changeable , The Meaning of Prayer , What is the purpose of life? , The Buddha's Silence , Kathina Robe Dana festival , What is Kamma? , The teachings of Buddha , What is Kamma? , Pavāranā day , The Law Of Karma , The First Buddhist Council , Practical Vipassana Meditational Exercises By Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw , There are six supreme qualities of Dhamma , Buddhist Paintings: The Life of the Buddha , The life of the Buddha , What is Buddhism? , A Basic Buddhism Guide , The Eight-Fold Path is the fourth of the Four Noble Truths - the first of the Buddha's teachings , A Gift of Dhamma , WHAT DID THE BUDDHA TEACH? , THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS , A Dhammatalk by Ajahn Chah: The Four Noble Truths , The Middle Way of Buddhism , The Path to Peace , The Middle Way Within , The Training of the Heart , Right Practice - Steady Practice , Question and Answer about Dhamma (QA1 - QA10) , Question and Answer about Dhamma (QA11-QA18) , Questions and Answers with Ajahn Chah , A Dhammatalk by Ajahn Chah: Questions and Answers , Even One Word Is Enough , Right Restraint , Listening Beyond Words , Where did the Buddha enter Nibbāna? , Knowing the World , Wholehearted Training , Understanding Dukkha , Monastery of Confusion , It Can Be Done , About Being Careful , Unshakeable Peace , Suffering on the Road , Clarity of Insight , Evening Sitting , Transcendence , "Not Sure!" - The Standard of the Noble Ones , Sense Contact - the Fount of Wisdom , In the Dead of Night... , The Flood of Sensuality , Sammā Samādhi - Detachment Within Activity , Maintaining the Standard , Understanding Vinaya , Dhamma Fighting , Toward the Unconditioned , Still, Flowing Water , ''Tuccho Pothila'' - Venerable Empty-Scripture , Living in the World with Dhamma , Meditation , Our Real Home , Why Are We Here? , Making the Heart Good , Epilogue , Right View - the Place of Coolness , No Abiding , Convention and Liberation , The Peace Beyond , The Path in Harmony , On Meditation , Training this Mind , Just Do It! , Reading the Natural Mind , Living With the Cobra , The Two Faces of Reality , Dhamma Nature , The Last Message of the Buddha , The towering Phra Buddha Maha Nawamin of Wat Muang is one of the tallest statues in the world , "Happy Honey Full Moon Day" , Phra Phuttha Rattana Mongkhon Mahamuni at Wat Bhurapha Piram , The Big Buddha Phuket , Wat Muang, largest sitting Buddha statue in Thailand , The Big Buddha (Hong Kong) , Wat Tham Pha Daen a beautiful hill top temple , WatYaiChaiMongkol (Mongkhon), Ayutthaya, Thailand. , The sacred Buddha head in the roots of the Bodhi Tree. , Wat Phai Lom
0 comments: