Love .....

There is something that warms us in the cold nights of winter, brings vitality to the quiet afternoons of autumn, and gives us great motivation in life. It is what encourages us to support one another, to build unity, and to care for each other in society. That is love.

 

“Love for a father who struggles through life’s currents

A mother’s love, tirelessly carrying burdens to raise her child

I pray for a father to find peace and ease

I pray for a mother's good health in her old age.”

 

There are also poetic lines that express romantic love such as:

 

“Your long hair adorned with jasmine flowers

I adore the way you smile at me.”

“Reaching out to pick a sprig of coriander

Loving you deeply yet pretending to look away”

 

Life would be truly happy if everyone knew how to love one another. Even more wonderful is a love that is pure, vast, impartial and free from selfishness.

 

In a conversation with King Pasenadi, the Buddha taught that life deeply needs love. However, it is not the kind of love based on desire, attachment, or craving, but a love that is expansive, equal and without discrimination. This is called compassion - Từ Bi - Từ is offering loving kindness, Bi is relieving suffering. True compassion does not see a giver, a receiver or something being given. It is free from greed, anger, and delusion. Because it is free from these, it does not bring anxiety, sorrow, or disappointment.

 

More than 2600 years ago, The Buddha walked barefoot across India with nothing but three robes and an alms bowl. Step by step, in freedom and peace, he spread the light of truth. Without discrimination between kings, merchants, or slaves, he guided all beings onto the path of true Dharma. He dissolved hatred, removed wrong views, and brought benefit to countless beings. This was because of his selfless love, wishing to free people from suffering and help them experience true happiness.

 

Life needs love, but that love must arise from compassion and wisdom. With compassion, we can ease others’ suffering and bring them peace and happiness. With wisdom, we understand the interconnection between people and all things, karma and conditions, and impermanence. From this understanding, we can express love in the right and skillful way. If love brings happiness, then understanding helps us empathise, forgive and respond appropriately to others’ needs.

 

To love others is also to love yourself. To bring happiness to others is also to bring happiness to yourself. Master Thich Chan Tinh said:

 

“Giving does not mean losing

What you sow is what you reap”

 

When you bring joy and happiness to others, you also experience peace and ease. When you live sincerely and lovingly, others will also respond to you with sincerity and love. However, before loving others, you must learn to love yourself. Each day, learn to guard your body and mind from worldly impurities, build a pure and ethical lifestyle, and live meaningfully in ways that benefit others.

 

Love is the feeling of care and concern for another. However, true love must come from compassion and wisdom. Compassion without love becomes blind love, which may harm others. Wisdom without compassion turns a person cold and lifeless. If each of us takes others’ joy as our own and sees others’ happiness as our own, how beautiful life would be, and how harmonious society would become.

 

 

Tâm Trí

Translated into English by Thai Nhuoc Don