Teachings on Love

Last night I just finished Teachings on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh. It was published in 1998. Thay, as he is affectionately called, is a Zen Buddhist monk who has written over 35 books presenting the Buddha's teachings, yet this is not a "religious" book. The teachings are universal. Hahn offers Buddhist practice as a means to heal, reconcile, and reunite with your blood and spiritual families, in order to re-discover and strengthen your own traditions. Buddhism does not oppose other spiritual traditions, and it's been practiced for 2600 years.

In the first chapter, Hahn introduces The Four Immeasurable Minds of Love, and he gently expands on this theme throughout the book. Briefly, Love (Maitri) is the intention and capacity to offer joy and happiness. Compassion (Karuna) is the intention and capacity to relieve and transform suffering and lighten sorrows. Joy (Mudita) is present if the love is true love. Equanimity (Upeksha) is nonattachment, nondiscrimination, even mindedness, or letting go.

Some of these teachings are not unfamiliar to me; they are a continuation of things I've read and studied, things that have helped me be a better person. I think that my eyes were most opened by the chapters on Beginning Anew, The Five Mindfulness Trainings, and Touching the Earth.

I would like to offer these thoughts from the book in light of the tragedies at Fort Hood.

Beginning Anew is not to ask for forgiveness. Beginning Anew is to change your mind and heart, to transform the ignorance that brought about wrong actions of body, speech, and mind, and to help you cultivate your mind of love. Your shame and guilt will disappear, and you will begin to experience the joy of being alive. All wrongdoings arise in the mind. It is through the mind that wrongdoings can disappear.

We need to use our understanding and love to embrace even those we consider to be our enemies.

When we touch the present moment deeply, we also touch the past, and all the damage that was done in the past can be repaired.

Do not be afraid to love. Without love, life is impossible.

Westerners have been following a path of such extreme individualism for so long that many people have isolated themselves from their parents, ancestors, and society.

You pray for all those who have caused your family and country to suffer, including murderers, thieves, profiteers, liars, and despots, to be transformed by the merits of the Buddha, bodhisattvas, and ancestors. You see how their suffering has extended throughout many generations, and you do not want to hold on to hatred and resentment.

When you really see the suffering, hardships, and wrong perceptions of a person who has made you suffer, you are able to love and forgive him. At that moment the stream of love and compassion fills your heart. Your heart is refreshed and soothed, and you are the first person to benefit from peace and joy. Afterwards, the way you live your daily life will have the capacity to transform the other person.

If you think you are alone, that is an illusion.

So, please smile. Take my hands. We will be with each other always, in one form or another. That is the insight of interbeing, the insight of no-birth and no-death, the world of nirvana here and now, the kingdom of God.

You are life without boundaries.

I've heard of people who have been able to forgive the unforgiveable, and I know that they have the ability to live deeply in the present moment, in interbeing, in true love and happiness. I want some of that.


Teachings on Love