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Kindle Notes & Highlights
maitri, which can be translated as loving-kindness or benevolence.
the ability to bring joy and happiness to the person you love,
Understanding is the essence of love.
The second element of true love is compassion, karuna. This is not only the desire to ease the pain of another person, but the ability to do so.
third element of true love is joy, mudita.
In true love, you attain freedom.
TO LOVE, IN THE CONTEXT OF BUDDHISM, IS above all to be there.
The most precious gift you can give to the one you love is your true presence.
To be there is the first step, and recognizing the presence of the other is the second step. To love is to recognize; to be loved is to be recognized by the other.
We are surrounded by miracles, but we have to recognize them; otherwise there is no life.
“The past is no longer there, the future is not here yet; there is only one moment in which life is available and that is the present moment.”
energy that helps us to touch life deeply is called smrti, the energy of mindfulness.
practice recognizing the presence of the person you love: “Dear one, I know that you are there and it makes me very happy.”
“Dear one, I know that you are suffering, that is why I am here for you.”
try to be there when one of them is suffering, because your presence is so precious for this person.
in true love there is no place for pride.
We are subject to misperceptions every day, so we have to pay attention.
samyojana, the lump of suffering within us that is translated as an “internal formation.”
So if we love someone, we should train in being able to listen.
We must learn to speak with love again.
you have to speak in such a way that the other person is receptive toward listening.
freedom will arise as a result of your sustaining a deep vision into the nature of your pain.
“The object of your practice should first of all be yourself. Your love for the other, your ability to love another person, depends on your ability to love yourself.” If you are not able to take care of yourself, if you are not able to accept yourself, how could you accept another person and how could you love him or her?
pain and suffering are a necessary condition of our understanding, of our happiness.
I think, therefore I am really not there.
