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October 19, 2005
love...
i am convinced that love will heal all. there is a lot of pain & suffering going on all around us, some closer than others. i have this special relationship with thich nhat hahn's words. my parents knew him in bao loc, vietnam. this is a tiny village in the central highlands of vietnam, where i was born almost 31 years ago. he lived in the buddhist temple there for a little bit. i remember my sister and i exploring the temple when we were in vietnam the summer before i started naturopathic medical school. i had no idea who he was at that time. his works have helped me through some of the toughest times when i was humbled back in medical school. and here he is again...
i am so full of love and gratitude for each moment that i am in...as hard as it may be sometimes.
"just as a mother loves and protects her only child at the risk of her own life, we should cultivate boundless love to offer to all living beings in the entire cosmos. let our boundless love pervade the whole universe, above, below, and across. our love will know no obstacles, our heart will be absolutely free from hatred and enmity. whether standing or walking, sitting or lying, as long as we are awake, we should maintain this mindfulness of love in our own heart. this is the noblest way of living."
"practicing love meditation in the sitting position is only the beginning, but it is an important beginning. we sit quietly and look deeply into ourselves. we sit quietly and look deeply into ourselves. with practice, our love will increase naturally, becoming all-inclusive and all-embracing. as we learn to see with the eyes of love, we empty our mind of anger and hatred. as long as these negative mental formations are present in us, our love is incomplete. we may think we understand and accept others, but we are not yet able to love them fully. Nagarjuna says, "at the time you practice the Immeasureable Mind of Love, you must look deeply in order to face your anger and hatred."
~thich nhat hahn
"when your mind is fulled with love, send it in one direction, then a second, a third, and a fourth, then above, and then below. identify with everything, without hatred, resentment, anger, or enmity. this mind of love is very wide. it grows immeasurably and eventually is able to embrace the whole world. practice the same way with your mind filled with compassion, then joy, then equanimity."
~buddha (madhyana agama)
"when his mind filled with love, the monk permeates one direction, and then a second, a third, a fourth, and above, below, and all around, everywhere identifying himself with all. he permeates the whole world with his mind filled with love, wide, far, developed, unbound, free from hatred and ill-will. he does the same with his mind filled with compassion, joy and equanimity."
~buddha (subha sutta)
Posted by soul sista' at October 19, 2005 03:10 AM