| OUR TEACHERS |
| WEEKLY SCHEDULE & SERVICES |
| CONTACT / DIRECTIONS |
A Falling in Love with Love
Summer is the season for falling in love. The dharma students are dropping like flies. It is wonderful to see their shining eyes and feel their high energy. May they be permanently happy.
Sometimes Buddha's teachings about love make me laugh out loud. In one of them a Brahmin approached him and asked what it would take for him to reborn as a Brahma. I'm guessing he expected to hear about generosity, perseverance or energetic effort.
Instead an instant response of "true love."
Huh? I can only imagine the expression on the brahmin's face at this.
Buddha went on to give a wonderful teaching. He talked about love as having four parts: loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. The four perfections. Each plays a role in helping us to truly love as opposed to truly lust. Loving kindness erases anger. Compassion lessens our sorrows and anxieties. Joy can eradicate sadness. Equanimity is like a powerful bleach that can help us to get rid of all traces of hatred, aversion and attachment.
The benefits of loving someone in this way, through our own embracing of the four perfections, are enormous. We sleep well. Nightmare free. People like us. So do plants and animals. According to Buddha we are protected by gods and goddesses from fire, poison and swords - always helpful for those of us making our homes in an urban environment.
There's more.
Our concentration is better. Our face is bright and clear without the help of creams. At death our mind is clear. And if we want to we can be reborn in a heaven surrounded by a sangha practicing loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.
Bodhi Svaha!
I say let's start with ourselves and move out from there. First practice treating ourselves with loving kindness, compassion, equanimity and joy. And when we have that down, move on to our friends and families, people we know, people we don't know, until we're holding the whole universe in our arms.
Now that's love.
Meet you in the heaven realm.
