Cultivating Love
JaySon
Florida Veteran
A few ways to cultivate Love, Compassion, and Bodhichitta:
Realize that the only enemy is the afflictions like anger, attachment, and ignorance. Beings are driven to madness by afflictions. If you think of it that way, you can't ever see anyone as an enemy. In fact, it's just the opposite. You feel pity for those who are sick with afflictions, even those who harm you. If you're going to identify an enemy, it can only be afflictions. Beings are controlled by the sickness of afflictions.
Since time without beginning, every being has been your best friend, mother, daughter, son, brother limitless times. Maybe they've forgotten they were your mother, but you remember because you understand rebirth. Maybe someone has harmed you in this life, but in limitless past lives they carried you in their womb, clothed you, fed you, and cared more about your health and happiness than their own.
Not one single atom has self-nature. Ultimately, there is no self or other. "Self" and "other" are only merely imputed by mind onto selfless forms. That's the meaning of all beings existing in name only. "I" and "Them" are merely labels designated onto compounded beings, designated by name. Not one atom of anyone is independent and permanent. Instead, every atom of every being is interdependent and impermanent. They have not even a speck of self-nature.
Comments
Increase in Love (Sufi saying)
As someone with limited neurons, lobsters only have 100,000, I have to use every trick. This includes:
https://www.shortpoems.org/poets/rumi/short_poems_rumi/
The Lobster Beatles got it right too... All you need is lobater love. Lobster love is all you need.
The Lobster Cylons on the other hand...
Overall an important contribution. I would modify and take a different tack on some of it though.
I don't like the word pity, I think it puts the pityer on an elevated place looking down on the afflicted wretch, I think understanding or compassion are better words. We should realize that we often find ourselves under the sway of afflictions just as others do, this way we relate to others on a more equal footing. Maybe some of us are freer than others, but at a fundamental level we are the same.
I know this works for many people, but for myself I find it to be too partial and conditional. The reason you want to be kind is a result of kindness being shown to you, rather than an appreciation of another's welfare. Also using the same logic we could say that every being has also been our tormentor and torturer, they have beaten us, stole from us and lied to us. I prefer, and HHDL has made similar statements, thinking of others as the same as myself in wanting happiness and not wanting suffering.
I agree, I like Thich Naht Hanh's example of the right hand soothing the left hand if it is injured.
I've also been thinking recently of a potential shadow side of that view if not developed correctly or fully. Suppose you have a view that there is no distinction between self and other but haven't sufficiently seen through the emptiness of your own "I" or just lack proper humility. That could empower or enable some very controlling or manipulative behavior. Suppose the left hand wanted to play the drums but the right hand wanted to play the piano. The right hand sees no distinction between self and other and believes playing the piano is superior to the drums and thinks it is helping and even being kind to the left hand if it coerces it to play the piano instead. Or maybe the right hand thinks it would be better for the whole body if all the fingers wore the same rings, it might even convince itself that it would be justified to cut off the left pinky if it didn't want to wear a ring for the good of the whole body.
Sorry if I'm overly critical, its not personal, its just ideas.
Ideas eh?
The thought-free yogin is like a child,
Like a bee in a flower garden tasting every bloom,
Like a lion roaring in the jungle,
And like the wind blowing where it listeth.
If his mind is trained in attention and discretion
His behavior is immaculate;
If there are no checks upon his mind's effusion
The yogin behaves like a divine madman.
http://keithdowman.net/essays/introduction-mahasiddhas-and-tantra.html
Must be time to roar at the bees and bee sensible ...