The Brahmaviharas (Divine Abodes)
karuṇā- compassion
mudita - sympathetic Joy
upekkhā - equanimity
Thank you to Ayya Sobhana for your comment about how "the monastic life is really equal parts of seclusion and deep love." That brought about very beautiful images and feelings in me. Ayya Satima, who was the monk who gave the dhamma talk I attended last Saturday, is bursting at the seams with lovingkindness! It is so joyful just to be near her.
I have only met a handful of monks and nuns and it is interesting how being a "thinker" or a "feeler" impacts the emphasis of their practice. The thinkers are mostly interested in analysis and concentration. The feelers are mostly interested in cultivating the beautiful qualities of the heart. Our personalities play a big part in the way that we view and understand the practice and the goal.
Most definitely love is the focus of my practice. And my life. Pretty much everything I have done in my life, I have done it because of love. We all want and need love. And it is so easy to make mistakes in terms of how to get and keep love, like it is a limited and scarce thing. Throughout my life, there have been so many times when I did not feel like I was loved enough or had enough love. So many people suffer because they can't find the deep love inside themselves.
The funny thing is, that love is always there inside each and every one of us without exception. It is unstoppable. It is boundless. We get stuck in delusion sometimes and that love gets covered up. But sometimes we experience deep love spontaneously. Perhaps many do not recognize it for what it is. It is difficult to describe too. Perhaps the Buddha would describe it as the absence of ill-will.
Sometimes we need to pray or meditate to find it again, but we can trust and be certain that it is always there.
You Got the Love - (Originally by Candi Staton in 1986, performed by Florence and the Machine in 2009)
Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying, "Lord I just don't care"
But you've got the love I need to see me through
Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough
And things go wrong no matter what I do
Now and then it seems that life is just too much
But you've got the love I need to see me through
When food is gone you are my daily meal
When friends are gone I know my saviour's love is real
Your love is real
You got the love
Time after time I think, "Oh Lord what's the use?"
Time after time I think it's just no good
Sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose
But you got the love I need to see me through
You got the love
Most definitely love is the focus of my practice. And my life. Pretty much everything I have done in my life, I have done it because of love. We all want and need love. And it is so easy to make mistakes in terms of how to get and keep love, like it is a limited and scarce thing. Throughout my life, there have been so many times when I did not feel like I was loved enough or had enough love. So many people suffer because they can't find the deep love inside themselves.
The funny thing is, that love is always there inside each and every one of us without exception. It is unstoppable. It is boundless. We get stuck in delusion sometimes and that love gets covered up. But sometimes we experience deep love spontaneously. Perhaps many do not recognize it for what it is. It is difficult to describe too. Perhaps the Buddha would describe it as the absence of ill-will.
Sometimes we need to pray or meditate to find it again, but we can trust and be certain that it is always there.
You Got the Love - (Originally by Candi Staton in 1986, performed by Florence and the Machine in 2009)
Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying, "Lord I just don't care"
But you've got the love I need to see me through
Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough
And things go wrong no matter what I do
Now and then it seems that life is just too much
But you've got the love I need to see me through
When food is gone you are my daily meal
When friends are gone I know my saviour's love is real
Your love is real
You got the love
Time after time I think, "Oh Lord what's the use?"
Time after time I think it's just no good
Sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose
But you got the love I need to see me through
You got the love
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