The essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability to recognize the physical, material, and psychological suffering of others, to put ourselves inside the skin of the other. We go inside their body, feelings, and mental formations, and witness for ourselves their suffering. Shallow observation as an outsider is not enough to see their suffering. We must become one with the subject of our observation. When we are in contact with anothers suffering, a feeling of compassion is born in us. Compassion means, literally, to suffer with. So if we love someone, we should train in being able to listen. By listening with calm and understanding, we can ease the suffering of another person. Training is needed in order to love properly; and to be able to give happiness and joy, you must practice DEEP LOOKING directed toward the other person you love. Because if you do not understand this person, you cannot love properly. Understanding is the essence of love. If you cannot understand, you cannot love. That is the message of the Buddha. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 07:56:20 +0000
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