True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart
by Thich Naht Hanh summary
About Author
Zen master Thick Nhat Hanh, bestselling author and one of the most respected and celebrated religious leaders in the world, delivers
a powerful path to happiness through mastering life's most important skill. We all seek the happiness that comes from loving and being
loved, yet we often find ourselves dissatisfied in our relationships and unable to grasp the cause. Thich Nhat Hanh here shows the way
to overcome our recurrent obstacles to love—by learning to be mindful, open, and present with ourselves and others. As he explains,
"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 person you love. Because if you do not understand this person, you cannot love properly. Understanding is the
essence of love." This quintessential guide to loving also introduces the four key aspects of love described in the Buddhist
tradition—loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and freedom—and describes many simple and direct ways in which we can practice
authentic love in our everyday lives.
Key Takeaways
The four Aspects of love
Maitri(loving-kindness), Karuna(Compassion),Mudita(Joy), Upeksha(Freedom).
Love is Being There
The mose precious gift you ca ngive to the one you love is your true presence.
Recognizing the presence of other
If you love someone and you continue to ignore his or her persence, this is not true love.
Being There when Someone is Suffering
Dear one, I know that that you are suffering, that is why i am here for you. Your presence is
a miracle.
Overcoming Pride
According to the teaching of the Buddha, in true love there is no place for pride.If you are suffering you must
go to the person in question and ask for his or her help.
Deep Listening
In Buddhism we talk about bodhisattva, the one who has the ability and to understand the suffering of others.
In everyday life, deep listening, attentive listening, is a meditation.
Learning to speak with love again
Through the energy of mindfulness, through concentraction, looking deeply into the nature of our suffering
makes it possible for us to see the deep causes of that suffering.
Restoring Pace within yourself
Your love for the other, your ability to love another person, depends on your ability to love yourself.
The energy of mindfulness
Mindfulness is the energy that makes it possible for us to be aware of what is happening in the present moment.
Caring for our pain
When you have pain within you,the first thing to do is to bring the energy of mindfulness to embrace the pain.
The principle of nonduality
There are always waste materials and flowers in us. We have to learn the art of transforming compost into flowers.
Reconciliation
We must take care of our suffering the way we would take care of our own baby.
Coming to life again
Being alive is being in the present mment, in the here and now, and that is possible through mindful breathing.
Everybody should practice mindfulness
Relief, peace, well-being, joy and wil be possible if we practice mindfulness in our everyday life.
Getting rid of our concepts
In buddhism, the greatest relief or solace that we can obtain is that of nirvana. Nirvana is not something that we should search for, beacuse
we are nirvana, just as th ewave is alredy water.living deeply makes it possible to touch nirvana.