What does Love mean in Buddhism?

[punkdbass]

Hello guys, sorry I've been away for quite sometime.. I moved to a big city and I'm starting to attend a Sangha for the first time! I'm starting to get back into Buddhism (I'm always going in circles between Buddhism and Theism or so it seems..)

The concept of "love" or "unconditional" love plays a very significant role in many world religions.

I know this is a pretty vague question, but what does "love" mean to a Buddhist? what role does love play in the Buddhist faith? Perhaps you guys could point me to some articles or resources to help me better understand what love means in Buddhism, for this is something that has always confused me.

Thanks

 

[von bek]

Hello!

Glad you have found a sangha to connect with! It really helps to keep you motivated when you associate with others who are walking the same path.

Love and compassion are cornerstones of Buddhism. Hatred, or aversion, is one of the three poisons and is also one of the five hindrances. As long as hate or anger is present in the mind, there can be no real progression on the path to Nibbana. The Buddha provided us several antidotes to anger, one of these antidotes is to meditate on loving-kindness.

Overview of Loving-kindness Meditation

Love is why the Buddha taught. He achieved supreme enlightenment and accomplished every goal there is to accomplish on the way to Nibbana. He did not have to share what he discovered; but, compassion for suffering beings led him to do so. As a Buddhist, I am grateful to the Buddha and love him for sharing the Dhamma and establishing the Sangha for our benefit.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

'Even offering three hundred bowls of food three times a day does not match the spiritual merit gained in one moment of love.'
Nagarjuna

"If there is love, there is hope that one may have real families, real brotherhood, real equanimity, real peace. If the love within your mind is lost and you see other beings as enemies, then no matter how much knowledge or education or material comfort you have, only suffering and confusion will ensue"
His Holiness the Dalai Lama from 'The little book of Buddhism'

Attachment and love are similar in that both of them draw us to the other person. But in fact, these two emotions are quite different. When we’re attached we’re drawn to someone because he or she meets our needs. In addition, there are lots of strings attached to our affection that we may or may not realize are there. For example, I “love” you because you make me feel good. I “love” you as long as you do things that I approve of. I “love” you because you’re mine. You’re my spouse or my child or my parent or my friend. With attachment, we go up and down like a yo-yo, depending on how the other person treats us. We obsess, “What do they think of me? Do they love me? Have I offended them? How can I become what they want me to be so that they love me even more?” It’s not very peaceful, is it? We’re definitely stirred up.
On the other hand, the love we’re generating on the Dharma path is unconditional. We simply want other to have happiness and the causes of happiness without any strings attached, without any expectations of what these people will do for us or how good they’ll make us feel.
Don’t Believe Everything You Think: Living with Wisdom and Compassion, by Thubten Chodron

The Four Immeasurables

"You need not like someone to love him. Love is nothing more than the recognition that two are one. That all is one."
Vergere

 

[Ablaze]

Love as expounded by the Buddha has a universal, non-discriminating, and unconditional quality. In the Metta Sutta, the Buddha advises us to "cultivate an all-embracing mind of love for all throughout the universe" (mettañca sabbalokasmiṃ mānasaṃ bhāvaye aparimāṇaṃ), excluding nothing. This universal love leading to liberation of mind (mettācetovimutti) knows no boundaries.

Karaniya Metta Sutta: The Buddha's Words on Loving-Kindness

This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech,
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied,
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm and wise and skillful,
Not proud or demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.
Wishing: In gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born —
May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,
Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings;
Radiating kindness over the entire world:
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed views,
The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.​

:namaste