Without love, there will be no Buddhism,  no escape route.

When the Buddha was about to attain enlightenment, to become a Supremely Enlightened Buddha, he had to cut the fetters of “bonds” that tied  his mind to the cycle of rebirth . His love then, transcended to the highest kind of love which is Selfless love (Metta) and Great Compassion (Karuna) that extends to all beings in the universe.

The power of selfless love comes from the endurance path of the Bodhisatta who cares not only for his own liberation, but also for other being’s. If a Bodhisatta carries on fulfilling his duty, cultivating the higher perfection of sacrifice, his status will be uplifted to a Maha Bodhisatta (the Great Bodhisatta) who holds a boundless power of selfless love that goes  beyond the 3 realms . A Maha Bodhisatta is the one who has cultivated the ultimate perfections and is willing to sacrifice one’s own life in order to bring all  living beings out of the cycle of rebirths.

As a result of this great sacrifice the perfections are elevated and a strong foundation of love and esteem rises in return. This  becomes a strong force to help break through the resistance that they encounter when they set up to help all beings. Therefore self-sacrifice is one of most important Perfections necessary for becoming a Buddha, if one so desires.

True friends or in pali ‘Kalyana-mitta’, are everything to the holy life. It’s so  because before you can become true friends, love has to be there from the start…

The term True friends here refers to our parents, children, husband or wife, teachers, friends, or whomever that holds the love for one another . True friends wish their friends to be free from suffering, to be happy, and to encourage them to get away from the misery in  life. This is a true friend, they are not just the ‘casual friends’ who you dine with, travel, or go out. A true friend is the one who desires to do good, wishes well and brings goodness to his friends. The Buddha wanted those who aspire for enlightenment to ordain, as he was aware that where there is love, there is suffering, because love always comes with the mental attachments and the suffering arising from the separation from the loved ones.  If the mind is not trained, it is hard for householders to love without attachment.

Love is not the final answer to enlightenment, but enlightenment requires love as its foundation.

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