A valentine from my buddhist heart lama surya das

A VALENTINE FROM MY BUDDHIST HEART ­ LAMA SURYA DAS We all need to love and be loved, to be understood, accepted, included, and genuinely connect: to be seen, embraced, and belong. However, I think that the most important thing in any relationship is the tender empathy and mutual reciprocity of a warm and open heart. If our relationships aren’t nurturing the growth and development of goodness of heart, openness, generosity, authenticity and intimate connection, they are not serving us or furthering a better, more just and kind world.

I have learned that to truly love people I need to let them be as they are, and to love, accept and appreciate them each in their own way– free of my projections, expectations and illusions– and not as how I would like them to be.

This is equally true for loving, accepting, embracing, and coming home to oneself.

There is no Them, no other, no stranger! Our commonality is apparent and the differences recede into the background. When I peer deeply enough into another’s heart and see the baby Buddha or innocent inner child their grandparents and parents cradled oh­so­lovingly in their arms like the most precious, long awaited and cherished thing in the world– and how they were just like me, in that way, and are, underneath it all—who would I harm, fear, resent, put down or exploit?

I notice that children let go of anger and would rather be happy than right, unlike so many of us adults. This Valentine’s Day let’s try staying present in this very moment, through mindful awareness and paying attention to what is– rather than dwelling on the past or the future, or on who we think we are and who we imagine others are. This practice frees us from excess baggage, anxiety and neurosis, opening us to true love, unconditional love, Buddha’s love, Christ’s love. Love comes through loving, not from outside.

As the song goes, Love is all there is. Do you too hear this gentle music?

With love and blessings, Lama Surya Das For more details about Lama Surya Das feel free to visit: http://askthelama.com/