Love  as  the  basis of  Spiritual  Growth 

           Let us see how Buddhism presents and develops its concept of love or respect and concern for all that live. The  Buddha preached and maintained that all life in the universe is a product of natural evolution, each little thing therein in the diverse eco-systems possessing its own right to exist. This thinking blossomed out in Buddhism's greatest contribution to mankind, namely the concept  of  mettâ [Skt.  maitrî ] or universal loving kindness. One loves every other thing in the
universe in a direct relationship of one to another, without a mediator or creator. We are, after all, in the world we live in, a part of  a complete network. Inspite of our differences, we are integrated  into a whole and each one of us loves to be loved. Therefore  harmony  and  healthy  relationships of one to another are considered  a must which  necessarily  leads to a smooth running order in the universe.

       Striking a very high note  as it  were, in  his personal admonition to his own son Rahula  in the Mahârâhulovâda Sutta  [M.1.424 ], the Buddha  tells that the cultivation and  practice of  mettâ   or universal loving kindness, dispels  the unwholesome mental  frame called enmity  or  hostility. It eliminates the possibility of  'coming into conflict with'  those around us. This conflict and confrontation is referred to as vyâpâda and is considered as leading thereafter to violence or  vihimsâ [Mettam  hi te Râhula  bhâvanam  bhâvayato  yo  vyâpâdo  so pahîyissati. loc.cit.].

 
       In loving via the medium of  mettâ , one expects nothing back as a return or reward. Love in mettâ  knows of no bleeding hearts, with or without arrows piercing through them. This concept of love also brings along with it the cognate virtue of equality [or egalite]. In love, all have to become equal, and where honest equality prevails love must know no barriers, as known or unknown, friendly or otherwise. Not even as I and another. The amount of love one is required  to give  to others cannot in any way be less than what one wishes and expects others to bestow upon oneself.

 
       Phrases like  ' He who loves himself  harms not another ' [Tasmâ  na himse param  attakâmo as at S.1.75]  or  ' Taking oneself as the norm [i.e. that one likes to be loved and treated with respect ] let one cause no harm or injury to others ' [Attânam upamam  katvâ  na haneyya na ghâtaye as at Dhp. v.129] clearly indicate the Buddhist self-stand [attûpa- nâyika] judgement in the practice of love towards others. This applies to all grades of life  sabba-pâna-bhûta-  hita-anukampî ], literally all living things.To us, this practice of love does not appear as an injunction that one  must love oneself  first, and then and  thereafter, extend  love  to others, friends first and enemies thereafter. The direction given is that one must love others to the same extent that one wishes to be loved by others. That is the meaning of attânam  upamam  katvâ = taking oneself as the model of  loving.  It certainly does not mean giving priority to oneself.

      The  Buddhist  concept  of  love has the capacity to extend not only from human to animal but also from  animal  to  the world of  plants as well. There are schools of scientists in the world today who maintain that the world of plants also yearn for love and care. They claim that plants react very specifically to human emotions like love and cruelty in their own way. Besides, the plants as an integral part of our ecosystem have to be treated with utmost respect and recognition. For in the guarantee of their survival lies our own survival. There seems to be very little doubt about that. We shall discuss elsewhere, from the Buddhist point of view, about their being animate  or inanimate, sentient or insentient. At any rate, it appears to be  the greatest day in the life of a Buddhist saint  when  he  sees  no difference  between his own body of flesh and blood and the trees and the grass that grow in the wild around him. So wishes Thera Talaputa  in verse  no.1101 of  the Theragatha.

                                When will that ever be, when I can compare
                                All  infinite components of which I am made,
                                Those within me, with those without
                                Like trees and grass and creepers that trail ?
                                Seeing them all equal , well and true !
                                When will  such  vision ,   mine ever be ?                          [Translated by the author]

                 Kadâ nu  katthe  ca tine latâ  ca   khandhe  ime ' ham   amite  ca dhamme
                 Ajjhattikân ' eva  ca  bâhirâni   samam   tuleyyam  tadidam  kadâ   me.
                                                                                                                                           Thag. v.1101
 
       In Buddhism, this practice of  universal  loving  kindness  or  mettâ  is called  ' the Godly way of  living ' or  brahma-   vihâra. It knows no revenge.  It is one of four gradually upgraded qualities of love. Collectively they are also called 'sates of unbounded or magnanimous living' : appamâna-vihâra   or  appamañña.  The other three are compassion or  karunâ,  appreciative [not sympathetic] joy  or muditâ  and equanimity  or  upekkhâ  . We wish to stress here adequately the word living [vihâra]. These  aspects of love cannot remain as mere thoughts  in one's  head  or as  mere wishes on one's lips. They  must  necessarily get  translated into a philosophy of  living. It must indeed be lived. If wishes were horses, then beggars would be kings. By virtue of  their being life-toners, they are literally soul-elevating. They enrich our lives as we live that way. Hence they are called  Brahma-vihâra , i.e. Godly  or  Heavenly  Modes of Living.

       At the same time, universal  loving kindness [or universal acceptance of friendship with everything that lives] practised in  this manner contributes to the much needed  Buddhist virtue of  ego-destruction or  ridding oneself of  the menacing notion of  I and  mine [ahamkâra-mamimkâra-mânânusayâ ]. This absence of ego is the basic character of the goal of  Nirvana. The over- inflation of  the ego or  self-hood is said to stand in the way of  true happiness in this life as well as in the way of final release out of  the painful round of births and deaths of  samsâra.  It warps and  distorts good human relationships. It takes the lubricants off  our interpersonal relationships.
 
       Because we know  we  love ourselves and we know love plays such a great role in our lives, let us give this freely to others. Let  none in the world we live in suffer for  want of  love. And let none suffer because we  do not truly  practice  love  towards  all  that  live,  like ourselves. Let  us not forget our callous disrespect  for  the  lives  of  others and  the  pain  we  thereby  bring  upon  them.

                   May all beings be well and happy. May there be peace on earth and goodwill among men.
                                                          Sabbe  sattâ   bhavantu  sukhitattâ .