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Cultivating Love Through Presence and Listening
Love is an energy to be cultivated, whose nature is maitrī, loving kindness, and whose function is to offer joy and happiness. This energy manifests through the three aspects of karma:
- Thought, which affects oneself and the environment.
- Speech, which can sow happiness or cause suffering.
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Physical action.
Jean-Paul Sartre expresses this notion by saying that “man is the sum of his actions.” The foundation of love is true presence; to love, one must be there for oneself and for the other. The quality of this presence, made of freshness, solidity, and freedom, constitutes the most precious gift.
Mindfulness and breathing allow us to establish ourselves in the present moment to practice three mantras:
- Darling, I am truly here for you.
- Darling, I know you are there, and I am very happy.
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Darling, I know you are suffering. That is why I am here for you.
True love is a process of investigation based on understanding and deep looking, vipashyana. It comprises four elements: 1. Maitrī, 2. Karuna, 3. Mudita, and 4. Upeksha.
To relieve suffering, we must cultivate the compassionate listening of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, listening without judging to allow the other person to express themselves. Maintaining a living communication with oneself is essential to establish a dialogue with others. By training ourselves to generate a mindful presence and compassion, it becomes possible to transform pain and offer well-being in every moment of daily life.