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The Four Mantras of Love
The Ministry of Education encourages two directives: to help students develop their critical thinking and their holistic development. With critical thinking, students (and teachers) will ask, “Why is the curriculum so heavy?”, since it fails to address their real suffering—violence, fear, anger, despair—and their deepest needs: 1) to love and be loved, and 2) to understand. Using the Buddha’s Simsapa‐leaves story, only what truly “helps your transformation, your healing, your happiness” should be offered first; other knowledge comes later. By touching each student’s seed of curiosity and love, studying and teaching become a joy.
To meet these needs, practice the Four Mindfulness Trainings on a collective level:
- Organize national “deep listening” sessions (inviting educators, legislators, wise people) so victims of injustice can “empty their heart” while the whole country witnesses.
- Transform the classroom into a Sangha—a family where teacher and students share their sufferings and joys through listening and loving speech.
- Hold retreats (even three days) that turn 700-plus strangers into a family by eating, breathing, walking, and sharing in small groups.
- Include children—inviting them to focus on a flower, a drop of dew, a rainbow, or their parents’ hands—and teach them mindfulness from age three or four.
Thay offers four mantras of love to strengthen relationships:
- “Darling, I am really here for you.”
- “Darling, I know you are there, alive, and I am very happy.”
- “Darling, I know you suffer. That is why I am here for you.”
- “Darling, I suffer, and I want you to know it. Please help.”
For the fourth mantra, write it on a credit-card-sized peace note of three sentences:
• “Darling, I suffer, and I want you to know it.”
• “I am doing my best.”
• “Please help me.”
When anger or misunderstanding last over twenty-four hours, deliver this note (or say it) to avoid punishment, invite deep listening, transform wrong perceptions, and heal the relationship.
