Hi charley.. nice to meet you.. I am sorry that I did not respond earlier to this.. I took a break from the planet for a few months.. and since I have been back this is the first time I have checked this thread... You make some great points and comments.. I can only answer some of your comments from my personal opinion and beliefs. In my opinion, the article here is speaking of love in general..and again for me personally I do believe that everything can be achieved by technique and the use of a method. They are not talking specifically about the ability to love, rather the understanding of what is love. Take for example the classic book the art of loving, Fromm points out the need for love to be looked at as a skill that we constantly improve.. Another very interesting point that you made charley, was about the use of Individual thinking and how it is the cause of suffering. In Buddhist philosophy, as I believe all begins with the individual.. and I believe again what is meant here in the article is.. one must have compassion for oneself in order to have compassion for every sentient being, and that goes for love, awareness etc. My suffering is your suffering and your suffering is my suffering... this is my understanding of Metta .
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Originally Posted by charley
the use of traditional methods or techniques hmmm --- can love be achieved as the result of a method or technique?
One wonders at the traditions of yore, since the very word 'tradition' comes from the word 'trahere', and is related to the word 'betray', i.e. to 'betray' the moment - the present?!
One wonders also at the benefits of using a technique which obviously enhances the "i" (i.e. in the link you provided there is constant affirmation of "May I..." "May I...") constituting a "mantra", while the word "mantra" literally means to put away all self-centred activity...
How can the self be stressed and emphasized ("me" "myself", and "i") when it is the very cause and source of all the sorrow and suffering in the world?
charley
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