Rinpoche spoke on Love, Compassion, and Devotion with Non-Attachment, at the Westchester Buddhist Center, Westchester, NY.
Summary of the Teaching
For most of us, attachment/love are mixed.
Differences between love and attachment:
Attachment creates suffering and pain.
The more attached you are, the more you worry about not getting, about not being appreciated enough, about losing. If there is attachment, try to reduce it, because if you do, there will be fewer problems.
You should love without agenda, you should love more. Love is most important. We can’t own people. If you love without attachment, you give more freedom to the other. The next step is to extend our love beyond the one we’re attached to, beyond our boundaries of who we love and who we don’t.
We all have this capacity to love – we would like to love and be loved. We are all the same. The more we understand our similarities, the more we can love others and the more we feel positive, peaceful and joyful.
We also love ourselves more because, by loving others, we in turn feel worthy and good. Love creates a harmonious atmosphere and happiness.
At place of work, the same holds true. If the workplace has tension and conflict, we get tired. If the workplace is harmonious, we don’t get tired. Hard work is not the problem. It’s the state of mind that matters. The basic point is to understand how important kindness and compassion are.
We elect ruthless people because we often equate compassion with weakness.
Think how different the world would be if everyone behaved compassionately, were kind to each other, and respected each other.
You have a choice about how you react: if you focus on the “bad guys” you get angry; if you focus on the issue, you focus on problem-solving. Then it becomes compassion with the motive of how to benefit everyone.
It’s important to know your limits and not regret what you do give.
Summary by FM
For more information, visit: http://www.westchesterbuddhistcenter.org/audio-ringu-tulku-rinpoche