The Axes Of Love, According To Buddhism
There are four axes of love for Buddhism and they were described by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh in a little book called True Love: A Practice to Awaken the Heart . In it he not only refers to the love of a couple, but to all kinds of affective bond. Even the one that one must have with oneself.
In reality, the axes of love are simple truths that, perhaps for that reason, go unnoticed in our eyes. They speak to us of essential elements that must be identified, cultivated and protected in family relationships, couples and friendships. In fact, the ideal would be to take them into account in our global relationship with ourselves and with the world.
Buddhism understands love as a universal feeling that must be lavished on everything that exists. Filling yourself with true love, you achieve balance and, with it, spiritual peace.
We invite you to reflect on the axes of love according to Buddhism. It can be a great contribution to your life.
Joy, one of the axes of love
Joy is a manifestation of inner rejoicing. It means that we are satisfied and happy with reality and that it generates enthusiasm and joy in us. It does not mean that this emotion remains constant or with the same intensity at all times. Rather, it is a provision.
Whoever is happy transmits that happiness to others. Just as anxiety or sadness have something contagious, joy also radiates and imbues those around us with a good state of mind. It is one of the axes of love for oneself and for others. It involves constant work to adapt and balance ourselves.
Compassion, a fundamental axis
Compassion does not mean feeling sorry for another person, or seeing them as inferior or limited. As the word indicates, it is about sharing passion (in the sense of suffering) with the other. Understand your pain and come to feel it as your own. Therefore, it is fundamentally an act of empathy.
Compassion is an essential part of love because it implies an understanding with the feelings of another person, in addition to the acceptance and validation of their vulnerabilities and limitations. Compassion makes us understand them rather than question them and come to feel them as our own.
Mutual enjoyment, multiplied happiness
It is known that there is love when one person enjoys the existence and company of another. This implies the desire to give them time and be truly present in the moments that they spend with that person. That is, to focus our attention on it when we talk, or when we share a common situation.
It also implies the ability to listen and be open to what that person thinks, says, and does. According to Zen Buddhism, mutual enjoyment is not only one of the axes of love, but it also offers an unmistakable sign of the presence of love. If there is no mutual enjoyment, you cannot speak of love.
Freedom, the basis of everything
Buddhism points out that one cannot be free if there is not previously an inner balance. This is expressed as calm and composure in all kinds of situations. It indicates that in order to love ourselves and others, it is first essential to calm those inner storms that, sometimes, invade us and prevent the emergence of the most positive feelings.
What most captures the human being and the most takes away his freedom are fear and anger. Only by working on those emotions and managing to dilute them, can we be truly free to love. Otherwise, we may end up making the other the object of these fears and attacks. If there is internal harmony, instead, we make ourselves free and let the other be free.
For Zen it is important that we not only cultivate our own interior. When you love, there is also interest that the loved one grows and achieves its internal balance. They point out that love is an active feeling, not a receptive one. Each one is a support and a reference for those they love. So by cultivating the axes of love, you are influencing the other, mainly through the way of example.
