LOVE IN EAST AND WEST

In Buddhism, Warrior-Boddhisattvas

(those who delay entering Nirvana 

to help others on Earth get there)

train in: interdependence –

if I hurt others I hurt myself –

it is love not aggression that will save the planet –

others are not different from themselves –

we are all one –

and they train their hearts to open 

in increasingly difficult situations

getting in touch with our True Self/God within

enables Boddhisattvas and us to listen/speak/act from the heart

“For without compassion all religious beliefs and practices

are useless and empty” – Albert Nolan

we now have so many tools to help us be compassionate

such as the Enneagram which exposes the hidden worldviews

we have been unconsciously operating out of our whole lives

and thus helps couples to view 

their partners foibles more compassionately

and their own foibles more critically

in previous cultures  

belief in God had nothing to do 

with the modern obsession with weighing evidence 

for the existence of God –

God must laugh at our attempts  

to weigh God in the balance

as if our thoughts or intellectual choice of doctrines

determined whether God existed or not –

in previous cultures

belief in God

was like a marriage vow –

“I do” commit myself 

to love and serve you, my God

mindful presence 

spent with the one we love

is the fullest expression of True Love

and mindful generosity

is the greatest gift 

we can offer our loved one –

the gift of our True Presence.