【The Secrets to Love】

English Dhamma Talk "The Secrets to Love"
By Sister Sumangala

"Friendly, Compassionate and Forever Smiling" best described Sister Sumangala!!

She brought to us the power and the secrets to LOVE!

She started the Dhamma session by saying that Love is not blind, but lust is blind, so as attachment. Due to "busy"ness, we somehow don't know how to love ourselves and others too!

She then hilariously refers the word "Busy" in Chinese "忙" literally refers to "心亡" or "Heart die"!

Why is suicides, stress, depression happens nowadays?
The materialistic world moves so fast that We start to lose everything around us.
We lose the warmness, closeness.....
So... We have a choice to link with the heart!
We have to look within and ensure we still connected in the heart!

To live the four Brahma Viharas (四無量心）
It starts with love:
1. 慈 Living a LOVEing life,
2. 悲 Transpire into COMPASSION!
3. 喜 Having the JOY for ourselves,
4. 捨 Have balanced state of Equaminity.

Later she related a Story about the 3 devas living on the top of the tree home.... one day a monk came and sat below the tree and starts practicing and meditation. Out of respect, the 3 devas refrained from going back to the tree home which is on top of the monk! But day after day, the monk remained there and the Deva's frustration grew for not being able to go back the tree home! They started making some noise and frightened the monk to leave! The monk felt uneasy and ask the Buddha for advice! The Buddha, thru this virtue thought that that tree is still the best place for practicing, hence, he taught them to practice the "Karaniya Metta Sutra" to ease the uneasiness amongst them and live harmoniously!

She told us.....
- To be happy and to make people happy!
- Simple in livelihood!
- Have few (manageable) duties!
- Not too attached. (Enemy of "love" is "attachment")
- Unconditional love

Right thought -
- to renounce sensual pleasure.
- the thought of loving kindness.
- the thought of non cruelty.

She encouraged all of us to practice "Metta"
When we practice METTA, we feel very happy!
So as the associated benefits of METTA such as sleep well, no dreams, human, deva and even non human will like us, not to be harm by fire, knife and have virtue to be attained higher level of consciousness.