Lose yourself in Love

The most significant aspect of both my spiritual development and my life has been the lessons of love. When my instructor and I first met forty years ago, we were sitting in a basic Dhamma hall when I first heard him say, "If you want to be truly happy in life, you must cultivate a loving heart."
The element of my practice that had been missing was this.
Those comments struck a chord in me and gave me purpose in life.

I made it my decision to be loving, despite the challenges, the seeming futility, and the exhaustion. Sometimes resolute and obstinate, yet always distinct Both yes and no must be taken literally. Love is never forceful, but it's also never weak. Love always exists with honesty because it has the soft character of a strong clarity.

For all those years of training, I had my teacher's presence and wisdom, but I also had the Metta sutta and, in particular, these verses: May all creatures be happy and secure, may their hearts be wholesome.
May all living things, without exception, be happy, whether they are weak, powerful, tall, stout, or medium-sized, long, short, or little, visible or invisible, living far away or nearby, already born, or yet to be born.

I repeated this aloud numerous times each day, gradually allowing my heart to become more accepting of the way the world operates. Opinions and judgments automatically dissolved, and I came to understand the fundamental realities that others are responsible for being who they are and that I am responsible for who I am.
Beings who are harsh and unpleasant do so because they are asleep; as a result of their words and deeds, they will experience misery in the future.

This is only a result; it is never a punishment. Living from love makes life joyful, whereas living from fear makes life terrifying.
In the Dhamma, the equations are all pretty straightforward.
Anyone who develops a loving heart is not a victim; rather, they are just freed from an emotional misperception of life.
I therefore repeated this phrase every day because I want freedom, which is found in love.

Although I find this phrase to be quite beautiful, there is one problem that can be easily overlooked when we recite Buddhist teachings without doing any real research.
In the Metta sutta, the line that comes before these words is a directive from the Buddha. Like the Master instructs his followers, he says, "you should always be thinking, may all beings be happy and secure."
You ought to think constantly.

You must keep these in mind over the course of the day and at each and every moment. not my means of increasing my income. not the best way to get a job promotion. not the best way to fulfill my desires. All beings should only be content and safe, and their hearts should be pure (etc).

To fall in love is to discover a life that is valuable to both you and those around you.
No matter how spiritual or religious we may consider ourselves to be, without a loving heart, we are only like chickens scratching and pecking in the ground, making judgments and comments on the lives of others while drawing power from criticizing, mocking, and even humiliating them—but we are never truly happy.

You must develop a loving heart if you truly want to be happy in life.
True freedom in life and love are the opposites of fear.
Love is unconditional kindness, generosity, and care for all creatures at all times without asking for anything in return.

I am kind to people who are good to me, the Dhamma Masters declare.
When people are rude to me, I am still kind to them.
I'm good.

When I say, "May all creatures be happy," I truly mean it in this sense because this is the path of love.
All creatures may be content.