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Why doesnt Buddhism support romantic love?

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    (Bell)
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    (Bell)
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    (Asking question in foreign language)
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    If one of the basis
    of the Buddhist religion,
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    is love for Mother Nature.
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    Why isn't this also
    equally true of romantic love
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    between two people
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    and their demonstration
    of love for each other.
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    Can someone repeat?
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    Seems to be an interesting question.
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    (Laughter)
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    She asks if Buddhism
    supports love for Mother Nature,
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    why doesn't it also support
    romantic love between two people
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    and demonstrations of affection
    between two people.
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    The Buddha is a teacher of love,
    true love.
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    Love for Mother Earth,
    should be true love.
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    And if it is true love
    it can bring a lot of happiness
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    to you and to Mother Earth.
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    And romantic love,
    if it is true love,
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    it can also bring a lot of happiness.
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    But if it is not true love,
    it will make you suffer,
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    and make the other
    suffer as well.
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    In the teaching of the Buddha,
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    true love needs four elements.
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    First of all:
    Maitri - loving-kindness
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    that is the capacity to offer happiness.
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    If you cannot offer happiness,
    that is not true love.
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    In romantic love,
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    if you are not able to help
    the other person to be happy,
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    that is not true love.
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    So you should train yourself
    in order to be able
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    to offer happiness
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    to you and to him,
    or to her.
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    Without that, both will suffer.
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    The second element of true love
    is compassion.
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    Compassion is the kind of energy
    that can help remove suffering;
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    that can help transform suffering
    in you and in the other person.
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    If you cannot transform
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    and take care of the suffering
    in you and the other person
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    that is not true love.
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    That is why "Karuna",
    the second element of true love,
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    should be cultivated
    by you and the other person.
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    Romantic and not romantic,
    that is not important.
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    What is important is
    whether it is true love,
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    or not true love, right?
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    The third element of true love
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    is Joy.
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    If by loving,
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    you make the other person
    cry all the time,
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    and you cry all the time,
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    That is not true love.
    (Laughter)
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    Romantic or not romantic.
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    True love is inclusiveness.
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    You do not exclude,
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    his suffering is your suffering,
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    his happiness is your happiness,
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    There is no individual suffering
    and happiness anymore.
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    In true love,
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    there is the element
    of inclusiveness, non-discrimination.
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    There's no separation,
    no barrier,
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    Between you and the other person.
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    In that spirit you cannot say,
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    "That's your problem!"
    No.
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    Your problem is my problem
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    My suffering is your suffering.
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    So this is the fourth element
    of true love.
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    And if romantic love
    has all these four elements,
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    it can bring
    a lot of happiness also.
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    The Buddha did not say, never any
    negative things about true love
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    In romantic love
    if you are successful.
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    You will cultivate a lot of
    loving-kindness and compassion.
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    And very soon
    your love will be all-embracing.
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    The other person is no longer
    the only object of your love.
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    Because your love
    will continue to grow.
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    Your love will embrace
    all of us!
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    And happiness
    will become limitless.
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    That is the love
    of the Buddha.
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    That is the meaning
    of the fourth element
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    of true love:
    Inclusiveness
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    If it is true love,
    it will continue to grow,
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    and include more and more.
    Not only humans...
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    but also animals, vegetables,
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    and minerals.
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    And that is a great love.
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    "Maha Karuna"
    "Maha Maitri"
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    And that is the love of the Buddha.
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    (Bell)
Title:
Why doesnt Buddhism support romantic love?
Description:

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Video Language:
English
Duration:
08:38

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