Love is a quality of our own heart. It has nothing to do with being loved back. It has nothing to do with loving only specific persons, or with any ideal or activity or any particular direction. It is simply the training of our own heart. Just as meditation is training of our minds and does not depend on any input into the mind, the same is true for the love we can have in our hearts.
In the Pali language, heart and mind are the same word. (citta) In English, we have to differentiate between the two to make the meaning clear. When we attend to the mind, we are concerned with the thinking process and the intellectual understanding that derives from knowledge, and with our ability to retain knowledge and make use of it. When we speak of "heart", we think of feelings and emotions, our ability to respond with our fundamental being.
Although we may believe that we are leading our lives according to the thinking process, this is not the case. If we examine this more closely, we will find that we are leading our lives according to our feelings and that our thinking is dependent upon our feelings. The emotional aspect of ourselves is of such great importance that its purification is the basis for a harmonious and peaceful life, and also for good meditation.
Ayya Khema
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