14/02/2025
"True Love Heals" - a calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh
Please enjoy this extract from his book, "At Home in the World":
In Southeast Asia, many people are extremely fond of a large, thorny fruit called durian, whose smell is extremely strong. You might even say that some are addicted to it. There are those who, when they finish eating the fruit, put the skin under their bed so they can continue to enjoy the smell of it. To me, the smell of durian is horrendous.
One day when I was practicing chanting alone in my temple in Vietnam, it happened that there was a durian on the altar which had been offered to the Buddha. I was trying to recite the Lotus Sutra, using a wooden drum and a large bowl-shaped bell for accompaniment, but I could not concentrate at all, because of the smell. I finally decided to turn the bell over and imprison the durian so I could continue to chant the sutra. After I finished, I bowed to the Buddha and liberated the durian.
If you were to say to me, “I love you so much I would like you to eat some of this durian,” I would suffer terribly. You may say you love me, and that you want me to be happy, but yet you want me to eat durian. That is an example of love without understanding. Your intention is good, but you don’t have the correct understanding.
When you love someone, you want the other person to be happy. If they are not happy, there is no way you can be happy. Happiness is not an individual matter. True love requires deep understanding. In fact, love is another name for understanding. If you do not understand, you cannot love properly. Without understanding, your love will only cause the other person to suffer.
-Thich Nhat Hanh, "At Home in the World"
