[Buddha-l] Being in Love

[jkirk]

Like I said--"our" sense of love didn't exist on the Indian sub-continent
2500 years ago, or, there seems to be no evidence of it. 
So why must we keep wishing there were Buddhist canonical texts about it?
On the other hand, the Buddha did have constructive things to say about
family life and responsibilities--wouldn't those apply as well to a good
marriage? 
Romance did appear in courtly literature around Kalidasa's era--which is
said to be either 1st c BCE or 5th c CE. His poem Meghaduta is a case in
point, where the hero pines away in exile for his beloved WIFE, and asks the
Cloud to go check in on her to see how she is doing in his absence. If such
literature existed in the Buddha's time, I'd love to know about it.
Joanna

-----Original Message-----
From: buddha-l-bounces at mailman.swcp.com
[mailto:buddha-l-bounces at mailman.swcp.com] On Behalf Of Bob Zeuschner
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 12:42 PM
To: Buddhist discussion forum
Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Being in Love

I've been reading this topic with interest. I've thought about it myself
often, and I've tried to interpret Buddhism as affirming non-possessive
love, non-attached, non-egocentric love.
However, I'm not sure there are any canonical sources which truly assert
this.
My wife and I will celebrate our 40th anniversary this year, and if Buddhism
did not affirm those 40 years (which have been wonderful and
not-to-be-missed), then so much the worse for Buddhism.
Bob Zeuschner
Dept. of Philosophy


> Call me a romantic, but romantic love is not so bad an option... as 
> long as it grows beyond its limiting self. Come to think of it, 
> there's really nothing more romantic than eventually renouncing 
> worldly love of one out of spiritual love for all. (The Buddha did 
> just that.)

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