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The Daily Dharma – September 7, 2021

Photo of Norman Fischer by Samuel Ace

Love is generated from twin impulses. Buddhism calls them emptiness and compassion; we could also call them wonder and warmth. Emptiness points to the miraculous nature of phenomena: that things are not what the appear to be; that they are, rather than separate, connected; that they are, rather than fixed and weighty, fluid and light. When we see a baby, when we look at the face of our beloved, we know that the way we’ve been conditioned to perceive the world isn’t right: the world is not a fearful and problematic challenge; it is, instead, a beautiful gift, and we are at its center always.

Norman Fischer
from When You Greet Me I Bow; Notes and Reflections from a Life in Zen
Chapter: Falling in Love

To be continued . . .