The Dalai Lama is one of my favorite spiritual seekers, and I absolutely love reading his books and listening to talks that he gives.
One of my favorite quotes by The Dalai Lama is that “Love is the absence of judgement.”
In this post I’ll explain a little bit about what that means, and how you can apply it to your life, through the practice of compassion.
Meaning of the Quote: Love Is The Absence of Judgment
Firstly, let’s look at what this quote actually means.
In order to understand it, we have to break down our ideas that we often hold about love. We are used to thinking of love in terms of another person, and we often confuse the qualities and characteristics of that person, with the love we hold for them.
We implicitly love them because they possess these qualities. Though we don’t usually realize it, we unconsciously create conditions for this love. (Eckhart Tolle addresses this idea as well, read more about what he says in this post on enlightened relationships.)
As we step aside from our own egos, however, we have an opportunity to love more deeply and more strongly than ever before. When we do not judge (either ourselves or the other person), we allow ourselves to taste the ecstasy of true, unconditional love.
This love does not have any boundaries or limitations. It is the act of seeing another person as the being of love-light that is at the core of each of us, without paying attention to whatever conditions or circumstances are appearing before us in the physical world.
This is the heart of love and compassion, and is a practice worth cultivating, every single day, whether we are interacting with our friends and family, or a stranger on the street.
Love unconditionally. That is all.
The Dalai Lama Speaks on How To Practice Loving Kindness and Compassion
In this video, the Dalai Lama talks about the nature of compassion and how we can use a practice of non-judgement to increase the love and compassion we hold for others, while also increasing our own inner peace and happiness.
This video is presented by Emory University from a talk in 2010.
Learn more about how to practice loving kindness and compassion in daily life.
