What Did the Buddha Say About Love

This is a lecture by Khenpo Sodargye at Xiamen University Tan Kah Kee College on February 23, 2012, on the theme of "What Did the Buddha Say About Love." Khenpo's core argument: Buddhism is not about severing emotions, but rather revealing the truth about love. On the conventional level, the Buddha acknowledges normal emotional relationships; on the ultimate level, everything including emotions is non-existent. The key problem is that modern society packages love too romantically, leaving young people without discernment. Buddhist teaching: love is essentially attachment; "what is impermanent will inevitably be damaged," and all impermanence is suffering. Possessive love is the cause of suffering, while true love is equal care for all sentient beings—unconditional compassion. Khenpo uses stories such as Matangi and Zhuangzi's wife to illustrate that through wisdom analysis, one discovers that objects of attachment are not worthy of craving. He emphasizes: true success lies in cultivating compassion and understanding the mysteries of the mind, not in blindly pursuing external things.