How to Truly Love: An Ancient Guide to a Life of Kindness

An engaging new translation of a timeless fifth-century Buddhist meditation guide that teaches practices for becoming happier and freer by learning how to love everyone

Sages and religious teachers the world over have taught us to love one another, extending our love and kindness beyond our immediate family and friends to strangers and even enemies. But such lofty aspirations can seem unrealistic and even perverse given how difficult and annoying other people can be, and how unloving they can be toward us. Why should we love these people? And even if we are convinced that we should, how can we possibly do it? In How to Truly Love, Maria Heim presents an enlightening new translation of an important fifth-century Buddhist text that teaches practical strategies and meditation techniques for becoming happier and freer by loving others.

The work introduced here is the important “Sublime Attitudes” chapter from The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), a meditation manual by the Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar Buddhaghosa (“Voice of the Buddha”). Based on a subtle understanding of how the mind works, “Sublime Attitudes” teaches powerful cognitive and affective therapies for cultivating lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity by letting go of their opposites, including hatred, anger, and indifference. By radically reconceiving how we see others, we can break down barriers between ourselves and them, and come to seek their happiness and well-being as though it were our own.

Featuring an illuminating introduction and commentary, as well as the original Pali text on facing pages, How to Truly Love invites today’s readers to explore ancient Buddhist practices that countless people have found life-changing.