4 Love Mantras, According To Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen master who has thought deeply about love. His best known work is True Love. A practice for awakening the heart . This book contains valuable teachings and also includes four essential love mantras to strengthen different emotional relationships.

For Thich Nhat Hanh, love should be the source of happiness and not of suffering. However, it is a feeling that requires commitments and promotes personal evolution through them. Love mantras are a way to remember those basic covenants of every relationship.

Although the love mantras are particularly applicable to the couple, they also have an impact on any type of affective relationship. They point to the essence of the loving feeling , in which those involved support each other and accept each other. These are the four mantras that Thich Nhat Hanh proposes.

1. I know you are here and that makes me very happy

The first gift that can be given to someone we love is to acknowledge their existence and presence. That is why the first of the love mantras speaks of recognition. It is expressed in two sentences. The first: “I know you are here.” It implies giving the other to understand that we are attentive to their existence.

The second sentence states: “And that makes me very happy.” So it is not enough only with the attention focused on the other, but this must be accompanied by a feeling of approval, of satisfaction. It is a way of reminding ourselves and the other of the importance of their presence .

Master Thich Nhat Hanh recommends remembering this mantra every day, at least twice. Once for ourselves, without saying it. And again saying it to that special person whom we love in our life, because it makes us happy.

2. I am here for you, one of the essential love mantras

The second of the love mantras is the complement of the previous one. It basically means being present in the life of the other. If you are attentive to the feelings and needs of another person, it is important to let them know through words or attitudes.

There are many ways to say “I am here for you.” Every gesture and every action that signifies support and respect is a way of expressing it. This implies that we know the other enough to detect the moments when they need our presence.

It also involves corresponding to their gestures and words. Value what it gives us. Likewise, it is always good to say it in words at the right time. If someone you love says “I am here”, many worries and burdens are relieved.

3. I know you are suffering and you can count on me

In the language of love, it is very important to let the other know that we are not by his side only when everything is going well. It is also necessary that we develop sufficient sensitivity to detect suffering in those we love.

Only if another person notices that we are suffering, he already makes a great contribution to us. Recognizing that discomfort is a way of validating what we feel and expressing respect for it. Therefore, it is a way of reaffirming the being of the other.

No one has an obligation to be responsible for the suffering of another, but you can offer your listening, your understanding and a word of encouragement. It is not always easy to understand the reasons that the other has to suffer, but just being there and not questioning it is enough.

4. I am suffering and need help

Master Thich Nhat Hanh points out that this is the most difficult of all love mantras. It means overcoming pride and fear. It also means not being carried away by a false autonomy and being able to trust the other when we need it.

No matter how much someone knows us, they will not always realize that we are suffering. Nor is it possible that he always manages to know the magnitude of that suffering. Expressing it is a way to facilitate understanding and understanding. This mantra announces that we are in a particular situation and we need the support of the other.

In this case, it is best to express it in words, otherwise it can lead to misunderstandings. Much better if the person is able to express how the other can help them. In this way, the discomfort or the reason for suffering is limited and thus prevents it from spreading and contaminating the bond of love.