Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, reverently known as the 14th Dalai Lama, has a lot to say about love. 14th Dalai Lama is the most important monk of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism. He has sought refuge in India ever since the Tibetan uprising of 1959. For him, the need of love comes from inter-dependence, which he believed that one of the most fundamental law of nature. According to 14th Dalai Lama (2002), inter-dependence also governs the most subtle level of material phenomena. It is because our own human existence depends so much on the help of others that at the very foundation of our existence lies our need for love. So, we need a genuine sense of responsibility and a sincere concern for other people’s welfare. For him, the greatest use of love is to love the world and everyone in it, no matter how many d
ifficulties life throws at you. Despite his life’s hardships, he still strives to love everyone and encourages us to expand the circle of who we love. We also have to consider that we are not machine-made objects that can alleviate all of our sufferings and fulfill our needs. As stated by 14th Dalai Lama (2002), the expression of love is also very important at the time of birth. This is the first interaction of a child to their mother. It shows that child cannot survive without the care of others and love is its important nourishment. Love and affection should come first at the basic unity of our society which is family (Lama, 2002). After reading the book Compassion and the Individual, one thing seems clear to me, whether we are consciously aware of it or not, the need for human affection is in our very blood from the day we are born.