Gudo Nishijima Roshi: On the Balance of Love and Hate

Here Gudo Nishijima Roshi talks about the balance of love and hate in Buddhist practice.

Of course, the word "hate" here does not mean the kind of hate that causes murder, genocide and so on. It refers to the workings of the autonomic nervous system. When hate is unbalanced and overwhelms love there are terrible consequences. Yet when love is unbalanced and overwhelms hate the consequences are equally negative.

I've always found his use of the word "love" and "hate" to describe these subtle states very interesting and useful.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• zen
• buddhism
• buddha
• psychology
• love
• hate
• gudo nishijima
• hardcore zen
• brad warner

[SuperShamanDotCom]

In the Nada-Yoga System is Love and Hate only one emotion, plus and minus.

He really is a very good teacher for everybody, thanks for uploading.

[doubtboy]

@SuperShamanDotCom That's interesting! I had never heard of the Nada-Yoga system. I thought Nishijima was the only one who said this about love and hate (I'm the person that made this video, by the way).

[hootiepaladin]

Check out the other videos with the Zen master, but I'm having trouble understanding his reasons why love as the only existing principle would be bad. He used the analogy of relaxation and tension, but I didn't think the analogy was apt.

[SuperShamanDotCom]

The Nada-Yoga is very old, Nada is Sound, Music. Nowadays the Nady-Brahma System is developed more and more. There are 12 Emotions (formerly in India there were 22). Each is good and bad, ying and yang, keeping them in the middle position gives you a good live. You speak or sing, and I know what emotion is out of balance, then we will sing a tone to harmonize it, its easy. Hope it helps.

[plathhs]

I would not call "avoid extremes" an extreme, the same way I would not say things as "the only thing not changing is change". This is because such things as extremes (and change) cannot exist without anything being extreme (or changing). If extremes are avoided, there are no extremes. If everything changes, there cannot be anything unchanging.

[dogensanghafrankfurt]

After seeing this viedo I really have to read the book he is talking of.

[XGnodabX]

avoid that extreme too

[stusek]

you cannot have great compassion without great rage.

[WalMast]

Avoid extremes of anything.

[nobody24201]

I think he's saying that if we only feel love, if we only are in a relaxed and accepting state all of the time, we might become too passive.