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Friday, August 10, 2012

"I am McLovin!"

Does this picture jog any memories from the movie, "Superbad?" The character Fogell gets a fake ID and out of any name he could choose he decides on simply, McLovin. Out of any state to call home, he opts for Hawaii, whose advertising slogan is, "the islands of Aloha," meaning, "affection, peace, compassion, mercy." Before the (fake) ID shift, he was a total dork; however, after becoming, "McLovin," he becomes an endearing social magnet. He's utterly transformed through identification with all things McLovin. Now if I might stretch a bit from here, the Buddha spoke a discourse that beautifully articulates shifting one's identity to that of love:

"This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech.
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied.
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.
Wishing: In gladness and in saftey,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born,
May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,
Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings:
Radiating kindness over the entire world
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
This is said to be the sublime abiding...."

Metta Sutta
Gautama Buddha 

Although getting a fake ID is far easier than embodying the Metta Sutta, we can be inspired by Buddha's words and use the practice of Loving-Kindness, or Metta to soften our hearts and foster more love, in a sense--become McLovin!

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