Amor Mundi: Love of the World
Hannah Arendt, philosopher and independent thinker, was one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century. Her thought was concerned with a vast range of topics. She may be best known for her work on the most difficult subjects of her time and ours: the nature of power, of totalitarianism, of radical evil. She wrote The Origins of Totalitarianism, and covered the Eichmann trials in Jerusalem for The New Yorker. She also wrote The Human Condition, and The Life of the Mind. Despite deep attention to the worst horrors of the 20th century, themes of love, renewal, and birth permeate her work. This aspect of her philosophy — amor mundi, love in its social sense, love for the world — resonates with my Buddhist-attuned understandings, though she was not particulalry engaged with philosophy outside of the European west.
Arendt said that the most difficult and important thing is to love the world exactly as it is. Neither uncritical acceptance nor jaded rejection, amor mundi requires a courageous love, steady enough to continually face up to and comprehend things exactly as they are. Within amor mundi, there is the necessity of empathy, even while observing closely and thinking critically in the social and political realm, where differences will always manifest. A “miracle of rebirth” in human society rests in this capacity for empathy and intelligence, and the potential for fair and just innovation in a time where shared traditions and their guardrails continue to fall away.
In Buddhism, the concept of maitrī — benevolence, or loving-kindness — is the first of four sublime states to aspire toward. Benevolence is the foundation of compassion; from compassion springs sympathetic joy, and ultimately, equanimity. In building capacity for clear-eyed love, we open our hearts in our relationships, and in our actions. With care and attention, we can cultivate and deepen our love of the world.
Join me Wednesday, February 14th, 2024 at 7:30 pm (eastern time) for a meditation session centred on this theme of amor mundi – for the love of the world. (This session will be held exclusively online.)
We will return to our weekly schedule, in person and online, on Wednesday, February 21.
