Answer

It's interesting to note the extent to which Westerners give almost supreme importance to the "concept of love", which is not the case in other cultures, particularly Asian ones. In Japan, for example, we don't say "I love you". The expression itself does not exist. We can explore some cultural and historical elements that may contribute to this apparent difference between the West and certain Asian cultures.

In the Western tradition, movements such as Romanticism have strongly influenced literature and the arts, emphasizing the importance of passionate, romantic love. On the other hand, some Asian cultures have different literary and philosophical traditions, sometimes emphasizing family stability, duty and loyalty rather than romantic passion.

Then we have family models: Family values can differ from culture to culture. In some Asian cultures, the emphasis on the extended family and obligations to it may take precedence over the emphasis on individual romantic relationships. Arranged marriages, although less and less common, have also played a role in some Asian cultures, with the idea that family compatibility is as important, if not more important, than romantic love.

Religions and spirituality: Religious influences can also play a role. For example, in some Asian cultures, Confucian values emphasize family and social harmony, while in Western Christianity, love is often seen as a central force.

Curiously, the Chinese ideogram for the word 'love', which in Japanese is pronounced 'ai', has a second, Buddhist meaning, translated as 'desire' or 'attachment'. This word is the eighth in the chain of twelve causal links, which explain the origin of the wandering of ordinary beings in the cycle of life and death along the six paths. It precedes 'appropriation'.

Moreover, according to some psychologists, love can be associated with excessive attachment and fear of loss, which can be linked to ego concerns.

Arthur Schopenhauer, a 19th-century German philosopher, developed a pessimistic vision of the human condition, according to which human beings constantly oscillate between desire and boredom. His vision is often centered on the concept of the will. In his major work Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung (The World as Will and Representation), he explores the idea that human beings are essentially governed by an inner force called the will. Here is how Schopenhauer develops the idea that individuals oscillate between desire and boredom:

Schopenhauer's starting point is the Will: he sees the will as a blind and insatiable force that drives individuals to constantly desire. He argues that the will is at the root of all human actions, whether in the pursuit of pleasure, the achievement of goals or the satisfaction of needs.

Next, the will leads to Desire and Suffering: Schopenhauer states that desire is the manifestation of the will. Individuals are constantly seized by various desires, which they seek to satisfy. However, satisfying desires brings only temporary relief, as new desires constantly emerge. This perpetual pursuit of desire inevitably leads to suffering, because lasting happiness is difficult to achieve in this dynamic.

Boredom follows desire: Schopenhauer sees boredom as a state in which the will is not actively engaged. When desires are momentarily satisfied and excitement wanes, boredom sets in. In his view, boredom is an unavoidable fact of human life, because the incessant nature of the will means that even the satisfaction of desires ultimately leads to dissatisfaction.

Thus, for Schopenhauer, human life is characterized by an incessant to-and-fro between insatiable desire and boredom, with the possibility of temporary escape through activities such as artistic appreciation and the practice of altruistic morality.

What does the practice of Nam Myōhōrengekyō bring to such a context?

In my humble opinion, Schopenhauer's analysis concerns people who do not practice Buddhism.

We are all ordinary beings afflicted with innumerable desires, which means that our senses and consciousness are limited. Buddhas and bodhisattvas also have desires. But these desires are extra-mundane and consist of desiring the salvation of all beings. So, in practicing Nam Myōhōrengekyō, we have a choice. Either we practice for the satiation of our worldly desires, which still makes us oscillate between desire and boredom, or we practice to realize the extra-worldly desires, which are Buddhahood and vast propagation. The culmination of these is Nirvana and the land of the Buddha, where there can only be serenity and fulfilment.

In conclusion, both love and its opposite, hatred, are worldly feelings that stem from attachment to the ego and lead to suffering. Buddhism, on the other hand, emphasizes compassion, which is extra-mundane and leads to serenity.