The Distinction Between the Domain of Emotion and the Domain of Love

Xuefeng

October 30, 2023

The domain of emotion refers to the scope of feelings and emotions involved, while the domain of love pertains to the scope of love cognition.

To grasp the contrast between the two domains, we need to differentiate between emotion and love.

Emotion is an expression of a person's psychological state. There are eight emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, sadness, worry, fear, and surprise. The emotions we commonly refer to mainly include family affection, friendship, romantic love, and gratitude.

Love is an expression of a person's consciousness state, with only one form of expression: joy.

Psychological and consciousness states are entirely distinct. Psychological states change with external circumstances, while consciousness states are inherent expressions of LIFE that do not change with external factors. Emotion changes with external factors; for example, kind treatment may evoke affection, while provocation may lead to resentment. Love, on the other hand, does not change with external factors. For example, parental love remains constant regardless of changes in the child's behavior; it is innate and difficult to change.

The domain of emotion pertains to feelings. For example, if one has few objects of affection, their emotional domain is narrow; if one has many objects of affection, their emotional domain is broad. The domain of love pertains to love. For example, in the animal kingdom, female animals exhibit extraordinary care and love towards their offspring, whether they are bears, tigers, leopards, pigs, dogs, or birds. However, this love is solely directed towards their own offspring and does not extend to the offspring of other species. Similarly, humans tend to feel affection towards those with whom they share blood relations, emotional connections, and mutual interests, rather than extending their affection to other individuals or entities. Celestial beings, for instance, predominantly express love for all of nature and its creatures, showing fondness for the qualities, environments, and realm of celestials. Buddhas and bodhisattvas express love towards all life forms, including humans, reflecting their broad perspective and elevated consciousness at this level of existence. Thus, the breadth of the love domain varies according to the difference of LIFE’s scope and realm.

Upon examining the emotions and love of different levels of LIFE, we find that broader domains indicate higher LIFE levels. Conversely, narrower domains suggest lower LIFE levels. This is a topic that practitioners and cultivators need to pay close attention to.