The Perpetual Spring: When Love Is the Golden Rule of Happiness

Have you ever wondered why spring is considered the season of happiness? Is it merely because flowers bloom, birds sing, or the weather warms after cold winter days? The teachings of Venerable Thích Chân Quang offer us a deeper perspective: happiness and love are inseparable. It is love itself that makes spring eternal.

**Spring – A Symbol of Joy**

Spring has long been a symbol of renewal and hope. When the sorrowful, cold winter gives way to sprouting buds and warming air, people feel a fresh vitality. Venerable Chân Quang recalls a poem from his school days about spring, remembering only its final four lines:

"The path into spring is paved with happiness. For spring makes love’s blessings take wing. From worldly love, heaven begins to sing. Oh, spring warms my heart, now celebrating."

From East to West, spring is always seen as a season of happiness. This stems from the visible imagery: life returning after winter’s death, bringing hope for a good new year.

**Spring Reminds Us of Love**

Interestingly, when people view spring as a season of happiness, they naturally treat one another with affection and kindness. During the three days of Lunar New Year, people avoid bad omens, quarrels, and even debt collection. Why? Because, instinctively, humans recognize that happiness and love must go hand in hand. Anger and jealousy are signs of suffering and cannot appear in the early days of spring.

Venerable Chân Quang shares: “Happiness and love must go together. Where there is joy, affection must follow. People sense this even without articulating the rule, and they act accordingly.”

People also willingly give money during Tet—lì xì—because it is an expression of affection, not wastefulness. This is a natural law we often do not consciously realize.

**Love – The Golden Rule of Happiness**

Venerable Chân Quang emphasizes that while Buddhist teachers might speak of “a pure mind as happiness,” he chooses to start from a more fundamental point: joy exists only when people know how to love. Without love, life immediately becomes hell.

“Joy only exists when people love one another. Without mutual love, life becomes hell at once.”

This is true not only during Tet but in daily life. When we visit a family and are greeted with warmth, care, and affection, our hearts feel warm and happy. Conversely, if treated with indifference, we feel hurt and pained. Therefore, the art of giving love is the art of giving happiness.

**Giving Love Is Giving Happiness**

Venerable Chân Quang recounts that whenever spring is mentioned, he remembers a Buddhist devotee saying, “Coming to the temple, I feel such affection, such attachment that I don’t want to leave.” That simple statement helped him realize the meaning of love. When someone shares intimacy and offers us a sincere smile, it is a priceless gift.

Practicing love is not just with words, but through concrete actions such as:

Showing care and asking after others: Putting oneself in another’s situation and asking about their health and feelings. Sometimes a single question can make someone’s whole day.

Offering help: Providing material, emotional, or practical support. We can assist with whatever is within our ability.

Giving praise: Acknowledging and encouraging others’ good qualities. Praise is a spiritual medicine that helps people develop their strengths and feel loved.

Listening: Attending calmly with a mindful heart, not getting swept into the story but still understanding the other person.

A sincere smile: A smile born of inner peace is the cheapest yet warmest gift. A smile tells others, “I am happy to see you.”

**Cultivating Compassion – A Long Path**

To give love, one must first have it. But to possess a heart full of compassion is not easy. Venerable Thích Chân Quang shares: “Cultivating a compassionate heart takes ten years, five years, or even longer. Practice must be sincere and earnest—superficial practice yields nothing.”

Because compassion is so difficult to cultivate, each of us needs perseverance. We begin by making vows, reflecting on love, and practicing it in our daily lives.

**The Perpetual Spring – A Spring That Never Fades**

When spring passes and Tet ends, people return to jealousy and anger. But if we bring love to everyone at all times, spring remains in their hearts. Venerable Chân Quang imparts: “Even when spring has gone, summer’s scorching heat arrives, autumn’s melancholy gloom descends, or winter’s bleak cold returns, if everyone who comes to you feels warm and loving affection, then spring still exists—and you continue to give people spring.”

Let us strive to become a refreshing wellspring of love, so every day is spring, every moment is Tet. Bringing happiness to others is the most wonderful way to find happiness for ourselves.

Today, begin with a sincere smile, a word of inquiry, or a small act of kindness. You will find the perpetual spring unfolding right within your own heart.