Cultivating the Mind of Love Literary Elements

Theoretical book, Biography, Buddhist text.

The setting of the book is a school of Buddhism named Mahayana Buddhism during the late 20th century. The book has been written in the context of the tradition of love in Buddhism.

The narrator of the book is Thich Nhat Hanh and he has given an account of his experiences as a young man and a monk. The story has been narrated from his own point of view.

Dictating, Reforming, Awakening, Religious, Optimistic.

The protagonist of the book is a young man who becomes a monk and falls in love with a nun. His intense love for the nun becomes the reason of his religious enlightenment.

The major conflict in the story is between the young man's Buddhist ideology and his intense love for the nun. The Buddhist ideals compels to give away any romantic aspirations but he considers love for the nun as sacred.

The climax in the story comes when the monk falls in love with the nun.

The intensity of the monk's love for the nun foreshadows the sufferings and the religious designations also foreshadows the abdication of any romantic relationship.

The understatement in the book is that love becomes the cause of religious enlightenment. If a person learns to control his emotions, he can bring clarity in his life. Love makes a person calm and it enables him to empathize with others. Without encountering the intensity of this passion, a man can never mold himself.

There are allusions to Buddha, Buddhist beliefs, theology, monk, nun, love, intensity of emotions, Buddhist scriptures, Sutras,Diamond Sutra, Heart Sutra, religious enlightenment, Buddhist school, Mahayana and the emotional drives.

There are images of religious understanding, the life experiences of a young man and his intense passion for a nun. The book also conveys the images of the sacred relationship between the monk and the nun and their friendship.. Then there are portrayals of a monk who embarks on a journey towards enlightenment or religious awakening because of her passion for the nun. The monk understands religious scriptures and negates some traditional beliefs. There are images of the monk propagating love as something sacred and which enables humanity to empathize with others,

The paradox in the story is that the young man understands religion in a Buddhist school but he falls in love with a nun, which is not allowed in Buddhism. He becomes a monk but holds intense emotions for the woman,. His negation of Buddhist classical beliefs is also paradoxical. Love is not considered sacred in Buddhism but he propagates the passion of love and its impact on his life. He considers love as a transforming force in his life.

There is a parallelism between the monk's understanding of Buddhism and his negation of Buddhist traditional beliefs.

An example of metonymy in the book is the young man, who represents all the youngsters who fall in love and become unable to resist their emotions. An example of synecdoche is the propagation of love, By explaining the impact of love, the author has preached empathy and care for others.

Love has been personified in the book. According to the author it acts as a transforming force in a person's life and it enables a man to embark on a journey of religious awakening.