Cattāri Brahmavihārā

To love one’s fate or, in my understanding, to wholeheartedly embrace the reality of the moment. I have been exploring the Stoics again, this time largely as a way of inculcating the values of courage, virtue and steadfast perseverance in my son who has grown tired of my constant “…the Lord Buddha said…” refrain. I do find the Stoics to be very close to the Dhamma in many places but they fail, for me, to provide both a complete view and praxis. Still, they’re the perfect answer to a boy engrossed in Greco-Roman mythology.

Returning to the title, what could amor fati mean in the light of the Dhamma? It’s certainly not Providence but it may be something more akin to upekkha. Understanding that we are heirs to our kamma and all that happens is the result of the functioning of natural and moral laws, how could it be any other way? Amor fati can then mean we give up lamenting over what cannot now be changed and focus our energies whee they can have an effect; in the present.