What is the key to people’s hearts? (Understanding.)
The most valuable thing in life is relationship (friendship).
Life cannot be real if relationships are not real.

Relationship is sacred.
The best thing I can give you is my friendship.

Relationship is the source of the greatest joy and the greatest mental suffering.
The quality of our life depends much on the quality of our relationship with people around us.

It is nice to have good friends. Life would be so flat without kalyana mittas (noble/spiritual friends).

How rare it is to have a friend.

Dear friend, I don’t have many friends left. So I value whatever friends I still have.

To have a friend is one of the most wonderful experiences in life. To develop a deeper and deeper understanding of oneself and the world is also very wonderful. For me understanding is the most satisfying thing in life.

There is no time and space in our friendship.

I have made many new friends with whom I can relate to; I don’t expect anything from them: just open-hearted, free-flowing communication.

I believe I know why it is satisfying to me to hear someone. When I can really hear someone it puts me in touch with him. It enriches my life. (C. Rogers)

With sincerity, openness, understanding, caring, loving-kindness and patience they will surely work. Most relationships don’t work because they don’t have free flow of information (openness), genuine caring, real respect for others, and an understanding that we are all human beings (each of us has our own imperfections, limitations). Expecting too much from another person can also be a cause of disappointment which leads to rejection (thinking this is not what I expected, or acceptable).

With openness, vulnerability, honesty, metta (loving-kindness) and understanding it will be a good relationship which will promote spirituality, maturity, etc. Most relationships become routine after a while (lifeless, stagnant).

Without honesty there can be no real communication; without real communication there can be no real relationship; without real relationship there can be no real help (support, teaching, etc.).

You need a good friend (or good friends, which is better, if possible). One should not live in a place where there is no friend. But what is a friend? And you need a place which is suitable to your temperament.

It is easy to have compassion for a suffering being, but it is not easy to live with that person for the rest of your life.

Love is not enough for two people to live together; deep understanding of each other is necessary. Love is not enough in a relationship; deep understanding and appreciation is also necessary. See if you can accept all the bad things about him without wanting to change him and see if you can also respect him as he is now. Dependent relationships don’t work well.

Relationships shouldn’t be used as a means; it should end in love, understanding, respect and appreciation. Nobody is perfect. Sometimes relationships become entanglement if they are not grounded on right attitude.