Self-love

[diamind]

The the buddha ever teach self-love? are there any quotes for the suttas?

[Srilankaputra]

Dhammapada
Attavagga: Self

157

If you hold yourself dear
then guard, guard yourself well.
The wise person would stay awake
nursing himself
in any of the three watches of the night,
the three stages of life.

158

First
he'd settle himself
in what is correct,
only then
teach others.
He wouldn't stain his name
: he is wise.

159

If you'd mold yourself
the way you teach others,
then, well-trained,
go ahead & tame —
for, as they say,
what's hard to tame is you
yourself.

160

Your own self is
your own mainstay,
for who else could your mainstay be?
With you yourself well-trained
you obtain the mainstay
hard to obtain.

161

The evil he himself has done
— self-born, self-created —
grinds down the dullard,
as a diamond, a precious stone.

162

When overspread by extreme vice —
like a sal tree by a vine —
you do to yourself
what an enemy would wish.

163

They're easy to do —
things of no good
& no use to yourself.
What's truly useful & good
is truly harder than hard to do.

164

The teaching of those who live the Dhamma,
worthy ones, noble:
whoever maligns it
— a dullard,
inspired by evil view —
bears fruit for his own destruction,
like the fruiting of the bamboo.

165

Evil is done by oneself

by oneself is one defiled.
Evil is left undone by oneself

by oneself is one cleansed.
Purity & impurity are one's own doing.
No one purifies another.
No other purifies one.

166

Don't sacrifice your own welfare
for that of another,
no matter how great.
Realizing your own true welfare,
be intent on just that.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html

[JohnK]

For a start:
Acknowledging that there is no one dearer to one than oneself, and knowing that everyone feels this way, is a reason to not hurt others.
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Ud/ud5_1.html

[char101]

People said that love is an action not a feeling.

You love yourself by doing things that benefit yourself.

And that is what the teachings of the Buddha are. If practiced it will benefit yourself.

[JohnK]

From AN 4:67:

May footless beings do me no harm.
May two-footed beings do me no harm.
May four-footed beings do me no harm.
May many-footed beings do me no harm.

May all creatures,
all breathing things,
all beings
—each & every one—
meet with good fortune.
May none of them come to any evil.

All creatures includes oneself.

From MN 99:

"And what is the path to the retinue of the High Divinity? Here a bhikkhu abides with his heart imbued with loving-kindness extending over one quarter, likewise the second quarter, likewise the third quarter, likewise the fourth quarter, and so above, below, around, and everywhere and to all as to himself; he abides with his heart abundant, exalted, measureless in loving-kindness, without hostility or ill-will, extending over the all-encompassing world. While this heart-deliverance of loving-kindness is maintained in being in this way, no action restricted by limited measurement is found there, none persists there. Just as a vigorous trumpeter could easily make himself heard in the four directions, so too when the heart-deliverance of loving-kindness is maintained in being in this way no action restricted by limited measurement is found there, none persists there. This is a path to the retinue of the High Divinity."

As Metta is limitless, it includes oneself.

[Naga108]

The Buddha taught goodwill towards oneself: that one acts in their best interest.

It is not the self-love exhorted by Western self-help sites. Nor is it the self-love boxes filled with soaps, lavender, and teas.

In Buddhism, self-love is meditation, finding a refuge in the dhamma, and trying as hard as you can to free yourself from mental affliction.

[diamind]

From AN 4:67:

May footless beings do me no harm.
May two-footed beings do me no harm.
May four-footed beings do me no harm.
May many-footed beings do me no harm.

May all creatures,
all breathing things,
all beings
—each & every one—
meet with good fortune.
May none of them come to any evil.

All creatures includes oneself.

From MN 99:

"And what is the path to the retinue of the High Divinity? Here a bhikkhu abides with his heart imbued with loving-kindness extending over one quarter, likewise the second quarter, likewise the third quarter, likewise the fourth quarter, and so above, below, around, and everywhere and to all as to himself; he abides with his heart abundant, exalted, measureless in loving-kindness, without hostility or ill-will, extending over the all-encompassing world. While this heart-deliverance of loving-kindness is maintained in being in this way, no action restricted by limited measurement is found there, none persists there. Just as a vigorous trumpeter could easily make himself heard in the four directions, so too when the heart-deliverance of loving-kindness is maintained in being in this way no action restricted by limited measurement is found there, none persists there. This is a path to the retinue of the High Divinity."

As Metta is limitless, it includes oneself.

when you say it includes oneself, this is commentry and personal interpretation? Buddha didnt direct say it?

[salayatananirodha]

"Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/el-paso-s ... h-old-baby
is not the mother so consumed with love that her life is secondary? how does this kind of love apply to oneself?

[JohnK]

From AN 4:67:

May footless beings do me no harm.
May two-footed beings do me no harm.
May four-footed beings do me no harm.
May many-footed beings do me no harm.

May all creatures,
all breathing things,
all beings
—each & every one—
meet with good fortune.
May none of them come to any evil.

All creatures includes oneself.

From MN 99:

"And what is the path to the retinue of the High Divinity? Here a bhikkhu abides with his heart imbued with loving-kindness extending over one quarter, likewise the second quarter, likewise the third quarter, likewise the fourth quarter, and so above, below, around, and everywhere and to all as to himself; he abides with his heart abundant, exalted, measureless in loving-kindness, without hostility or ill-will, extending over the all-encompassing world. While this heart-deliverance of loving-kindness is maintained in being in this way, no action restricted by limited measurement is found there, none persists there. Just as a vigorous trumpeter could easily make himself heard in the four directions, so too when the heart-deliverance of loving-kindness is maintained in being in this way no action restricted by limited measurement is found there, none persists there. This is a path to the retinue of the High Divinity."

As Metta is limitless, it includes oneself.

when you say it includes oneself, this is commentry and personal interpretation? Buddha didnt direct say it?

It didn't occur to me that there might be interpretation going on, that is, I thought it was merely a logical inference to say that "all creatures" includes oneself and that "limitless" can't exclude anyone including oneself. But you are right that the quotes I shared here do not explicitly say "including oneself" (nor however do they say "excluding oneself" -- the Buddha is typically very precise, and so it is my inference/interpretation that he would have said to "excluding oneself" if that is what he meant as "limitless" and "all" imply inclusion).
The Buddha did not call out the King and Queen on their observation that there was no one dearer to oneself than oneself -- he used it instead as a reason to motivate non-harming -- in my reading, the Buddha does call out people (one way or another) who make a wrong statement, so again I logically infer (or interpret?) that he agreed.
Certainly "self-love" (as we moderns might conceive it) is not a major topic in the discourses, but it is not hard to see that a central theme could be called "self-love" in the sense that there can be ignorant "self-love" (seeking happiness by pursuing pleasant and avoiding unpleasant sense contact, for example) and self-love that seeks a true well-being, a happiness not dependent on conditions. So it's a key motivator for both unskillful and skillful actions.
I hope this is helpful.
Others may provide sutta references that are more explicit.