december, 2026
Event Details
Why is it sometimes hardest to be kind to the people closest to us? How do we stay patient with someone who gets on our nerves, or feel genuinely happy for a friend when things are not going so well for us?
The Wild Detectives and Princeton University Press present Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers, a conversation series about old ideas and the very current business of being human. Together with the scholars bringing these books to new readers, we explore questions that turn up in our relationships, our communities, and our everyday lives. You do not need a background in philosophy, or to have read the book, to join the conversation.
Following our opening conversation with Michael Fontaine about speaking freely, the series continues with Maria Heim and How to Truly Love: An Ancient Guide to a Life of Kindness.
How to Truly Love
What if kindness is something we can practice, rather than something we either feel or do not? In her translation of the fifth-century Buddhist thinker Buddhaghosa, Heim explores how we can learn to care more generously for others, share in their happiness, and meet difficult moments with a little more steadiness.
We will bring those ideas into a conversation about love beyond romance: how we treat friends, family, strangers, and the people we find difficult. Come with your questions and your own experience of trying to get along with other people.
Explore the Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers conversation series.
About Maria Heim
Maria Heim is a professor of religion at Amherst College. Her books include Words for the Heart, How to Feel, and How to Lose Yourself, coauthored with Jay L. Garfield and Robert H. Sharf.
