Saturday, November 18, 2006
Is this true?
Every time I force myself to stop crying, what I've done is forced myself to stop feeling. By doing that, I've betrayed myself in the worst possible way, because I've robbed myself of that same depth that allows me to love, and to give myself fully to life. Are hurt and love in that way, inextricably linked? It seems that by by making myself vulnerable to hurt, I open myself also to the possibility of fully loving, caring, and being empathetic. So, if I force the hurt away, I deny myself the joy of love, too.
Is that a bad thing? Perhaps the logical conclusion to all of this is that both hurt and love are selfish, self-gratifying acts, and both should be avoided at all costs.
But compassion and empathy are good things, right? Yet how am I supposed to have any sense of compassion and empathy if I cannot feel the pain of others? And how can I feel the pain of others if I can't allow myself love? And if I can't love, how can I feel motivation to act?
How is peace possible when I'm still here? All the hurt and suffering seem to be tied in with circumstance. Being at peace, then, must mean distancing oneself from circumstance.
Buddha isn't afraid ... to point out the suffering and stress inherent in places where most of us would rather not see it — in the conditioned pleasures we cling to. He teaches us not to deny that suffering and stress or to run away from it, but to stand still and face up to it, to examine it carefully. That way — by understanding it — we can ferret out its cause and put an end to it.
- Ajarn Thanissaro Bhikkhu
fon @ 4:11 AM link to post * *