Become Compassionate
“People
suffer because they are caught in their views. As soon as we release
those views, we are free and we don't suffer anymore.”
Thich Nhat
Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh is a
Buddhist Monk, Zen Master, and teacher, who came out of seclusion
during the Vietnam War to help people survive, not just physically,
but spiritually. Martin Luther King, Jr. called him “an apostle
of peace and nonviolence” and nominated him for the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1967. Now in his 90's, Thich Nhat Hanh lives in France, and
travels the world teaching mindfulness and nonviolence. According to
him, we learn compassion through suffering. In a podcast with Krista
Tippett, On Being, he said that he would not want to live in a world
without suffering because then there would be no compassion.
According to Thich Nhat
Hanh, we can acknowledge our own suffering—things in life that
cause us stress, anger and resentment—and transform it through
understanding. We do that by staying in the present moment and
keeping an open heart regardless of what is happening around us. He
says, “People have a hard time letting go of their suffering.
Out of fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.”
We stick hard to our views, even though they cause us pain.
Nowhere is that more evident than in our current political climate.
The whole world is suffering and maintaining a hard split because we
are so afraid of opening up to our perceived adversaries. We don't
listen to one another because we are afraid to step away from our
personal opinions long enough to see the world through other eyes,
and thereby gain compassion.
It is not up to our
governments to solve this problem for us. We will not resolve our
differences with weapons and wars. We must each take responsibility
for ourselves, and our leaders, as individual human beings, must take
responsibility for themselves. Learning to listen with compassion is
the only way out of the chaos we have created. According to Thich
Nhat Hanh, “Every thought you produce, anything you say, any
action you do, it bears your signature.” Approaching your day
with an open mind and an open heart is how compassion grows.
In the Spirit,
Jane
No comments:
Post a Comment