Re:From Mike Dickman

[Guest guest]

The Buddhist idea of an enemy and/or difficult situation is that ihe, she or it is the perfect opportunity for learning the practice of patience.It's easy to be patient when everything's going your way and no-one's shoving you around or trying to trip you up, in fact you don't learn patience from that kind of situation at all! But, since (as it's said) 'an instant of anger can wipe out aeons of merit', situations that do force you to examine and begin to learn a little about patience are not simply useful, but a veritable treasure. Hakuin Ekaku, the 17th. c. Zen Master once said: "Patience is not just 'putting up with the uncomfortable'. Patience is the unquestioning and imperturbable acceptance of the utterly unacceptable'... Easy enough to say you will tell me, and I would almost agree, except here is a tale from his actual life. Hakuin was a very strict master and also someone who was extremely self-disciplined.An idea of this may be had from the fact that, although he allowed fires in his monastery in winter for the monks, he himself never ever approached one. His whole life was like this. That established, on with the tale: A young girl fell pregnant one day, and, when her parents asked who the father was, not wanting to incriminate the actual boy, she pointed wildly about her and fell on Hakuin as the least likely candidate. The parents waited till the child was born and then took it to him. 'Apparently this is yours,' they said.'Oh,' said he. 'Is that so?' and he forthwith took the child under his care, left the monastery, got a small job and started to care for it. This went on for several months till the girl could stand it no longer and confessed that he wasnt the father at all. Filled with embarrassment and remorse, the parents went to Hakuin, apologised, and told him they had made a terrible mistake and could they now have the child back?...'Oh,' said he, handing the child over. 'Is that so?' It's very easy to see the evil in others, but how many of us would admit as readily to being torn asunder constantly by an almost constant state of cold rage and frustrated desire, overweening arrogance and carping envy? How many admit having absolutely no idea what 's going on here or what all this is for? ... ust a thought frm one whose anger is never far from just beneath the skin...-- Ne pesez pas plus qu'une flammeet toute ira bienHenri Michaux