Forgiveness.

Forgiveness.
"It would be much more constructive if people tried to understand their supposed enemies. Learning to forgive is much more useful than merely picking up a stone and throwing it at the object of one's anger, the more so when the provocation is extreme. For it is under the greatest adversity that there exists greatest potential for doing good both for oneself and others." His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Our stubborn attitude is bringing us so much suffer. I saw someone back who abandoned me long years ago. I felt so much compassion and putted my arms around the person. Take care I added. A quick contact of value. What a release and great peace to feel forgiveness, which opens love and compassion. Released of a heavy compounded stone by sadness and anger-afflictions.

One of our Protector Practices has the Deity ~severing the life force of enemies with a sword of meteorite iron~.

A dear Sangha friend was a little concerned about this and asked if she was bringing harm to others if she didn't feel so friendly about them.

Another from the Sangha explained to her that "enemies" are our afflictions, inside - not other people and went on to talk about Dawa Gyaltsen's Heart Instructions. Shambhala Sun Magazine has a little article about "Discovering the True Nature of Mind" by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.

http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1464&Itemid=0

Great joy to read the words of that master.
By the example with the famous person came the thought about the emptiness of the form, here enemy. Sometimes the form of emptiness is forgotten.
Yes, our own afflictions are the enemy, our own obscurations. Freed from them, where is the outer enemy? Compassion is boundless.

Thank you for that text!

Nice posts there.

I don't remember which one of HH the Dalai Lama's recorded teachings it was - but it was very similar. The people who seem to be giving us a bad time, make us angry, frustrated, etc. - we should thank them for helping us to work on our compasssion, equanimity, etc (the Paramitas).

Another is that everybody just wants to be happy and not suffer - so at a minimum we should not add to their suffering - sort of like what we see in health care "first do no harm".


So for me, mindfulness also includes the idea of ~not~ becoming somebody else's famous person unless doing so helps them to realize or at least get a glimpse of the Natural State.

All of which comes back around to friendliness, forgiveness, etc.

Yes Gerry, sometimes these people can be our greatest teachers can't they?

Studying Shantideva also helps my perspective with these instances. For instance, helping one to understand that these situations have occurred as a result of our own previous karma, and from a "Bodhisattva's point of view", our response in anger not only results in karma for ourselves, but also has the potential of stirring a reaction from the other person, thus causing them more cause for suffering and more karma. This thinking really helped me as well.

So for all intents and purposes, yes forgiveness is the best approach!