Love is a much more pleasant emotion than hate. If we get a taste for love, we will give up our taste for hate. If we allow ourselves to appreciate someone we hate, it will transform our life.
Forgiveness takes place when there is a change in our heart. If we only understand forgiveness in our mind, our heart won’t change. Forgiveness comes when we are willing to open our heart enough to feel the pain and hurt life presents to our abuser. When we do this, hostility begins to melt away.
When forgiveness matures further, our heart opens enough to become our well wisher. We pray for his or her well being and happiness and we feel appreciation. As we do this, our resentment naturally and painlessly pours out of our softened heart.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Forgiveness is the Cure for Victimhood
Forgiveness is one of the greatest cures for victimhood. Unfortunately, not being a victim is uncomfortable for some people. It's easy to see why a person who wants to remain a victim can't forgive others- then they would have to give up their victimhood.
We should be glad the abuse is over. Are we really glad? No, we’re not. We relive the event over and over again and we often relive it with more intensity and suffering than when it originally occurred.
Giving up resentment is like any other kind of renunciation. We give up something we are attached to because we recognize it’s not good for us and that it is impeding our spiritual progress. Resentment is the weapon we use to punish another. Why don’t we give up this weapon? We don't give it up because we are attached to it. It is the prized weapon we use to punish our abuser.
Lord Buddha taught that attachment is the cause of suffering. Lord Krsna taught that attachment is the cause of remaining in material consciousness and that material consciousness causes suffering. It's clear that material attachment is not good for spiritual progress. What is not always clear is that punishing someone through resentment is a far greater attachment and thus, far more detrimental to spiritual progress than mere attachment to material things.
We should be glad the abuse is over. Are we really glad? No, we’re not. We relive the event over and over again and we often relive it with more intensity and suffering than when it originally occurred.
Giving up resentment is like any other kind of renunciation. We give up something we are attached to because we recognize it’s not good for us and that it is impeding our spiritual progress. Resentment is the weapon we use to punish another. Why don’t we give up this weapon? We don't give it up because we are attached to it. It is the prized weapon we use to punish our abuser.
Lord Buddha taught that attachment is the cause of suffering. Lord Krsna taught that attachment is the cause of remaining in material consciousness and that material consciousness causes suffering. It's clear that material attachment is not good for spiritual progress. What is not always clear is that punishing someone through resentment is a far greater attachment and thus, far more detrimental to spiritual progress than mere attachment to material things.
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