metonymy4u

a key part of being open to all experiences is being able to encounter them with compassion. thinking of an image of a dog whimpering because a stone kicked up by a passing car’s tire just hit her in the nose, i cannot feel anything but compassion for her. she did not put her nose in the path of the stone. it just hit her and she is hurting. that same feeling, turned towards my own experience, allows me to see that i did not create the causes and conditions of my own suffering. with this new understanding, i can then turn towards suffering with less indifference, and more connection. neither did i create the conditions of my suffering, nor am i powerless in the face of them. dialectics being held in common, the way is no longer disguised. sure, like everyone i would prefer life not hit me on the nose with rocks and stones. however the concern is not that i have preferences, but that i often believe that preferences are the source of the problem. this is delusion. clinging and lack of compassion are the problem.