Jangchup Lingpa and the team at Long Live His Holiness The Dalai Lama send a weekly Dalai Lama quote to their subscribers. I find the quotes to be inspirational and many times apropos of a current struggle either I or a loved one is facing.
Today's quote struck me for some reason. I'm not sure why... but I intend to meditate on it and find out. :)
On another note, I want to thank you all for staying in touch with me while I have not been posting here very much. Though I have been pretty neglectful of my blog, I love to hear from you and always respond to emails."I would like to explain the meaning of compassion which is often misunderstood. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the rights of the other: irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy, as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop a genuine concern for his or her problems. This is genuine compassion. Usually when we are concerned about a close friend, we call this compassion. This is not compassion; it is attachment. Even in marriage, those marriages that last only a short time, do so because of attachment - although it is generally present - but because there is also compassion. Marriages that last only a short time do so because of a lack of compassion; there is only emotional attachment based on projection and expectation. When the only bond between close friends is attachment, then even a minor issue may cause one´s projections to change. As soon as our projections change, the attachment disappears, because that attachment was based solely on projection and expectation. It is possible to have compassion without attachment, and similarly, to have anger without hatred. Therefore we need to clarify the distinctions between compassion and attachment, and between anger and hatred. Such clarity is useful in our daily life and in our efforts toward world peace. I consider these to be basic spiritual values for the happiness of all human beings, regardless of whether one is a believer or a nonbeliever." - His Holiness the Dalai Lama
I hope you are well and happy. I hope you smell some flowers today. Go to the park and swing. :)
Just put "go to the park and swing" on today's to-do list. :)
ReplyDeletelisaaa.nice to c u though after a long time..sure u doing well..i liked this post very much...esp on how to differentiate betwen anger and hatred..just a minute back i was shouting at a colleague as he used dirty words..but i have no hatred..good...thanks for sharing..take care dear friend..stay connected..cheers and best wishes
ReplyDeleteLisa....after all this time, your words make me think about lot of things....
ReplyDeleteis so nice and lovely come here...
Namaste my dear...
I have read that true compassion is the highest of the virtues and also the hardest to achieve. Attachment is very tricky! One MUST not pay attention.
ReplyDeleteThere's A Present For Your Blog on my blog. Take it :)
ReplyDeleteglad to see you after a long time and your recent post made me to think.
ReplyDeleteheyyyy lisa..always gr8 2 hear fm u..nice u r doing well and keeping busy..cheers my good friend..lisa..i liked the book "The new earth" by eschart...read it if u get time...sounds really good and positive..bye
ReplyDeleteHey, Jack. Good for you! I hope you did it. Take the whole family, it's great fun! :)
ReplyDeleteRamesh, hi there! Always so good to hear from you. I really enjoyed your last post. Namaste
Carina, thank you for your kind words. You're always so cheerful. Namaste
Ed, attachment is very tricky indeed. I do not see all attachment as negative though, just the unhealthy variety that causes us to place unrealistic expectations on others and/or keeps us from being able to either let go or accept. It's the greatest challenge we as humans face, I believe. :)
Bhavesh, thank you so much for the gift. I have never gotten a blog award before. I really appreciate this from you, dear friend.
Deepak, this post makes me think too. I'm far from enlightened, but I am trying. :)