The phrase "calm abiding" rings in the heart like a baby's lullaby. Derived from Buddhist texts, it connotes a way of viewing the world through eyes that seek to understand and promote peace gently, evenly, with equanimity.
It is my personal goal to live in a state of calm abiding at all times, but...and here is a very large but...once in a while an event occurs that stirs a white hot fire of anger in my innards. No amount of reflection on "calm abiding" seems to quell this ego-stoked bonfire.
As well as affronts to one's ego, i.e. Shakespeare's "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," a different kind of fury can erupt at the experience of gross injustices. There are too many varieties to list on this page; between genocide, pollution, every day prejudice, poverty, war and so forth, the "kind" part of "mankind" could carry on in a permanent state of horror-stoked anger.
Perhaps this is why society celebrates the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and so many others who have turned the proverbial cheek to forgive and seek reconciliation.
Finding the lever that raises the burden of anger out of the recesses of a dark mind and flips it into the light of day is the trick: may we never stop seeking relief from suffering.
It is my personal goal to live in a state of calm abiding at all times, but...and here is a very large but...once in a while an event occurs that stirs a white hot fire of anger in my innards. No amount of reflection on "calm abiding" seems to quell this ego-stoked bonfire.
As well as affronts to one's ego, i.e. Shakespeare's "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," a different kind of fury can erupt at the experience of gross injustices. There are too many varieties to list on this page; between genocide, pollution, every day prejudice, poverty, war and so forth, the "kind" part of "mankind" could carry on in a permanent state of horror-stoked anger.
Perhaps this is why society celebrates the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and so many others who have turned the proverbial cheek to forgive and seek reconciliation.
Finding the lever that raises the burden of anger out of the recesses of a dark mind and flips it into the light of day is the trick: may we never stop seeking relief from suffering.
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