In Liberation In our Hands, Book 3, please read pp 99-130. If you are short on time, read pp 124-130.
Here, Pabongka Rinpoche offers another meditation technique we can use to develop equanimity:
Contemplation and Meditation
Focus on all three types of objects: a neutral person, friend and enemy, at the same time.
Choose one person for each type and focus on all three people.
You will experience three different reactions. Towards the friend, you will feel attachment. Towards the enemy, you will fee aversion. Towards the neutral person, you will not have any concern or care.
Like yesterday, again, reflect that this enemy has also been a close friend in the past - either in this life or in past lives. Reflect that your friend has also hurt you in past lives, perhaps countless times. The neutral object is someone who has both been your friend and your enemy in the past.
If all three of these people are similar in having been both our enemy and our friend at different times, then each of them is alike in having been an enemy, friend and neutral person. Reflect that it is improper to feel attachment for a current friend because he has been our enemy in our past. Reflect that it is improper to feel hatred toward a current enemy, because he has been a close friend many times in the past. There is no one who remains our enemy or friend constantly so we have no justification for generating feelings of attachment for some and aversion towards others.
Furthermore, all these beings are alike in that they are all subject to samsara and they are all desiring to find happiness. Since we are all alike, it does not make sense to look upon each other in a biased way.
Also, an individual who harmed you in a past life and someone else who harmed you in this life are identical in that they harmed you. Someone who helped you in a past life and another who helped you in this life are identical in that the have helped you. Why treat them differently? We have lived so many lives that everyone around us has helped us and hurt us...so it does not make sense to treat people differently.
Also, the way that someone treats you actually comes from you - a result of your own past actions (emptiness wisdom). So, how can you feel these strong feelings towards others, when it is all coming from you in the first place? It doesn't make sense. Everything you experience is a result of the way you have treated others in the past; the seeds that you planted in the past. Someone who helps you is a result of you helping someone in the past. If someone hurts you, it is your own karmic seeds ripening from hurting someone in the past. So, why feel aversion to someone who hurts you when you know it is coming from your own seeds? If anything, be happy that you are purifying by watching those seeds sprout and maintaining warmth towards all.
Like Jesus said, "Love your enemies." And, like Shantideva said, "I bow down to those within whom enlightened mind has arisen; I take refuge in those minds of goodness who bring happiness even to those who harm them."
After contemplating these points, if you succeed in developing evenmindedness towards these three people, shift your focus to include all beings. With everyone as your meditation object, once again try to develop the same feeling of evenmindedness.
Dedication: Always same. Look back to previous meditation and memorize it! :)
Subsequent Practice: Keep cultivating equanimity throughout your day and rejoice because your yoga/spiritual practice will start to generate very fast results.
Remember, the reason we are born into samsara is because we have karma to purify. If we purify our karma now, we free ourselves from samsara. We cultivate karma by hurting others. We free ourselves from karma by loving everyone all the time.
When you are in the midst of a challenge, let the situation (or person) help you purify the karma by maintaining an attitude of love in the midst of the challenge.
No comments:
Post a Comment