cee (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} presentnonexist) wrote,@ 2004-07-20 07:30:00 |
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you asked about compassion/dispassion
Compassion is natural in relations with others. But before spending too much time on it, and if you are ready, why not inspect the whole matter in a much deeper way.
When you have compassion for another, a big assumption has already been made. You are assuming that there is someone else that is (different from) not you. You have assumed you are somebody or something or you wouldn’t be cognizing someone or something “else”. Before you go about trying to correct or help the apparent others, it is wise to see if there really are any others and who it is that is assuming such a thing. In order to know if there are any others you should first see who it is that cognizes them.
Who sees the others? This seems like such a remedial question, yet to honestly and sincerely ask it could change your whole outlook to the point of radical joy. Understanding the truth of your own existence will clear up the question of how to treat others.
If you inspect the conceiving of those others, who perhaps need your compassion, you may come to the understanding that there are no others unless you imagine them.
Consider your dream state. You may have deep compassion for the others in your dreams, and go about all kinds of maneuvering to help them out, yet upon waking you see the whole thing was a bunch of mind fluff. Not only were the others unreal, but yourself as a dream character was unreal. Is it ultimately important to spend time nursing phantoms? Is dispassion called for?
Teachings about dispassion toward the world and others are meant to turn your attention inward toward the source of all arising phenomena. The whole notion of others depends on who you are taking yourself to be. If you are an ant, the others will appear to be ants. If you are a dream character of some kind, the others will appear accordingly. Instead of looking outward towards the others, try looking at yourself. If it is obvious you are not an ant or a dream character, what makes you think you are a human being? Is a human body your real identity? When attention is turned inward toward the essence of your own existence it is possible to discover the wonderful truth of who you really are. Dispassion towards what seems to be outside of you is simply a tool to quiet the mind and thus wake up to what is real about yourself and others.
Dispassion gets interesting when it is directed at your own assumed identity. The real dispassion should be toward your own persona because all the “others” stem from that initial assumption. Instead of assuming an identity as a human being and then trying to be compassionate toward the apparently human others, it is more wise to question your own identity.
When you deeply and thoroughly look at your self, where do you find your self? If you find yourself objectively, can it really be you? To be dispassionate toward what you have wrongly taken to be yourself will allow you great clarity and freedom. When there are no notions about yourself and others, what remains? To find this out for yourself is liberation.
Once found, it is so enjoyable that no dispassion is needed! When you know who you really are, it is clear that there is only one Self with no others. If there appear to be others they are yourself. From this point of view where is the need for compassion?
.
Compassion is natural in relations with others. But before spending too much time on it, and if you are ready, why not inspect the whole matter in a much deeper way.
When you have compassion for another, a big assumption has already been made. You are assuming that there is someone else that is (different from) not you. You have assumed you are somebody or something or you wouldn’t be cognizing someone or something “else”. Before you go about trying to correct or help the apparent others, it is wise to see if there really are any others and who it is that is assuming such a thing. In order to know if there are any others you should first see who it is that cognizes them.
Who sees the others? This seems like such a remedial question, yet to honestly and sincerely ask it could change your whole outlook to the point of radical joy. Understanding the truth of your own existence will clear up the question of how to treat others.
If you inspect the conceiving of those others, who perhaps need your compassion, you may come to the understanding that there are no others unless you imagine them.
Consider your dream state. You may have deep compassion for the others in your dreams, and go about all kinds of maneuvering to help them out, yet upon waking you see the whole thing was a bunch of mind fluff. Not only were the others unreal, but yourself as a dream character was unreal. Is it ultimately important to spend time nursing phantoms? Is dispassion called for?
Teachings about dispassion toward the world and others are meant to turn your attention inward toward the source of all arising phenomena. The whole notion of others depends on who you are taking yourself to be. If you are an ant, the others will appear to be ants. If you are a dream character of some kind, the others will appear accordingly. Instead of looking outward towards the others, try looking at yourself. If it is obvious you are not an ant or a dream character, what makes you think you are a human being? Is a human body your real identity? When attention is turned inward toward the essence of your own existence it is possible to discover the wonderful truth of who you really are. Dispassion towards what seems to be outside of you is simply a tool to quiet the mind and thus wake up to what is real about yourself and others.
Dispassion gets interesting when it is directed at your own assumed identity. The real dispassion should be toward your own persona because all the “others” stem from that initial assumption. Instead of assuming an identity as a human being and then trying to be compassionate toward the apparently human others, it is more wise to question your own identity.
When you deeply and thoroughly look at your self, where do you find your self? If you find yourself objectively, can it really be you? To be dispassionate toward what you have wrongly taken to be yourself will allow you great clarity and freedom. When there are no notions about yourself and others, what remains? To find this out for yourself is liberation.
Once found, it is so enjoyable that no dispassion is needed! When you know who you really are, it is clear that there is only one Self with no others. If there appear to be others they are yourself. From this point of view where is the need for compassion?
.
