Friday, December 19, 2008

Free of the worldly bias towards friends and enemies

At the end of every meditation class or sitting we do something known as "sharing the benefit". This is a practice in which we wish happiness and freedom from suffering for everyone - not just our friends but our enemies as well. The following develops that principle:

Is it possible for the rose to say, 'I will give my fragrance to the good people who smell me, but I will withhold it from the bad?' Or is it possible for the lamp to say, 'I will give my light to the good people in this room, but I will withhold it from the evil people'? Or can a tree say, 'I'll give my shade to the good people who rest under me, but I will withhold it from the bad'? These are images of what love is about.

--Anthony De Mello

3 comments:

  1. Wish I could join your class. :-)

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  2. Wish I could join your class. :-)

    Thank you, Miss Attica. What a lovely think to say. I wish you could, too. I'm sure you would make a wonderful contribution to the class discussion.

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