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Nov. 23rd, 2007
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Nov. 23rd, 2007 08:09 pmSo I'm reading Thich Nhat Hanh's Zen Keys, 'cos gods know I need it. He talks about koans, those riddlesome little stories given to Zen students, and how when the moment is right and the "mind is ripe" one of these bits of nonsense can abruptly unlock the student's mind. It's not that the koans contain some mysterious, encoded wisdom, but that it's the right bit of noise at just the right moment: one monk was even abruptly enlightened by hearing a butcher talking up the quality of his meat!
This phenomenon must explain the profound effect reading this passage in the book had on me this evening:
Buddha, having met an untouchable who carried night soil, brought him to the edge of the river to wash him, then accepted him into the Buddhist community, despite the extreme protests of the others.
My heart's been slowly healing from the battles of the last couple of days (and the year's battles), and this passage had that sudden, strange effect of making all the tension and pain just drop away. I had to put the book down for about an hour.
I've rarely experienced this sudden easing: another time was during a sermon on forgiveness at a Sydney synagogue. Come to think of it, coincidentally (or is it!), I'd picked up a copy of Chaim Potok's The Chosen and, completely at random, read a passage where Reuven's father is urging him to listen carefully to someone who comes to speak to him, especially if there's a conflict between them. (There's a Biblical teaching, IIRC, about making peace with one's neighbours before going to worship God.)
Now the one thing I have in common with the people I've been struggling with online, the ones who've wrongly accused me or Jon of saying some pretty awful things, is that we're in pain. The passage about washing the untouchable didn't strike me because of the Buddha's kindness or inclusivity or socialism. Instead it made me think, 'Imagine if I could take one of those angry people and do something nice for them.' I dunno, made them lunch, or found something they were looking for, or whatever. It would ease the tension and soothe both of us - assuming I could manage to do it without looking like I was just trying to be morally superior!
I always swear off Internet arguments, then find myself drawn back into them, so unless I develop unprecedented self-restraint, I'm going to have to deal with this again. Perhaps what I should try next time I encounter someone who attacks me personally is to gently point out that not only is what they're saying not true, but I'm not actually the topic of conversation and no-one's in the thread to read about me. :-)
ETA: Jon reminded me of a marvellous line from Star Cops, in which Spring finally explodes: "DAVIS! ...DO YOU WANT A DRINK???" :-)
This phenomenon must explain the profound effect reading this passage in the book had on me this evening:
Buddha, having met an untouchable who carried night soil, brought him to the edge of the river to wash him, then accepted him into the Buddhist community, despite the extreme protests of the others.
My heart's been slowly healing from the battles of the last couple of days (and the year's battles), and this passage had that sudden, strange effect of making all the tension and pain just drop away. I had to put the book down for about an hour.
I've rarely experienced this sudden easing: another time was during a sermon on forgiveness at a Sydney synagogue. Come to think of it, coincidentally (or is it!), I'd picked up a copy of Chaim Potok's The Chosen and, completely at random, read a passage where Reuven's father is urging him to listen carefully to someone who comes to speak to him, especially if there's a conflict between them. (There's a Biblical teaching, IIRC, about making peace with one's neighbours before going to worship God.)
Now the one thing I have in common with the people I've been struggling with online, the ones who've wrongly accused me or Jon of saying some pretty awful things, is that we're in pain. The passage about washing the untouchable didn't strike me because of the Buddha's kindness or inclusivity or socialism. Instead it made me think, 'Imagine if I could take one of those angry people and do something nice for them.' I dunno, made them lunch, or found something they were looking for, or whatever. It would ease the tension and soothe both of us - assuming I could manage to do it without looking like I was just trying to be morally superior!
I always swear off Internet arguments, then find myself drawn back into them, so unless I develop unprecedented self-restraint, I'm going to have to deal with this again. Perhaps what I should try next time I encounter someone who attacks me personally is to gently point out that not only is what they're saying not true, but I'm not actually the topic of conversation and no-one's in the thread to read about me. :-)
ETA: Jon reminded me of a marvellous line from Star Cops, in which Spring finally explodes: "DAVIS! ...DO YOU WANT A DRINK???" :-)