Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Battefield with Pain

IMG_4806 
There is no intention to fight or to suppress.
You are your mindfulness but you are also your pain.
We should not transform our self into a battlefield, the good fighting the evil. 
That's not the practice.
-- From Thich Nhat Hanh's dharma talk held on August 26th, 2013 at Blue Cliff Monastery, Pine Bush, NY.

Another realization of how difficult it is when one is ill. We're so used to being in control of our lives and when illness comes we fight it. The fight response is so natural and socially accepted. When learning to embrace it we are often confused and feel we are going the other way, that is, flight. Then we think we're defeated and emotions go downhill.  Our mind tends to be dualistic on many levels: me vs. illness, fight vs. flight, win vs. lose.


No comments: