I was recently gifted "When Things Fall Apart" by Pema Chodron, an American Buddhist nun. Please watch this video (click on picture above) where she describes this Sanskrit term - Maitri. She says, about this term - "It is said that we can't attain enlightenment, let alone feel contentment and joy, without seeing who we are and what we do, without seeing our patterns and our habits. This is called maitri - developing loving-kindness and an unconditional friendship with ourselves."
Much can be said about this term. Here's the first thing that struck me - sheer relief and sadness. Relief that it's that simple (but not easy). Sadness that I have spent so many years seeking the external love, without truly loving myself. I judge we live in a world where 99.9% of us suffer from this external focus. I judge we are all here at this time to grow and learn this lesson individually and as a collective consciousness.
I can say a lot more but I would rather hear from you. Please comment.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
I Maitri Myself
I was recently gifted "When Things Fall Apart" by Pema Chodron, an American Buddhist nun. Please watch this video (click on picture above) where she describes this Sanskrit term - Maitri. She says, about this term - "It is said that we can't attain enlightenment, let alone feel contentment and joy, without seeing who we are and what we do, without seeing our patterns and our habits. This is called maitri - developing loving-kindness and an unconditional friendship with ourselves."
Much can be said about this term. Here's the first thing that struck me - sheer relief and sadness. Relief that it's that simple (but not easy). Sadness that I have spent so many years seeking the external love, without truly loving myself. I judge we live in a world where 99.9% of us suffer from this external focus. I judge we are all here at this time to grow and learn this lesson individually and as a collective consciousness.
I can say a lot more but I would rather hear from you. Please comment.
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The wisdom in this video clip resonates with me. For example: "...and such as if you put your hand in fire it burns. So there's a lot of discomfort in life, and the fundamental teaching of the Buddha was to not struggle against the pain in our life".
ReplyDeleteI used to have a habit of, when feeling pain, adding to it by shaming myself for having created it. An old voice would say "if you could just live right you wouldn't be hurting".
Today I can accept my pain, knowing that the Universe is offering it to me as a sacred gift. I can honor myself for creating it rather than shaming myself. By doing this I deepen my friendship with myself in my dark hour rather than abandoning it, and I learn more fully the lesson in the pain. I believe this is my experience of Maitri.