Pain, Growth, Maturity, Liberation & Joy

     “when one is in the wholehearted pursuit of an ideal, pain is not resented; it can provide an unparalleled opportunity for growth and maturity. Pain is the fire in which the dross of our personality – the loathings, desires, doubting, and fears – is burned away and the mind tempered and strengthened, not unlike brittle metal annealed into steel. Moreover, when pain, which the Buddha proclaimed as a condition of existence, is courageously accepted, it is a means to liberation in that it releases our natural sympathies and compassion and thus enables us to experience pleasure and joy with new depth and purity.”

       Young-Eisendrath P, Martin R, eds. “Awakening to Zen. The teachings of Roshi Philip Kapleau.” Shambhala, Boston, 1997.

Star Forest by Kristiina Lehtonen   http://www.kristiinalehtonen.fi/index_en.php