Take is Easy!

    Above and beyond life's inevitable challenges, we give ourselves a hard time. We CAN reduce our suffering by 95% by NOT getting sucked into unnecessary suffering eg wallowing in & trying to change the PAST, and catastrophizing about & micromanaging the FUTURE. 

    A more advanced practice is "self-inquiry" where we ask ourselves, 'WHO is suffering?' If we really go deep with this open question, we eventually come to realize that we are non other than sparks of the Cosmic Intelligence that dreams this Cosmos into being in the eternal now. So, 

        "All shall be well,
        and all shall be well,
        and all manner of things shall be well." Julian of Norwich (1342 – 1416) English Christian mystic 

     “Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all.” The Buddha

    "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff … and it's ALL Small Stuff!" Richard Carlson 

 

Pure Love

 

Ending Suffering Alone

    “We need to be aware of what we are practicing in any moment. Because whatever we practice, we get better at, whether it’s the skillful OR the unskillful.” Christina Feldman

    Sadly most of us (unconsciously) routinely practice avoiding the present moment, opting instead for all manner of distractions, as well as outright dissociation. Something about the present moment gets us to shut down, run away & hide, often alone.
    BUT when we're suddenly hit with an existential bomb - the diagnosis of a serious disease like Parkinson's; or our world is rattled by serious physical injury eg our body crashing against a bus' windshield; or worse, being overwhelmed by a whole series of serious challenges in rapid succession - we MIGHT actually open up to ourselves, those close to us, & possibly mental-health specialists about what we're going through, and share our experience of shipwreck.
    Such shared curiosity & examination of life's most challenging & most meaningful moments is precious intimacy - with ourself, others and life itself, and feels refreshingly expansive, wholesome & healing! Very recently, I had the privilege of deeply listening to two old friends share their journey through major current challenges.

    "To be enlightened is to be intimate with all things." Zen Master Dogen 

    “It is the perspective of the sufferer that determines whether a given experience perpetuates suffering or is a vehicle for awakening.” Mark Epstein MD

    “We suffer to the exact degree that we resist having our eyes & hearts opened.” Adyashanti

    Whether we're part of a joyous celebration, OR shoveling a large mound of sand from one spot to another, OR undergoing a searingly painful medical procedure, we're at our BEST when we're fully open to & fully engaged with present moment reality - not judging it in any way, neither trying to hold onto it, nor trying to escape it. This may sound weirdly counterintuitive & counter-cultural, however, the proof is in practicing & experiencing this for yourself.

    Siddhartha Gautama was born over 2,500 years ago, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents. But when he realized that despite his privilege of youth, health, wealth, power & position, he & everyone he loved - like everyone else in the world - are subject to constant change, aging, sickness & death. He was shocked but inspired, leaving all that he had behind (his wife, young child, parents, possessions & kingdom) to search for the cause of suffering and the way to end it. After years of severe asceticism, and meditation, he succeeded, attaining enlightenment, after which he was called the Buddha.

    "The Buddha stated the cause of suffering through his Four Noble Truths:
        • There are suffering & dissatisfaction in the world & in our lives.
        • The cause & origin of that suffering is Craving.
        • The cessation of Craving is the cessation of suffering.
        • The eight-fold path leads us to the end of that suffering.

    This is Buddhism in brief: suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the path leading to the end of suffering.
    Buddhism is not about rites, rituals, prayers & incense. It is not a religion, but a scientific investigation into overcoming sorrow at all levels of mind & body ... certainly beyond any religious belief system ... as well as beyond anything science currently offers.
    ... the Buddha made it clear that if you follow the directions, awakening can be achieved in a single lifetime, even in as little as a few days. This is as true today as it was at the time of the Buddha." David C. Johnson. “The Path to Nibbāna. How Mindfulness of Loving-Kindness Progresses through the Tranquil Aware Jhānas to Awakening.” 2017. 

    "The wisdom that the suffering doesn't belong to you will itself get you out of suffering, without you having to do anything." Shri Atmananda

    I stumbled on this insight on my first longish (10-day) silent meditation retreat. My suffering from "meditation pain" felt so massive, that I was certain it couldn't possibly be mine alone, and that I must somehow be helping to process all of humanity's burden of suffering. As soon as I gained that perspective, the suffering disappeared, replaced by blissful ease & joy.
    So suffering is impersonal - nobody's out to get us, we're not unlucky or cursed, etc. Yet we take many things, especially suffering, VERY personally. Learning to LET GO of the sticky mental habits that cause suffering is considered skillful practice ie a practice that reduces our own & others' unnecessary suffering.
    Along the same lines, the sense of being a 'self' that's alone & separate from everyone & everything else - a lone wolf, me alone against the world - is an inherently cold, contracted, lonely, fearful. Our natural state is inherently warm, expansive, connected, joyous.
    We can actually practice residing in our natural state. And when we retract into separate self, we can learn to recognize & release this, and return to our natural state.

    “Suffering is not enough.
     Life is both dreadful and wonderful.
     To practice meditation is to be in touch with both aspects.

     Smiling means that we are ourselves, that we have sovereignty over ourselves, that we are not drowned in forgetfulness.
     How can I smile when I am filled with so much sorrow?
     It is natural— you need to smile to your sorrow because you are more than your sorrow.”                Thich Nhat Hanh

    "Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside." Ramana Maharshi

the days pass slowly,
but when you look back,
you realize how quickly the years have flown by

Michael Caine

 

 

Pure Gold

    While striving to survive or to "make it big" in any job, business or profession, we tend to see a less effortful path as at least strange, if not a frightening, lazy waste of time.

    But at some stage, we may start to experience a surprising ambiguity about, & increasing independence from our belongings, status, accomplishments, experiences & relationships. At the same time, we start knowing a profound peace, loving connection & wholeness, that is minimally influenced by our health, financial situation, social status or time left to live.

     While still in the striving 'go getter' stage, we're repeatedly devastated by threats / loss / damage to our health / life, financial situation, social status, belongings, status, accomplishments, experiences & relationships. We may rely entirely on growth, or at the very least stability, in income, health, possessions. At the same time - at least subconsciously - we know that 'perpetual growth / stability' is consumer-society's fairy tale. In fact, changes of every kind happen constantly, and unless we die young, aging, sickness & death are inevitable & universal.

    Eventually, we all will let go of fairy tales, face reality & learn how to live in harmony with what's real. Mystics, saints, & increasingly, 'ordinary people' around the world are 'awakening' and leave pointers - infinitely more precious than pure gold - to help the rest of us awaken to the profound peace, loving connection & wholeness that is independent of ever-changing circumstances:

 

"There is a light that shines beyond all things on earth, 

beyond the highest, the very highest heavens. 

This is the light that shines in your heart."  

Chandogya Upanishad

When the Buddha lay dying in a forest grove in Kushinagara,
surrounded by five hundred of his disciples,
he said to them with his last breath:
"It is in the nature of all things that take form
to dissolve again.
Strive with your whole being to Awaken."

"You may imagine that there are many things you need to learn
and realize in order to attain enlightenment. That’s okay.
But essentially, there’s only one thing you absolutely must realize — 

the essential nature of your mind.”
Lama Tharchin Rinpoche

"In search of balance in the relative world, it is helpful to think of everything
— every quality, action, or object — as inseparable from its opposite: 

male and female; night and day; inside and outside. 

No matter how much you might like to have only the positives in life — 

freedom, peace, love — 

if you are seeking a static state, 

you will always be disappointed.

For every thing also contains its opposite and 

both sides must be balanced:
form & space, creativity & receptivity, activity & rest, growth & decay, 

manifest creation & the unmanifest source of all creation.

The good news is that, as your sense of balance grows, you’ll find it easier
to integrate the other side, ‘the negatives,’ into your life; 

you’ll discover the clarity in the midst of confusion, 

the stillness at the center of motion, 

and the love that waits behind fear & anger.

If you can learn to dance with the innumerable paradoxes of your life 

while staying anchored in an extraordinary suppleness & flexibility, 

you will create the stability necessary to actually find balance in your life."
Michelle & Joel Levey

 "Living in Balance: A Mindful Guide for Thriving in a Complex World."
Divine Arts, 2014.

"Thus shall ye think on all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn,
a bubble in a stream,
a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
a flickering lamp, a phantom,
and a dream."
Gautama Buddha

"Diamond Sutra"

“This is essentially our practice, to be conscious & awake moment to moment, and to embody the enlightened values of love, wisdom, & compassion to whatever degree we are capable and willing.”  

Adyashanti

“May we meet in the silence of the heart, may our practice be committed and joyful, and may we encourage the light and goodness in others 

whenever and wherever we encounter them.” 

Adyashanti 

 

    Dive even deeper into independence from dukkha: http://www.johnlovas.com/2020/08/towards-maturity-that-surpasses-common.html

 

by Mollycules www.BuddhaDoodles.com

 

Why Cling to Bubbles in a Stream?

     It's very common, especially in our youth, not to acknowledge our limited & uncertain lifespan, and instead pretend we all live forever. Then, as acquaintances, friends & loved ones become ill & die, each one is a shock - as if death were a huge, tragic mistake, a grossly unnatural surprise. But the Buddha advised:

Thus shall you think of this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.          Buddha, Diamond Sutra

     The Buddha also advised regularly reciting and contemplating "The Five Recollections":

I am of the nature to age.
Aging is unavoidable.

I am of the nature to get ill.
Illness is unavoidable.

I am of the nature to die.
Death is unavoidable.

All that is dear to me and everyone I love
are of the nature to change.
There is no way to escape being separated from them.

My actions are my only true belongings.
I cannot avoid the consequences of my actions.
My actions are the ground on which I stand.

     "Contemplating these recollections encourages us to awaken from denial and avoidance. The recollections offer a pathway of nonattachment and equanimity and a deeper, more sustained appreciation of this moment, now. A lightness of being emerges when we face what is undeniably so. If we take these recollections up as a practice, we are deliberately calling these realities forth instead of simply being at their mercy, overwhelmed by the thoughts and emotions they activate. 
     ... it is not a fault to get sick and to age. We are not separate from nature.
     All sentient beings, without exception, are subject to these natural laws. This body is not ultimately in our control. This body belongs to nature. Even this mind isn't in our control. We cannot choose what arises. This mind belongs to nature. What happens when a deeper understanding of how little control we really do have leads to a diminishing or dropping out of the sense of self? Old age, sickness, and death are not dukkha {stressful / unsatisfactory / suffering} if they are not clung to as I or me or mine. When we see clearly that illness and death are not I, me, or mine, the dukkha that they ordinarily cause may lessen a great deal or even cease altogether."

       Narayan Helen Liebenson. “The Magnanimous Heart. Compassion and Love, Loss and Grief, Joy and Liberation.” Wisdom Publications, 2018.

 

Jetty - photo by P. Michael Lovas

Wise Relationship with Difficulties

     When we forget who we actually are, we tend to become isolated & imprisoned in claustrophobic self-concern. All our relationships - with ourselves, others, nature, every aspect of life - are distorted, resulting in a vague, lingering dissatisfaction with life all the way to the absolute depths of human suffering ('dark night of the soul'). When we live in direct contradiction to who we fundamentally are, we're 'fish out of water,' flopping around on the ground. Without awareness of & living in harmony with our true nature, we're fish trying desperately to feel at home, happy & fulfilled on dry land.
     Our true nature, according to wisdom traditions, is spacious, grounded loving awareness. To achieve some clarity about who we are and thus resume healthy, normal relationships, we need to open our heart-mind. Metta and seed of metta practices are key:
 
     “The Buddha identified loving-kindness – metta – as one of the essential qualities of heart that carries us to awakening. He encouraged his disciples to develop it and extend its healing blessing to all beings universally. He taught in the Metta Sutta: ‘Even as a mother protects her life, her child, her only child, so with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings.’ This might seem impossible, but the Buddha is showing us the direction, and revealing the boundless treasure hidden in our own heart. We cultivate this large-hearted attitude, little by little, patiently and persistently. We can notice when we are touched by someone and naturally wish them well; be interested in that feeling of kindness and expand it to include ourselves and others – those we like, the one’s we’re neutral about, and even beings we dislike. This takes practice, but when we remember how important loving-kindness is for healing ourselves and the world, we’ll find the energy arrives. Actually, all living beings are our brothers and sisters in birth and death. We all suffer and wish to leave it behind. Reflecting on this, we don’t do to others what we don’t want them to do to us. An important premise for this practice is the principle: to others as to oneself.
     Our teacher Ajahn Sumedho taught us that the seed of metta is the attitude of non-contention, non-fighting, the willingness to allow things to be as they are and welcome them into our hearts. Sometimes if we try and convince ourselves we love everyone, it just feels false, or we end up in denial about all the reactions of resentment and aversion that regularly assail the heart. On the other hand, when we practice this friendly intention with all our thoughts, sensations, and moods – pleasant and unpleasant, beautiful and ugly – we find ourselves in an openhearted abiding that is not disturbed by anything. Whatever is bothering us, we welcome that too, just as it is, with an attitude of not-fighting, not harboring ill will. I’m very grateful to have been taught a gateway into this practice that is accessible.”

      Kittisaro & Thanissara. "Listening to the Heart. A Contemplative Journey to Engaged Buddhism." North Atlantic Books, 2014. * an exceptionally valuable book *

www.buddhadoodles.com

Protection on the Path

     Practicing morality & generosity is traditionally required in preparation, before learning meditation.

     We used to refer to such personal reserves of non-material wealth as "character." If we had earned a lot of it, we knew that we were "rock solid" ie stable & dependable, no matter how rough & chaotic things got.
     Today, morality & generosity are rarely even mentioned before or during secular meditation courses such as MBSR, even though they facilitate meditation practice and serve important protective functions. 
 
"The perfume of sandalwood,

the scent of rosebay and jasmine,

travel only as far as the wind.

But the fragrance of goodness

travels with us

through all the worlds.

Like garlands woven from a heap

of flowers,

fashion your life

as a garland of beautiful deeds."          Buddha 

     In addition to morality & generosity, years of dedicated meditation practice provide even more stability that further protects us from becoming lost within some of the challenging realms that we may encounter in meditation. We thus have a much better chance (*** see Treleaven's book below ***) of remaining absolutely clear about what’s happening, so that the ultimate dimension of our consciousness is never pulled into & gets lost in a chaotic realm, even when we may be right in the middle of it. 

     One of the most important things about our practice is that we start to discover inside ourselves a resource of stability - and that’s really important. That’s part of what meditation is about.         Adyashanti

     If you're a meditator, whether or not you're aware of ever having had significant trauma, whether or not you teach meditation, I highly recommend this new, well-written, important book:

David A. Treleaven. “Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness. Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing.” W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.

Mind the Mind!

     An imperfect childhood, plus the accumulated traumas of daily life are challenging for every one of us. The mind is a useful tool, but a nasty master. We're wise to mind it closely.
     “I don’t envision a single thing that, when unguarded, leads to such great harm as the mind. The mind, when unguarded leads to great harm.” Buddha, Anguttara Nikaya

     It's all too common for us to wrongly assume that unless we're young, gorgeous, intelligent, talented, rich & famous, we're worthless. Yet the Buddha reminds us that each one of us, along with all sentient beings, are EQUALLY lovable.
“Searching all directions
with one’s awareness,
one finds no one dearer
than oneself.
In the same way, others
are dear to themselves.
So one should not hurt others
if one loves oneself.” Buddha, Udana of the Pali canon

     Furthermore, we'd do well to remind ourselves, several times a day, of our own basic human decency and goodness. 
     “… you should recollect your own virtues … and your own generosity while you are walking, while you are standing, while you are sitting, while you are lying down, while you are busy at work, while you are resting in your home crowded with children.” Buddha, AN 11.13 PTS: A v 332 Mahanama Sutta: To Mahanama

     These reminders, at an excellent recent week-long silent meditation retreat (www.dharmaretreats.ca) lead by Greg Scharf, finally allowed these key messages of self-compassion to "land" for me - and they were powerfully healing. 
     When an important truth finally settles into the marrow of one's bones vs merely understanding it conceptually ... it's the difference between heaven and hell. Meditation practice can help bridge this chasm.
     Patience, kindness, patience, kindness, patience, kindness, patience, kindness, patience, kindness ...

How Would You Live Today IF ... ?

     Today’s full moon is regarded as the anniversary of the Buddha’s Enlightenment.
     This Awakening is held to have occurred around the 5th century BCE under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, India.
     On his enlightenment at the age of thirty-five in Bodhgaya, the Buddha proclaimed:

          Profound peace, natural simplicity,
          uncompounded luminosity,
          I have found a nectar-like dharma.

     This day also marks the anniversary of the Buddha’s parinirvana — his passing beyond this life. When Buddha lay dying in a forest grove in Kushinigar, surrounded by five hundred of his disciples, he said to them with his last breath: 

          It is in the nature of all things that take form to dissolve again.
          Strive with your whole being to attain complete Awakening.

     On this auspicious day it is held that the effects of positive or negative actions are multiplied ten million times.

     How would you live today if you were awake to the infinite consequentiality of every thought, intention, word, and action that you generate as it ripples out into the universe touching all beings in the most intimate of ways? 

     How would you live this day if you were awakened to the deepest dimensions of your True Being? These deepest dimensions encompass an underlying ground of reality that is shared by all things and all beings -- an inner open dimension of wakeful loving clear presence within all things and all beings in all moments of what we call time.

     May you live with this intimate sense of interbeing and with a heartfelt lovingkindfulness today – and all days.

Joel & Michelle Levey
WisdomAtWork.com

 

Loving Awareness

The Buddha's Teachings Concisely Summarized

"Physicists explore levels of matter; 
mystics explore levels of mind. 
What they have in common is that both levels 
lie beyond ordinary sense perception."                      Fritjof Capra

Simple Profound Advice

     Ajahn Chah's simple, profound advice to an aging student approaching her death:

     "The Buddha told us to see the way things are and then let go of our clinging to them. Take this feeling of letting go as your refuge.
 
     The world is the way it is. If you allow it to arise in the mind and dominate consciousness, then the mind becomes obscured and can’t see itself. So whatever appears in the mind, just say ‘This isn’t my business. It’s impermanent, unsatisfactory, & not-self.’ ”

Buddhism - a Closer Look

     Xenophobia is usually a form of aversion, even hatred: "fear & distrust of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange." Less commonly, xenophobia is expressed in the form of clinging or greed: "an uncritical exaltation of another culture in which a culture is ascribed an unreal, stereotyped and exotic quality." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia 
     We laugh at Homer Simpson when he says exactly how he feels: "I don't like him - he's different." But there's a little Homer in every one of us. We're far less evolved than we'd like to believe.
     From the start (~500BCE), Buddhism has sought the "middle-path" between extremes, and has seen aversion, greed, & delusion, as the basic causes of human suffering. Nevertheless, xenophobia remains a powerful primitive reaction, easily over-ruling higher forms of reason. "The world we experience comes as much, if not more, from the inside out as from the outside in." Anil Seth http://jglovas.wixsite.com/awarenessnow/single-post/2017/09/22/Clarity-of-Vision

     "Buddhism ... is not primarily a philosophy or description of reality. It is a pragmatic path whose goal is to lessen suffering and increase happiness." Melvin McLeod, Lion's Roar, November 2017

     The Buddha 
• denied being divine; 
• only claimed to have "awakened" by dropping greed, hatred & delusion; 
• for 40 years taught many to achieve the same awakening he had; 
• taught people not to rely on him or anyone other than themselves to awaken; and 
• taught that even his own teachings (later called "Buddhism") were like a raft to cross a river, a vehicle to be discarded after one has awakened.

     Like the Hippocratic Oath, the Buddha's primary interest was lessening suffering and increasing long-term happiness. So Buddhism has a lot in common with, and has often been compared to, a form of medicine or psychology.

     "Pragmatism considers thought an instrument or tool for prediction, problem solving and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics—such as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science—are all best viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes. The philosophy of pragmatism 'emphasizes the practical application of ideas by acting on them to actually test them in human experiences'. Pragmatism focuses on a 'changing universe rather than an unchanging one as the Idealists, Realists and Thomists had claimed'." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatism

 

Lambert's of Taos, NM  http://lambertsoftaos.com/new-manager/main

Hindrances to Clear Perception

     The Buddha explained that it is the five hindrances that distort perception and corrupt our thinking. He called the five hindrances the nutriment that feeds delusion. 
     The first hindrance, sensual desire, selects what we want to see, hear, sense, and cognize. It often embellishes the truth. It presents to our consciousness the product of wishful thinking. 
     The second hindrance, ill will, is the negative impulse that blocks us from seeing, hearing, sensing, or cognizing what we don’t want to know. It blinds us to what is unpleasant, and to what is contrary to our view. Psychology knows the second hindrance as the process of denial. 
     The third hindrance is sloth and torpor. This does not distort what we see, hear, sense, or cognize; rather, it buries it in a fog so that we are unable to discern clearly. 
     The fourth hindrance, restlessness and remorse, keeps our senses on the run, so fast that we do not have sufficient time to see, hear, sense, or cognize fully. Sights do not have time to fully form on our retina before the back of the eye has another sight to deal with. Sounds are hardly registered when we are asked to listen to something else. The fourth hindrance of restlessness, and its special case of remorse (inner restlessness due to bad conduct), is like the overdemanding boss in your office who never gives you enough time to finish a project properly. 
     The fifth hindrance is doubt, which interrupts the gathering of data with premature questions. Before we have fully experienced the seen, heard, sensed, or cognized, doubt interferes with the process, like a cocky student interrupting the teacher with a question in the midst of the lecture. 
     It is these five hindrances that distort perception, corrupt thinking, and maintain a deluded view.

     It is well known among serious students of Buddhism that the only way to suppress these five hindrances is through the practice of jhana. ... for those who do not attain a jhana, the five hindrances (plus discontent and weariness) invade the mind and remain. Anything less than jhana is not powerful and lasting enough to suppress the five hindrances sufficiently. So, ... if the five hindrances are still active at a subconscious level, you are not seeing things as they truly are; you are only seeing things as they seem, distorted by these five hindrances. 
     Thus, ... in order that “in the seen will be merely what is seen, in the heard will be merely what is heard, in the sensed will be merely what is sensed, and in the cognized will merely be what is cognized,” the five hindrances have to be suppressed and that means jhana!

       Ajahn Brahmavamsol. "Degrees of Seeing." Lion's Roar magazine. March 17, 2017. https://www.lionsroar.com/degrees-of-seeing/?utm_source=Lion%27s+Roar+Newsletter&utm_campaign=6cdead9e7c-WR-Mar-17-2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1988ee44b2-6cdead9e7c-21110717&mc_cid=6cdead9e7c&mc_eid=9d27166e2a

Emily Carr

Abuse, Anger & Threats - Do We Have a Choice?

     “The Brahmins, the priest caste in India, were not very friendly toward the Buddha because he was undermining their livelihood. He preached that one didn’t need an intermediary between oneself and the gods in order to gain happiness, also that it wasn’t very useful to pour ghee over stone gods and offer flowers and incense. Since this was the livelihood of the Brahmins, although many of them did eventually become followers of the Buddha, there were others who dislike him thoroughly.
     One day one of the Brahmins who objected to the Buddha came to listen to one of the Buddha’s discourses and, while he was still speaking, walked up and down in front of him. Then he proceeded to abuse the Buddha, using quite rough language. He said the Buddha was the teacher of a wrong doctrine, that he should be chased out of the country, that he was breaking up family life because the young men were following him into monkhood, that the people should not support him; he reviled him in every possible way he could think of. 
     When he had finally run out of words the Buddha, who had been quietly sitting there listening, said, ‘Brahmin, do you ever have guests in your house?’ The Brahmin answered, ‘Yes, of course we have guests in our house.’ The Buddha said, ‘When you have guests in your house, do you offer them hospitality? Do you offer them food and drink?’ The Brahmin said, ‘Well, of course we do. Of course I offer them food and drink.’ The Buddha continued, ‘And if they don’t accept your hospitality, if they don’t take your food and drink, to whom does it belong?’ The Brahmin said, ‘It belongs to me. It belongs to me.’ The Buddha said, ‘That’s right, Brahmin. It belongs to you.’ 
     This is a good story to remember. Any abuse, anger, or threat belongs to the one who is uttering it. We don’t have to accept it.”

      Ayya Khema. “Being Nobody, Going Nowhere. Meditations on the Buddhist Path.” Wisdom Publications, 2016. 

Love Knows No Boundaries