let the whispers of discontent remain unvoiced,

for it's in listening that wisdom is often found.

seek not your essence and joys in mere possessions,

and measure not your worth by another's scale.

fret not over momories, goodbye's, or tomorrows,

and in life's pleasures, tread with gentle grace.

guilt and remorse

Buddhist psychology makes an interesting distinction between guilt and remorse.

The feeling of guilt, or hatred directed toward oneself, lacerates.

When we experience a strong feeling of guilt in the mind, we have little or no energy available for transformation or transcendence.

We are defeated by the guilt itself, because it depletes us. We also feel very alone. Our thoughts focus on our worthlessness: "I'm the worst person in the world. Only I do these terrible things."

However, such an attitude is actually very "self"-promoting. We become obsessed with "self" in the egotistical sense.

Remorse, by contrast,

is a state of recognition.

We realize that we have at some point done something or said something unskillful that caused pain, and we feel the pain of that recognition.

But, crucially, remorse frees us to let go of the past. It leaves us with some energy to move on, resolved not to repeat our mistakes.

uncertainty and opportunity

anyone looking honestly at life will see that we live in a constant state of suspense and ambiguity. our minds are perpetually shifting in and out of confusion and clarity... if only we were confused all the time, that would at least make for some kind of clarity.

this constant uncertainty may make everything seem bleak and almost hopeless;

but if you look more deeply at it, you will see that its very nature creates gaps, spaces in which profound opportunities for transformation are continuously flowering... if, that is, they can be seen and seized.

let me give you an example.

imagine that you come home one day after work to find your door smashed open, hanging on its hinges. You have been robbed.

you go inside and find that everything you own has vanished. For a moment you are paralyzed with shock, and in despair you frantically go through the mental process of trying to recreate what is gone.

it hits you: You've lost everything.

your restless, agitated mind is then stunned, and thoughts subside. And there's a sudden, deep stillness, almost an experience of bliss. No more struggle, no more effort, because both are hopeless.

now you just have to give up; you have no choice.

so one moment you have lost something precious, and then, in the very next moment, you find your mind is resting in a deep state of peace.

when this kind of experience occurs, do not immediately rush to find solutions. Remain for a while in that state of peace. Allow it to be a gap. And if you really rest in that gap, looking into the mind, you will catch a glimpse of the deathless nature of the enlightened mind.

the journey

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