“Kaley Pey, Kaley Shu
Go in Peace. Stay in Peace”
We are each responsible for our own liberation and freedom from hell. There is no magical solution– suffering comes from within. It comes from attachment to things that are constantly changing. Something pleasant happens and we crave more pleasant. Something negative happens and we push it away. Our whole lives can be a series of reaction to stimuli, if we don’t watch it closely.
They say that hell is underground. Or maybe that it is other people. But I’m becoming to really understand that hell is our own uncontrolled mind. Hell is being stuck in the small-minded cycle of action:: reaction without thought or choice. It’s hard, but every time we respond to a negative behavior or situation with more aversion, we only create more suffering for ourselves. The key isn’t even in letting go. It’s in staying present.
That doesn’t mean we need to put up with other people’s abuse. This is something I’m working on, and it’s seeming to manifest a lot this summer. Sometimes, the most compassionate thing a person can do is walk away. And other times, the most compassionate thing a person can do is punch someone in the nose. It takes wisdom, though, to know the difference between these two. Often I’m afraid I make the wrong choice, and walk away when I should fight. This is something to work on.
But just like things are constantly in flux, we all can’t help but be changing all the time. To write off a person because of their “personality”– as if that’s a static thing– is ridiculous. We are complex. Don’t put me in a box. I won’t put you in one either.
I am writing all these things and reflecting in my room in Delhi. Things have gotten tense here with a coworker, and I need to remind myself of who I am. I am not perfect. But what I value most is not-harming other people. I can’t control what she values or how she acts. I can only react the best way I know how.