142. Expanding Empathy

As my own empathy grows, the lack of empathy shown by others becomes more noticeable. I start to criticize them for being indifferent towards what seems like obvious suffering. I see them as lost in their own ignorance, as unwilling to even try to understand. And if they are particularly callous, I might even go so far as to declare them enemies of all that is right and good.

But when I do any of these things, I fail. Whenever I choose blame or hostility towards another person, I work against the very empathy I claim to support. The lack of empathy and compassion shown by others follows directly from their present situation. As long as they are in the grip of attachment to desires, aversions, and beliefs, their attention will be restricted and their awareness will remain narrow and limited. In such a state, they cannot do anything other than perpetuate suffering.

141. A Warning You Must Heed

You see how the world works and you want it to be different. You know there must be another way. A way that would be more equitable and just. A way that would greatly reduce unnecessary pain and suffering. A way that would provide more joyful and fulfilling lives for everyone. You want this better world but you aren’t sure how to create it.

You find yourself often thinking about the problem, but it always ends in frustration. There doesn’t seem to be anything you can do to create significant change in the world. You might be able to assist those at greatest risk in your own community, but at what personal cost? You would have to witness so much suffering, and even with immense effort you would only be able to alleviate a tiny fraction of their pain. Would you be able to handle that? Wouldn’t it slowly drain everything out of you, until there is nothing left?

140. The Cessation Of Suffering

The liberated body is sensitive to everything that happens in and around it, and it responds immediately in the ways it must. The liberated mind is aware and relaxed, empty of attachment and full of creative energy to solve the problems it encounters. Feelings and thoughts arise regularly but pass with ease. Intuitions born from awareness guide every action towards what is presently most needed. Desires, aversions, and beliefs are present, but there is no identification with them, as the harm of attachment is fully understood.

139. Excessive Skepticism

To respect the limits of knowledge, we must be skeptical. Skepticism reminds us to investigate the nature of all things, to see what holds up to inquiry and what might be unreliable. By questioning what we see and hear, we prevent ourselves from uncritically accepting what seems natural and necessary but is actually constructed and contingent. We reaffirm the uncertainty of our knowledge, and we stop ourselves from falling into the delusion that we know what we really do not know.

138. I Do Not Need To Know

I’m outside, sitting on a comfortable chair. It’s a lounger, so I’m almost lying down. The sun is oppressively hot but I’ve positioned myself in the shade of a huge tree, so the temperature is pleasant. There’s barely any wind and only a wisp or two of cloud in the sky. By my side, I have a cold sugary drink and the novel I’ve been reading. I should be able to relax.

137. From Intention To Attachment

There are always many different things I could do. After considering the available options, I choose one over the others, which means I form an intention to pursue it. I then do whatever is necessary to fulfill my intention. This is an entirely normal way to go about life, but it can also be problematic.

The problem originates in my closeness to the intention. I might see it as not just something I would like to do, but as something I must do. This means I’ve become attached to the intention. I identify with it, and as such, I see its fulfillment as necessary for my own fulfillment. I become my own manager, carefully directing my attention and controlling my actions to satisfy the intention.

136. The Missing Thing

There is something you can see that no one else sees. It’s missing from the world, but it’s real for you, and you think others should see it too. So you decide to make it into something real — you decide to create an artwork.

Your first attempt does not go well. The resulting work doesn’t seem to express what you’re trying to show. When you look at it, you can see the outlines of your idea, but others either can’t see it or they see something else entirely. You aren’t happy about this because you really want the missing thing to be seen.

135. We Will Do Anything

We will do anything to avoid the problem. We will devise countless means of escaping confrontation. We will put up walls. We will isolate ourselves. We will do whatever we must to limit meaningful contact with the other. We will cut off anyone who sees through us and anyone who sees more than they should. We will hide from others because they might force us to change and we want nothing less than to change. We want everything to stay exactly the same. We want to maintain our comfortable lives and we will go to great lengths to preserve them. We will use every tool at our disposal. We will say anything, do anything, just so that we do not have to consider the problem. We will spend hours, days, years looking for reasons to justify our lives and even invent them if none are readily available. We will lie and cheat. We will say whatever must be said to keep ourselves safe and secure. We will cast blame on others, not because they are at fault, but to highlight our own innocence in contrast. We will run from any talk of responsibility. We cannot handle even the possibility that we might be guilty. We will condemn anything and anyone if it gives us a chance to escape. We will even physically flee if we must. We will leave the room, the city, and maybe even the country. We will abandon everyone we know. We will create wholly new versions of ourselves. We will do this and more if it means we can get away from looking at the problem. We will try all of these things and still we will fail. We will always fail. We will fail because the problem was never anything we could run from, never something we could escape. We will fail because the problem has always been us.

134. Stubbornness As A Virtue

When someone refuses to do something wrong regardless of the personal consequences, we see their stubbornness as courageous. They are committed to doing the right thing even though they might be harmed, and this is exactly the kind of steadfastness we support and encourage.

When someone refuses to consider that they might be caught up in a misunderstanding, we see their stubbornness as ignorant. They are unwilling to accept that there might be more to the situation than they already know, and this is exactly the kind of closedmindedness we detest and condemn.