they respond with something along the lines of
"Get the FUCK away from me with that shit!"
Now I know that this is partly or largely
a testament to my skills as a teacher,
which I always hope to improve,
in order that I might be able
to be able to help more suffering people.
Because I think a ton of bad karma is created
if someone, though their lack of skill as a teacher,
causes people to have aversion to a true path
which can alleviate people from their suffering.
To understand why a person might react in this way,
an important contribution has been made
by Eckhart Tolle, esp. the "Pain Body" work.
The Pain Body is strongly associated with the
cognitive mind, which is the home of perceptions,
memories, judgments, the story, plans, fantasy,
and the ego.
A typical manifestation:
"OH! LOOK HOW I AM SUFFERING!!!"
Usually, the perceptions are faulty, the memories
fade, judgements are contrived, the story is
has bias and is incomplete or is flat-out wrong...
...on and on.
The whole basis of the story,
which forms the basis of the suffering,
is false or incomplete.
As soon as you suggest that
through the practice of skillful action,
happiness can be achieved,
the ego thinks it's going to be destroyed,
and it goes into self-defense mode,
which can be a very frightening thing to behold.
This is a great warning to Dharma teachers,
that great skill and calm must be used
to minimize the chances of this occurrence.
And the result is "a tragic expression of unmet needs",
a big scene, acting out in public, and often violence.
This is because (according to the Tolle insight)
the ego of a suffering person largely gets it's sense
of self-identity from the Pain Body.
I have encountered several people who don't want to change!
They don't want to be happy!
They seem to like carrying around resentment.
Resentment is like drinking poison
and expecting the other person to die.
-- Carrie Fisher.
and expecting the other person to die.
-- Carrie Fisher.
The do not want the Dharma because in a strange way they
seem to WANT to suffer! They enjoy suffering!
Or at least their ego-part does!
But this is also largely a habit or addiction,
and a lack of skill, which can be developed with practice.
So, when dealing with a person in crisis,
Vera and Mickey both say:
What is it that you want or need now?
It could be validation, support. safety, empathy.
The community at hand should connect with
these needs and provide for them if possible.
OK, now what?
Are you ready for a change,
Mr. or Ms. angry-or-terrified-or-sad-person-in-crisis?
NO? OK, act out some more!
Sure! Go ahead. Make a big scene.
Cry if you want to. We will comfort you.
We'll hold on to those guns and knives for you
while you dance, thanks.
Act out. Make a big scene.
How about now?
Are you still wanting or need some more empathy?
Are you ready NOW for a change?
Are you ready to accept your happiness and health and healing?
Rumi says:
Why do you remain in prison with the door wide open?
I just watched the Twilight Zone episode, "The Dummy".
Lama Rod Serling's story about a tormented ventriloquist,
who creates his own drama, constructs his own nemesis.
We create our own delusion, then desire it to be different,
and then we respond with anger or ill-will.
It's a viscous mental feedback loop!
Delusion, Desire, and Hatred are the Three Poisons,
which create our own suffering.
Great Skill must be used by teachers
when presenting this information
to suffering people!
--
Bill Huston WilliamAHuston@gmail.com
Binghamton NY
Phone: 607-321-7846
SocialNet: http://facebook.com/billhuston http://myspace.com/MrMouthyMan
Videos: http://youtube.com/billhuston http://vimeo.com/billhuston
Bio/blog: http://binghamtonpmc.org/bio.html http://WilliamAHuston.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment