Dhamma Tracks
So how do you meet estrangement? It’s of course a penetrating question to pose during lockdown, but it’s more prevalent than either of these scenarios. When on retreat, I can easily be in my box all day with barely any contact – but that’s a chosen situation that I can move out of. More telling is the sense of estrangement in daily life – as when being with people without meeting them; or living under a system that doesn’t make sense; or recognizing the difference in realities, the prevalence of propaganda and deceit and not knowing where there is solid common ground. It comes with the mis-orientation of the real world. My sense and practice then is to not fill up the gap or gloss over it, to not pass through it, but to rise to meet that groundless space. If the heart can open in equanimity towards that, there’s also an opening to compassion, joy and a deep appreciation of the gift that each human being carries. We’re both alone and on the same blank page at the same time.
Ajahn Sucitto
Recorded Teachings
Right effort is fulfilling effort (with 20 min GM) (34:53) Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat, South Africa; 24 Feb 2024
Notice the potency of unskillful language and how it can seem to squeeze us and create limitations in the mind.
The Touch of Empathy (34:15) Bosoord Center, Netherlands; 7 Mar 2020
What happens when confronted with what we don’t like? Drips of ill will – blame, grudges – build up a crust. Detox is about breaking through that crust. Connecting to the bodily presence, we can touch the hurt of fear, inadequacy and desperation with empathy.
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