Bodhidharma replied: "Your excuse is worse than your wrongdoing.
You are so attached to your teachings, that you become insensitive to people
around you. Now, when you know who I am, you talk to me, but a few minutes
ago, you wanted to break my heart by telling me I wasn't worth your time.
You judged me without knowing me.
"You were trying to avoid me and what is it that you teach about people who
are addicted to avoidance? You live in thrall to your emotions and are
always running towards things you want, and away from things you fear. You
feared my questions, so you accused me of prejudice towards your religion!
"When you didn't know who I was, you told me it was so easy for you to
'distinguish those who wish to understand'. You cling tightly to what you
think you have, and you cling to an illusion.
"If you believe your wisdom -- let it shine! Don't be afraid of what people
might say about you. You have nothing to fear but fear itself. Let go,
stop running, and face life as it is. Be true to yourself, be true and
sincere to people around you. You never know *why* they are on your path."
Bodhidharma left and the monk meditated for 30 years.
==========
Based on a true story. Copyright TeTa, 1997.
References:
> >Alcohol attacks only the symptom, not the underlying cause, and
> >brings problems of its own. I say Buddhism, or more precisely
> >Buddhist techniques, attack the cause,
>
> How? (I'm not an expert on Buddhism)
>
I must admit I missed this, last time around. A straightforward
question! Very well: neurotics are addicted to mental clinging
and avoidance. They live in thrall to their emotions and are
always running towards things they want, and away from things
they fear, and clinging tightly to what they think they have --
which are either illusions, or else the notion that they can be
clung to is an illusion. Buddhism teaches people to let go,
stop running, and face life as it is. Which, when you really
get into it, turns out to be good in very surprising ways! There
is a common saying: nothing to fear but fear itself. Buddhism
goes further, I think, saying not even fear is to be feared.
============
Regards, Tadeusz (Tad) Niwinski from planet TeTa
tad@teta.ai http://www.teta.ai (604) 985-4159