Saturday, September 15, 2007

Dharma Quote of the Week


Dharma Quote of the Week from Snow Lion Publications:

...an inherently existent "I" appears to us, but instead of assenting to that appearance and holding it to be true, we analyze how the "I" actually exists.

At those times in our life when there's a very solid feeling of "I," it's helpful to examine how that "I" appears. I remember the first time I stayed out all night in college and my mother didn't know. I came home the next day with this feeling that "I" really existed: "I did this and my mother doesn't know!" The feeling of "I" was just enormous, incredibly solid, because I did something I wasn't supposed to do.

Examine how that "I" appears, that big "I," especially when you have a strong emotion. Get familiar with that sense of "I." When somebody criticizes us or accuses us of doing something that we didn't do, this feeling comes up very quickly. Usually, we're focused not on the feeling of "I," but on attacking the other person or escaping from him. But if we can step back, it's an incredible opportunity to study the feeling of "I." The person who irritates us the most can be our best Dharma asset, because he gives us an opportunity to look at this sense of "I."

~ From Cultivating a Compassionate Heart: The Yoga Method of Chenrezig, by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama, published by Snow Lion Publications

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