Source http://www.sonima.com/meditation/make-peace-with-your-faults/
Nobody’s perfect. We all have our faults, and most of us have gotten really good at hiding them where no one can see them. Yet when someone becomes even a little bit intimate with us, they might reveal these faults and make light of them in a skillful (or not so skillful) way. How can we possibly be okay with that? And better yet, is there a way we could view this public humiliation as a teaching we can grow from?
There is a beautiful Buddhist text dating back to the 14th century known as the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. Bodhi can be translated from Sanskrit as “open” or “awake,” while sattva means “being,” so a bodhisattva is an open-hearted being. A meditation master known as Ngulchu Thogme composed these verses to teach us how to live a full life with open hearts, to be helpful to those around us, and to show up more for our day-to-day lives. One verse offers advice on how we can make peace with the people who might point out our flaws in a public way:
If in the middle of a crowd of people
Someone reveals your hidden faults and abuses you for them,
To see him as a spiritual friend and to bow with respect
Is the practice of a Bodhisattva.
Let’s say you’re out to dinner with your partner and a group of friends. You start talking about Brett, your annoying co-worker who always talks about people behind the…
Source http://www.sonima.com/meditation/make-peace-with-your-faults/
Nobody’s perfect. We all have our faults, and most of us have gotten really good at hiding them where no one can see them. Yet when someone becomes even a little bit intimate with us, they might reveal these faults and make light of them in a skillful (or not so skillful) way. How can we possibly be okay with that? And better yet, is there a way we could view this public humiliation as a teaching we can grow from?
There is a beautiful Buddhist text dating back to the 14th century known as the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. Bodhi can be translated from Sanskrit as “open” or “awake,” while sattva means “being,” so a bodhisattva is an open-hearted being. A meditation master known as Ngulchu Thogme composed these verses to teach us how to live a full life with open hearts, to be helpful to those around us, and to show up more for our day-to-day lives. One verse offers advice on how we can make peace with the people who might point out our flaws in a public way:
If in the middle of a crowd of people
Someone reveals your hidden faults and abuses you for them,
To see him as a spiritual friend and to bow with respect
Is the practice of a Bodhisattva.
Let’s say you’re out to dinner with your partner and a group of friends. You start talking about Brett, your annoying co-worker who always talks about people behind the…
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