This week my teacher Dharamvidya David Brazier has been in Israel leading some workshops on psychology. In one of them he talked about how really seeing the other can set you free.
What he describes is also the philosophy that underpins this whole project, and I owe a great debt to him, and others, for teaching me.
"...the focus is upon discerning the truth of the other and achieving spiritual maturity. One achieves liberation for oneself by releasing others from the attachment generated by one's own deluded and stereotypical perception of them. The self-construct is the mirror image of these false views of others. To see the truth of the other is to release them and thereby, incidentally, to release oneself from one's self-construct." Love and Its Disappointment blogAs we more clearly see the other, the other moves away from being what, on some level, we want it to be, and becomes more real. In this way we release the other and give it freedom to exist - and we release ourselves too. As we take away the prop to our 'small self' and grant it existence, we become liberated.
The truth shall set you free.
(John 8:32, The Bible)
I can't believe I am the first to comment - a lovely and special post. thank you for reminding me of one of lifes basic truths. I love the title Love and its Disappointments and must take a look at that blog.
ReplyDeleteAh - It's only been up an hour or so :)
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you thecatalanway.
The blog's title Love and Its Disappointment is named after Dharmavidya's book of the same name
"His overall thesis that we are motivated by love, the inherent irony of existence - that as loving beings we are inevitably thwarted, and how we manage that - and how art and therapy can help us think about them, process them, inform us and occasionally heal us finds a way of saying what I have felt, in a much more incoherent way, for a long time." Julia Samuel Metanoia Institute Tutor, Honorary Fellow of Imperial College
:)
ReplyDeleteNice post!
ReplyDeleteThanks annell
ReplyDeletebeautiful! this speaks to the heart of every individual, community and global struggle. thank you for your words.
ReplyDeleteYes Mavis, we say it in many different ways, but it comes down to the same thing...
ReplyDeleteI really like this post. In my stones so far I have been focusing mainly on things, not people. I can see how how applying the same unclouded perception to others would be beneficial - for them and for ourselves.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of something I read by Pema Chodron. She was quoting her teacher, Trungpa Rinpoche, who advised her: "You should never have expectations for other people. Just be kind to them."
Thanks for helping me broaden my scope of awareness.
truth, clear, simple...the essence of compassion and embracing our mutual humanness.
ReplyDeletei like this blog!
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