- This topic has 3 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 3 months, 2 weeks ago by
.
- Posts
Good day, Yesterday the session was lengthened and there was not much time for questions. I copy here those that emerged in the WhatsApp in the Community. And I invite you to make any contribution or question that you consider interesting.
1. How do you practice unconditional love with someone who does not treat you well?
Unconditional love does not mean accepting abuse or allowing someone to hurt us because. Rather, It is an open and understanding practice that is not based on the ego, In the self and mine, nor in need of receiving something in return. In Soto Zen Buddhism, This love is cultivated from equanimity and compassion, But also from discernment. When someone treats us badly, The first thing is to remember that your behavior is usually a reflection of your own suffering and its conditioning. It is not about justifying it, but to see beyond the surface and understand that each person acts from their own kármikas trends, From their own wounds.
Practicing unconditional love in these cases means not being trapped in reactivity, Do not feed resentment or return damage. This does not imply that we should tolerate any treatment. In fact, One of the deepest forms of love is to put limits firmly and clarity, preventing suffering from being perpetuated. It is also useful to remember that no one is completely good or completely bad, And that the person who hurts us is more than their actions. Cultivate the Bodhicitta, As we will see in the next course session, cultivate aspiration when awakening for the good of all beings, It helps us to recognize that, in the background, Even those who harm us want to be happy, although sometimes they don't know how.
Unconditional love is not a naive or passive feeling, but an active practice that requires awareness, patience and responsibility. Is learning to look with compassion without losing clarity, recognizing that our dignity and well -being are the basis, We are the human being that we have closer.
2. How do you investigate pain and suffering without falling out to ruminate?
The key is to observe without identifying. In Soto Zen Buddhism, We cultivate this attitude simply sitting and allowing experiences to arise without getting trapped in them. When we face suffering, The usual trend is mentally repeating history, adding judgments, interpretations and assumptions that feed even more. Instead of doing this, We can learn to feel the pain directly, No ornaments, Without narrative.
How do we do it? Bringing attention to the body and feeling how suffering is physically manifested. Do you feel like a knot in the stomach? How a chest pressure? When we observe it with curiosity, Without adding comments or resistances, It usually changes, become less solid. Rumiation is a mental trap that makes us spin in circles, But attentive observation allows us to see that pain is not fixed, It is not something solid or absolute, with its own entity.
Suffering is part of the human condition, But I don't define everything. When the mind begins to get tangled up in repetitive thoughts, return to breathing or contact with the environment, Help recover perspective. It's not about avoiding pain or minimizing it, but of allowing him to express himself without being trapped in him. When we stop fighting what we feel and simply recognize it with equanimity, Suffering loses part of its strength and becomes something more manageable.
Investigating suffering without falling into rumination is an art that is perfected with practice. It does not mean eliminating pain, but relate to him in a wisest and most free way.
Buen día Maestro, buen día compañeros;
Me surge un sentir interno relacionado con la vivencia de “Anātman” que como comentaste Sensei, se comprende desde la visión budista como No-yo, ausencia o insustancialidad de un alma (Atman), however, en momentos de quietud y observación interna, conservo la sensación de que algo permanece, es muy sutil, me hace sentir en paz, no tiene forma y no se modifica con el paso del tiempo, lo siento dentro de mí y a su vez en todo pero hasta ahora he creído que era algo que compartíamos todas las exitencias, pero si no es el atman, ¿qué es?.Por otro lado aunque y con cierta relación a lo anterior, me gustaría que profundizaras algo más en lo que al budismo se refiere como Impermanencia, porque si todo es impermanente, ¿se entiende que debe existir algo permanente o no?, ¿es quizá la vacuidad (shuniata), lo único que permanece y que compartimos?. Igual es complejo de explicar en palabras pero espero que llegue la esencia de ambas reflexiones.
En Gassho
Elena L.R.Buen día Elena, te contesto desde mi punto de vista, según lo que he vivido y estudiado.
in Buddhism, cuando hablamos de Anātman, no negamos la experiencia de continuidad o de cierta presencia sutil. Lo que se señala es que esa experiencia no tiene una esencia fija, independiente. En la observación profunda, se puede sentir que lo que llamamos “yo” es una red de procesos en constante cambio.
“¿qué es eso que sientes, eso que parece no cambiar, que está en ti y en todo?”
La enseñanza budista nos dice que, aunque no haya un yo inmutable, eso no significa que todo sea un vacío nihilista. La sensación que describes podría ser lo que en la tradición zen llamamos la naturaleza de Buda, que no es un “to be” o una “sustancia”, sino la cualidad misma de la existencia despierta. Para Dogen, esta naturaleza no es algo separado, sino que se expresa en cada instante de la práctica y la vida cotidiana.
En cuanto a la impermanencia, Yeah, todo fenómeno compuesto es impermanente. Pero el budismo no propone que deba haber “algo permanente” para equilibrar esa verdad. Rather, lo que llamamos “permanencia” es solo una construcción de la mente. En la experiencia directa de la vacuidad, comprendemos que no hay una base última que permanezca, sino que todo surge en interdependencia. However, esta interdependencia no es un vacío frío o una nada absoluta, sino la naturaleza dinámica y libre de todas las cosas.
In the Zen tradition, esta comprensión no es meramente intelectual, sino vivencial. Es en zazen, en la práctica de la atención plena, donde podemos soltar la necesidad de aferrarnos a “algo” permanente. So, la experiencia de ser plenamente este instante, sin separarlo de lo que llamamos impermanencia, se hace más clara. Es como el fluir del agua: no se detiene, pero no carece de forma.
Es posible que lo que sientes no sea un “algo” que permanece, sino la apertura misma a la experiencia sin apego a la noción de “yo” y “otro”. No hay nada que aferrar, pero tampoco hay un vacío frío o desolado. Solo este instante pleno.
Si estas palabras resuenan o si surge otra pregunta desde tu vivencia, no dudes en compartirla, muchas gracias Elena.
En gasshō.
Daizan
