July 6th ~ We may move from one refinement to another, from one subtlety to another, from one enjoyment to another; but at the center of it all, there is “the me”–“the me” that is enjoying, that wants more happiness, “the me” that searches, looks for, longs for happiness, “the me” that struggles, “the me” …
July 9th ~ Why am I or why are you callous to another man’s suffering? Why are we indifferent to the coolie who is carrying a heavy load, to the woman who is carrying a baby? Why are we so callous? To understand that, we must understand why suffering makes us dull. Surely, it is …
July 10th ~ Physical pain is a nervous response, but psychological pain arises when I hold on to things that give me satisfaction, for then I am afraid of anyone or anything that may take them away from me. The psychological accumulations prevent psychological pain as long as they are undisturbed; that is, I am …
July 11th ~ What do we mean by “grief”? Is it something apart from you? Is it something outside of you, inwardly or outwardly, which you are observing, which you are experiencing? Are you merely the observer experiencing? Or, is it something different? Surely that is an important point, is it not? When I say …
July 12th ~ When there is no observer who is suffering, is the suffering different from you? You are the suffering, are you not? You are not apart from the pain–you are the pain. What happens? There is no labeling, there is no giving it a name and thereby brushing it aside–you are merely that …
July 13th ~ There are so many varieties and complications and degrees of suffering. We all know that. You know it very well, and we carry this burden right through life, practically from the moment we are born until the moment we collapse into the grave . . . . If we say that it …
July 14th ~ Sorrow is . . . . grief, uncertainty, the feeling of complete loneliness. There is the sorrow of death, the sorrow of not being able to fulfill oneself, the sorrow of not being recognized, the sorrow of loving and not being loved in return. There are innumerable forms of sorrow, and it …
July 15th ~ How should we act in order not to trouble others? Is that what you want to know? I am afraid then we should not be acting at all. If you live completely, your actions may cause trouble; but what is more important: finding out what is true, or not disturbing others? This …
July 16th ~ Why divide problems as major and minor? Is not everything a problem? Why make them little or big problems, essential or unessential problems? If we could understand one problem, go into it very deeply however small or big it is, then we would uncover all problems. This is not a rhetorical answer. …
July 18th ~ There is such a thing as sadism. Do you know what that word means? An author called the Marquis de Sade once wrote a book about a man who enjoyed hurting people and seeing them suffer. From that comes the word sadism, which means deriving pleasure from the suffering of others. For …