June 28th ~ We all see the importance of the cessation of violence. And how am I, as an individual, to be free of violence–not just superficially but totally, completely, inwardly? If the ideal of non-violence will not free the mind from violence, then will the analysis of the cause of violence help to dissolve violence?
After all, this is one of our major problems, is it not? The whole world is caught up in violence, in wars; the very structure of our acquisitive society is essentially violent. And if you and I as individuals are to be free from violence–totally, inwardly free, not merely superficially or verbally–then how is one to set about it without becoming self-centered?
You understand the problem, do you not? If my concern is to free the mind from violence and I practice discipline in order to control violence and change it into nonviolence, surely that brings about self-centered thought and activity, because my mind is focused all the time on getting rid of one thing and acquiring something else. And yet I see the importance of the mind being totally free from violence. So what am I to do? Surely, it is not a question of how one is not to be violent. The fact is that we are violent, and to ask “How am I not to be violent?” merely creates the ideal, which seems to me to be utterly futile. But if one is capable of looking at violence and understanding it, then perhaps there is a possibility of resolving it totally.
January 8th, 2020 ~ This is similar to the idea of understanding Desire, rather than trying to eliminate Desire. When we understand something, it tends to run it’s course and wither away. We are learning more and more about things like impermanence. Nothing lasts. So, understanding Violence, rather than trying to be non-violent, see how we are Violent. It is interesting how K brings in the fact that we are an acquisitive society. Here in the US, we like it that goods are cheap, unless you have a lot of disposable income, where you can buy more expensive items. Guess what? Those expensive items are often manufactured in countries like China. This is no secret. The work and living environments are not very nice. Disposing of our technology, after it is no longer working, goes overseas to places that need jobs. They take on jobs like trying to dispose of technology. We muddy the water of other places. This is not very nice and friendly. You could call this violence. We are all connected, are we not?
So what K is asking is: Can we be free of Violence as opposed to trying to be Non-Violent? Becoming something takes Time. Do we ever get there? We say this a lot: “I’m Trying.” Can we be free of Violence, immediately? This would be free of Time. So, can we really go into it?