2021-07-31-Hatred (5 of 5) Liberation from Hatred

Insight Meditation Center10min

Gil Fronsdal

00:02

So, it said that the greatest health is Nibbana the by now being of liberation from greed, hatred and delusion and to have this experience of peace of deep non attachment that is not nothing but rather is feels like certain kind of health healthfulness healthiness that that is, as a nourishment to at a deep satisfaction to it at the brightness to it. And importantly, it demonstrates to us or reveals to us, the ways in which movements away from that piece are kind of our unsatisfactory, moving away from that piece is it Duke guide is stressful or is involves tension, or involves, you know, sometimes, you know what the Buddhist called Duca suffering. And, and it's very interesting to kind of feel this in meditation. Because in daily life, there might be good reason to be engaged actively in the world and have the mind and the body active and engaged and not so peaceful. And sometimes daily life, it's actually quite beautiful to be active. And there's ways of acting vigorously in the world that can feel very peaceful or very harmonious, engaging, if there's no resistance, and no greed is part of it. But in meditation, when things get very quiet, and still in a very vital and vibrant way, the mind might begin to move into some distracted thought into some feeling some some direction of holding on clinging to something. And we can see all this doesn't this is not so good, I'm better off without it. The better alternative is that peace. So it's not a condemnation, or rejection, exactly of, of being agitated, being distracted or reactivity against it, it just knowing there's a better alternative peace. And so as we learn to work with ill will, hatred, aversion hostility, and really learn to recognize it, and learn how we get hooked to it, how we get attached to it. And how it itself is a kind of attachment, to have hostility, we're already attached to something. And to see that and feel that in a clear way. And then to put it down, to let go, to go to the other side of it, to find that which is deeper, and to have confidence in that piece. This is a big part of Dharma practice. And then, and so there is a possibility of living without any ill will, any hostility and any aversion, any strong kind of biased opposition to things. And the, and this is a, this is part of the radical message of the Buddha Buddhism, that there it is possible to bring an end to greed, hatred and delusion. And, and this is what the Buddha emphasized over and over again, it's not necessarily easy, and for some people, greed, hatred and delusion in subtle forms. desire and aversion is so part and parcel of living a life, it's inconceivable to not have it. But it is possible to come to the end of it. And, and we're not diminished or less because of it, we're not less able to take care of ourselves. It's a state of health. And it's in that health, there's a wisdom, there's deeper understanding. And, and so it isn't just to become mindful of aversion, ill will, and learn in the mindfulness to hold it spaciously and openly and, and non reactively and not get caught by it. That's very powerful to do that. But there's another step and that is to let go of any tendency to ill will to aversion. The, the idea being that aversion is as I said earlier, is a form of attachment. So if all you're doing is letting go Have

Gil Fronsdal

05:03

of your reactivity you're holding to it but still allowing the version to be there. We haven't gone to the depths of freedom, who it's possible to let go. So so some people are suspicious of this message idea of letting go of ill will, in a deep way might be, you know, it seems like it's such an important part of life, that way of protecting ourselves taking care of what we need and things like that. But there, there are motivations and ways of living powerfully that arise out of the peace, the absence of ill will. And one of the most common reference points for this are common. opposites of ill will, is goodwill, is a radical feeling of, or attitude of friendliness. Some people like to call it love or kindness. And, and not because we're acting at or pretending, or our, some overriding everything else, in order to be kind, it's because it's, it's the, that is what, wells up from the wellsprings within, when there's no aversion, and to then learn to live a life of goodwill, learn to live a life to meet the challenges of life, the injustice is of life in a way that, that we are

Gil Fronsdal

06:50

clearly expressing our goodwill, our well, wishing our kindness or friendliness. And maybe don't get confused by this, that think that is all for the sake of the other people, is for the sake of not losing health here for you, not losing your capacity, to be free, your capacity to be to let the best and the fullest part of us to be there and be present, that can't be present, if we have hostility or ill will or version we become, then we become partial, then we become incomplete. And the deep, letting go of practice. And the absence of greed, hate and delusion is a kind of coming into a wonderful completion. And, and so to not succumb to ill will, again, is tremendously beneficial for oneself. And so to come with goodwill and love and have that as a reference point for the world, and how we act. It's maybe more for yourself sometimes, and it is for the benefit of others. But it can be both. And so one of the, for the Buddho, one of the consequences of this deep liberation from ill will greed, delusion, is a life of service is a life that is naturally dedicated to the care and the welfare of the world. And I like to believe that it's not because it's a duty, but because it's the best thing going it's it's what allows the healthy expression of the heart to to manifest itself in the world. And what it means, though, is that, that expression of goodwill of service of care, if it comes out of our own hearts, it's going to be expressed in our own particular way. And there are an infinite number of ways in which that gets expressed. Some of them are just, I don't know what to say just but some of them are in forms of caring for our immediate family. Sometimes caring for our immediate community. Sometimes it's caring for the communities around us in a bigger way. Sometimes it's situational, and it's depends. It's all of the above. care can be different in different days, different months, different years, where our attention goes, where our service and care goes. But to have that care and service come from our peace and our care, our peace and our freedom is one of the best things going and it's one of the reasons why to really have a deep study of hatred and get to the bottom of it. So thank you

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