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annemarie's avatar

Long read yes, but so worth it. Thank you Thanissara for consistently shining light on the path

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Anderson Wolfe's avatar

You apologize for a long article. I thank you for it and the event today, Thanissara. Once again, courageously shining light so eloquently on what were only whims of my subconscious before reading and now resonates so truly.

I'm curious, how did the Buddha reconcile the notion of other when harm is being done with anatta?

Some of the lines that most resonated with me...

"It is time to recognize that those who drive others to commit crimes against humanity are not leaders at all but parasites – feeding off the destruction of the most vulnerable."

"Maybe it’s time to hold allegiance to a different flag – one of all colors, representing all, dedicated to the truest, most inclusive spirit of this land."

"We can’t always change the outer circumstances, and while we react to emotional, mental, and physical pain, the Buddha pointed to removing the extra suffering generated by that reactivity. The ability to do this creates inner space and, from that open awareness, the power to respond from wise reflection rather than our patterning rooted in fear, trauma, and the grasping and aversion of the conditioned mind."

"Right now, while this collapse is freeing us from our last illusions, we must make a clear intention to reject the incoming agenda that seeks to destroy all humane values."

"And what is this system? African American author, feminist, and social activist bell hooks named it clearly: a system of domination that perpetuates internalized oppression by shaming us out of standing up and speaking the truth. She exposed not only the system’s nature but also its insidious grip on our ability to resist."

"Wetiko is a sophisticated diagnosis of the dynamics of evil, rooted in the egoic split within the psyche between “me” and “them.” At its core, it reflects a deeper inner fragmentation – a split from our own shadow, which instead, is projected out onto the “other.”"

"In the unconscious of every individual, there are instinctive, primitive propensities charged with considerable tension. When they are helped in one way, or another to break through into consciousness, and conscious discernment has no opportunity to intercept them and transmute them into higher forms, they sweep everything before them like a torrent–and turn men into creatures for whom the word “beast” is too good a name. They can then only be called “devils.” To evoke such phenomena in the masses, all that is needed is a few possessed persons or only one. One of these complex-ridden individuals, who sets himself up as a megaphone and revels in demagoguery, is enough to precipitate a catastrophe."

-- Carl Jung

"Here is our choice: allow these malevolent forces to run wild or rise up together to dismantle a system that rewards the worst and undermines the best."

"There have been many revolts, but the revolution we now need isn’t just overthrowing political power (which is difficult enough), but it is a revolution of consciousness."

This ^ last one gave me chills.

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