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Near Enemies

THE FOUR IMMEASURABLES: Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity

The four immeasurables, also known as the Brahma Viharas (Skt.) are found in one brief and beautiful prayer:

May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes, May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes, May all sentient beings never be separated from bliss without suffering, May all sentient beings be in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger.

   The above along with other paragraphs, was posted by my group in Miami today. I felt that the paragrpahs didn't quite touch on the heart of things so I didn't post them here but there there was one phrase which went off like bells ... the idea of a 'near enemy'.

Here is one little snippet of the center's paragraph on Compassion for instance:

COMPASSION The definition is: wanting others to be free from suffering. This compassion happens when one feels sorry with someone, and one feels an urge to help. The near enemy is pity. (snip)

Me:

The paragraph goes on to describe true compassion as a 'detached' emotion, which sounds a little like something out of a horror movie to me. I don't want to be critical but I think this is missing the point...

Is compassion an 'emotion'?? If it is a force... energy for good... we seem to be back to paramitas again... and if we're back to paramitas then I would see this force they point to as reflecting one aspect expression OF Compassion as the actual base/basis... ground rather than an 'emotion' or emoted feeling...

The point seems rather to be Compassion as ground... as what is 'left' when unhindered by 'old tricks'... What is real. I would recommend Stim's 3/1/2006 audio on 'wisdom-based' caring, btw, which I chose randomly but feel thankful to have.  

Anyway, zerioing on "near enemies"...

Maybe we can call them counterfeits, and counterfeits are sometimes known precisely because they are *too* clean or shiny... or they are lacking layers and dimension... there is a flatness. Mostly, obstructions which occur, occur because 'i' react as though it is occuring, rather than Seeing through... 

:) Good tweets this week:

"We are not as solid as we think we are." Pema Chodron

"Compassion is not so much being kind; it is being creative [enough] to wake a person up" -Chogyam Trungpa