Level of suffering…

I was told today about a presentation given yesterday at the UN here in Geneva by a man who was imprisoned and tortured for 13 years in Argentina!

My reflections:
What do I have to complain about? I’ve never known this level of suffering and hope never to! For me, this really puts things into perspective; why am I so wrapped up by the fact that someone was short with me on the phone today – boo hoo! Get over yourself and get on with it!

What keeps a man alive that long under such atrocious conditions? Apparently, the un-ending desire to expose to the world what terrible acts of horror these awful people performed! How can some of us turn out kind and loving and some of us hateful and nasty?

Is it true that we only have the level of suffering that we can handle? Does life really work that way? Do we continue to accumulate bad kharma until we reach the level of our potential to handle the consequences? This seems a rather dangerous equation and I prefer not to ponder it, especially as I have dear friends and lovely family members who have endured much and they don’t have a bad bone in their bodies!

晴 雲 法 声 seiun hosei _/|\_

Does a dog?

I saw a beautful black labrador dog-for-the-blind on the bus this morning. how devoted they are! how peaceful and fulfilled; at the service of someone less fortunate than the rest of us; someone who needs them and is fulfilled by them. they’re happy with so little, or maybe actually it’s so much! they have a purpose and their love is unconditional! everyone is the same for them – black, white, yellow, they don’t care, the love all of us.

do you really need to ask “does a dog have the Buddha-nature?” ?

we could all learn something from watching them.

晴 雲 法 声 seiun hosei _/|\_