NO FEELINGS ARE OUTSIDE

There is a great temptation in our practice to simplify the story of the self by excluding the feelings of others.

We encounter feelings that seem to exist outside of us, and we make excuses. We say, “Well, those feelings aren’t aligned with causes and conditions, and therefore they’re invalid. That’s their problem.” And so we disregard them.

But all of the precepts point us toward stepping into suffering wherever we find it. To turn away from the suffering of another flies directly in the face of that practice.

So today, when you encounter feelings or emotions that seem to be outside of yourself, especially the ones you would rather disregard, step into them instead.

See if you can viscerally embody them. Allow yourself to feel what is being presented, and then work with it to transform the suffering you find in the other.

I think you’ll discover that it was never outside in the first place.

And when it is resolved out there, it is resolved in here as well.

Have a wonderful morning.

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