4e Entraînement - Conscience de la souffrance

(4e des 14 Entraînements à la Pleine Conscience)
 
J’inspire et je porte attention à mon inspiration.
J’expire et je suis présente/présent à mon expiration.
J’inspire  J’expire
 
J’inspire et je prends conscience de mon corps tout entier
J’expire, je détends mon corps
Conscience du corps   Détente du corps
 
J’inspire, mon souffle devient plus lent, plus profond
J’expire, je sens le calme s’établir de plus en plus en moi
Souffle profond   Calme
 
J’inspire et je prends conscience de la souffrance en moi.
J’observe les souffrances que j’ai vécues aujourd’hui, ou cette semaine.
J’expire, je ne rejette pas ma douleur. Je l’accueille et lui souris.        
Conscience de ma souffrance  Sourire à ma souffrance
 
J’inspire, en voyant que j’ai tendance à fuir ma souffrance.
Souvent, je masque ma souffrance dans la consommation ou dans diverses activités.
J’expire et je sais qu’il me faut toucher à ma souffrance, pour que je puisse la comprendre et la transformer.
Toucher ma souffrance Transformer ma souffrance
 
J’inspire car je veux regarder profondément la nature de ma souffrance.
Je veux comprendre ses causes. Comprendre pourquoi je souffre.
J’expire et j’essaie d’identifier les nourritures que j’ai donné à ma souffrance pour qu’elle grandisse en moi.
Regarder profondément ma souffrance    Identifier les nourritures de ma souffrance
 
J’inspire, je remarque que je deviens fragile lorsque je reste en contact trop longtemps avec ma souffrance, ou avec la souffrance des autres.
 J’expire et je vois que, pour prendre soin de ma souffrance, je dois aussi toucher aux merveilles de la vie. Je dois nourrir ma joie.
Prendre soin de ma souffrance  Nourrir ma joie                  
 
J’inspire et réalise que ma souffrance est connectée à la souffrance des autres.
Lorsque je souffre, j’ai tendance à faire souffrir les gens autour de moi.
Et lorsque les gens que j’aime souffrent, je souffre à mon tour.
J’expire et je sais que, lorsque je prends soin de ma souffrance, je prends soin de la souffrance des autres.
Prendre soin de ma souffrance  Prendre soin de la souffrance des autres
 
J’inspire et vois que lorsque je sais rester avec la souffrance, mon cœur commence à s’ouvrir, à ressentir de la compassion.
J’expire et je découvre que, comme le lotus qui a besoin de boue pour fleurir, la compassion a besoin de souffrance pour naître.
Toucher la souffrance     Faire naître la compassion
 

Dear Chan and all!I relate very much to what you have written as this has been one of the most important issues for me. I'm involved in a justice movement because I wish I could help reduce violence and save the environment.However, this work often makes me sad, gives me despair and worse of all: I often react in a judgmental way. I'm hoping for a visible betterment in society for encouragment but am so impatient.Even though I know I need to be aware, compassionate, careful and concentrated to be a good activist I struggle to develop these virtues-and most often I fall short.Most of all, I am so grateful we work on our anger this week. Activism brings joy but I'm often angry at the injustices in the world. The suffering in the world is overwhelming. I wish I could learn the strength to notonly NOT contribute to it but to also help reduce it.

@ Marion - thanks for sharing your personal thoughts on this -- I found myself identifying with your struggles.I think you've also addressed a very important aspect for consideration for the 6ième training - regarding anger, and the training to not nurture it.I have mixed feelings about anger. I think that the clear-eyed recognition of injustice and lack of right view/action in our society is something absolutely required to stay mentally sane. But at the same time, that recognition brings with it very strong emotions - the researchers tell us that even toddlers and infants understand injustice and react with anger or some other emotion of resistance. I have let that recognition and consequent energy that arises play a very big part in my life. And like you write, I too experience despair, judgementalism, anger, frustration, cynicism and all the rest. And, like you write, I have found that though at first these mental formations strengthen me, build my sense of who I am and differentiate my role, and provide excitement that propels me, I have realized that in the long run, anger isolates us from those whose support we seek - and need.The other element is that it makes us, or at least how we present our ideas, less than elegant - I have found that the language of absolutes, of right-wrong cuts us off from finding truly new ways of finding solutions; when you think many of the implications of the activist ideas through, they would need a dictatorship to bring them about.Also, it can (does for me) alienate us from the society in which we are embedded - if we walk around all day angry at the society, we either are constantly angry with ourselves with always participating, for example, in the petroleum/electricity economy - or we build the illusion that we aren't really a part of all that, which isn't useful either, I have found.In working with this element over the last ten years - I have developed a strategy to help me be at peace with or balance that tension. The first step is to acknowledge the emotion that arises from the understanding of injustice - for example, the anger, or desire to protect/nurture - but be very vigilant on the mental formations that we encourage/feed as a result of the arising of these emotions....and to try, to the best of our skill, to take the energy arising and channel it into creative, loving action that strengthens the bonds of reconciliation within a society - or does something else positive.In working this strategy, I have found three things very helpful - Thây's suggestion to be always asking yourself "Are you sure" is great medicine; as is really deep and honest scrutiny of our own ideas, noting all the places where they could be wrong, where your understanding may not be that deep, where others' perspectives could contribute, etc. And finally, to search out and acknowledge, with delight, others' different ways of addressing whatever issue is at hand.Finally, one must be tough, determined with a will of compassionate steel.I am also thankful that Thây has shared with us in his books his stories of activism that did not work out the way he'd intended, such as the time he tried to smuggle Vietnamese refugees into Singapore, putting their lives and his freedom at stake - that resulted in the boat carrying them being denied access, and sent back to sea. It is helpful to see that even very skilled and experienced leaders can't quite reach their activist goals all the time.Stumbling along...Stu

   This is just to let you know that I appreciate very much your response and I've read it thouroughly. I'll write more as soon as I can. Best wishes.