A grump in need of help

[Bob-Midwest]

Sorry if this isn’t the place to post this. Still unclear what goes where.
Looking for some guidance, practice and/or readings on cultivating gratitude and/or some positivity to counteract/balance my fixation on the injustice, wrongs, sufferings in the world. I mean there is just so much pain around.
Thanks ahead of time for your tips.

bob
sat,lah

[Jundo]

Sorry if this isn’t the place to post this. Still unclear what goes where.
Looking for some guidance, practice and/or readings on cultivating gratitude and/or some positivity to counteract/balance my fixation on the injustice, wrongs, sufferings in the world. I mean there is just so much pain around.
Thanks ahead of time for your tips.

bob
sat,lah

Hi Bob,

Well, truly, ALL of Shikantaza practice is about that. Thus we sit in total acceptance, gratitude and completion in Zazen, with sitting the fulfillment of sitting, nothing lacking in our sitting or the world in this radical equanimity. Then, when the bell rings, we get up and, hopefully, some of that same acceptance, gratitude, completion and equanimity remains in the bones even as we return to the crazy and complicated world.

We also express Metta for doers of wrong and injustice. I wrote about that recently.

https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/teacher-talks-tips/teacher-talks-tips-aa/551659-jundo-bowing-to-the-harm-doer

That is connected to our recommended daily Metta Practice, which is truly a visualization exercise (not merely saying the words.) ...

https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/treeleaf/practices/recommended-daily-metta-practice

Also, Nurturing Seeds practice ...

https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/treeleaf/practices/recommended-daily-nurturing-seeds-practice

I say that our practice is a kind of Great Gratitude which is grateful ... even for the crap that we are not grateful (small g) for at all.

https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/teacher-talks-tips/teacher-talks-tips-aa/talks-tips-and-topics-by-jundo/6206-sit-a-long-with-jundo-gratitude-great-gratitude

Other than that, it is important to realize that your deep caring about injustice, wrongs, sufferings in the world is because you have a heart, you care. That is not a fault, but a beautiful human quality.

Other folks around here might have other practical advice too.

Gassho, J
stlah

[Bion]

Hi, Bob! I kind of just want to support Jundo's suggestion of Metta practice. That's something extremely useful and powerful. I start my day with a little metta and I've incorporated it in my life in general. The line "may all beings be free of suffering, may we put in place the causes necessary to be free of suffering, may we be happy and at ease, embracing all conditions of life" is something I repeat a lot throughout the day.
I also have a tendency at being very critical, so, I pay close attention to when unskilful mind qualities manifest and I start developing dislike for someone, or I start to harbor negative emotions towards them.... In that moment, I send them loving kindness (metta). It is to train myself, basically, and not so much for them.... It is to remove that unskilful thing in myself. In Buddhism, compassion does not necessarily imply we have to like someone in order to wish them well.

Gassho
sat lah

[Tairin]

Metta practice is a great way to soften one’s heart. Guy blows through a red light? Rather than get angry or frustrated I recite Metta for him and for me. Some politician promotes a policy I disagree with? Same thing. Yes I end up reciting Metta several times a day but it is much better than stewing with negativity.

My wife and I also practice gratitude. Every day at the end of supper we each list 3 things over the past day that we are thankful for. Some days I might have to dig deep but there is always something.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[Houzan]

Me and my daughter also share 3 new things we are grateful for each night as part of her bedtime
routine. These days we are grateful for running water in our house, for a glimpse of blue sky, ice cream, traffic lights, etc. It’s not so much to turn a blind eye to the difficult and painful parts of life, but to remind ourselves that in addition to suffering there are also wonders and beauty right in front of our noses.

Gassho, Hōzan
satlah

[Shujin]

Sorry if this isn’t the place to post this. Still unclear what goes where.
Looking for some guidance, practice and/or readings on cultivating gratitude and/or some positivity to counteract/balance my fixation on the injustice, wrongs, sufferings in the world. I mean there is just so much pain around.
Thanks ahead of time for your tips.

bob
sat,lah

Hi Bob,

I don't know that I have any specific suggestions on readings for cultivating gratitude/positivity. I would echo what Jundo wrote, in that zazen has helped me be more grateful. Knowing a small bit about your life, I would say that you are doing important work helping sentient beings (two legs and four). I have spent my career in public service. Although I find it discouraging how much indifference there is to suffering, sometimes it helps to remind myself that I am showing up, and doing what I can.

Gassho,
Shujin

st/lah

[KatherineS]

Hi Bob,
Just to add a little something to the discussion. I'm not sure, but when you say you're looking to counterbalance fixation on harms and injustice with gratitude, the fixation is a mix of anger with real compassion (as Jundo Roshi says--you have a great heart). The Metta practice is great to remind us that everyone, including us, both need and have compassion, and as Jundo Roshi says, I've found the Metta practice good to do. There's something to the vow where we say numberless beings are endless/I vow to save them all. It can be easy to focus on the negative and forget that there's positive at the same time. I am grateful that people recognize that there are injustices and pain in the world.

Gassho,
Katherine

Sat/lah

[Onsho]

Hey Bob!

I really feel this. Its very distressing and all consuming with no let up. My deep down belief i have to holding all of this is that these events are not making me distressed. My relationship TO these events are making me distressed. Knowing this helps me find a middle ground a little easier. Also, we know that right defines wrong. Good defines bad. Hot defines cold ect. The degree of stress in the world also defines its peace. Its an act of bravery to accept the knowledge of hatred to be in your life but in return we get to experience the purest depths of love.

Consider writing poems and leave them for strangers to find. Plant those seeds of joy, other people will help grow them.

Gassho
Onsho,
satlah

[Jundo]

I would add our practice of "acceptance without acceptance," equanimity and acceptance out of one eye, non-acceptance out of the other, with both eyes open together providing the clarity of a Buddha. This comes from our Shikantaza practice too. "Acceptance" need not be a yes/no - either/or proposition. Likewise for "stillness" and "action." I set that out here:

https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/teacher-talks-tips/teacher-talks-tips-aa/16760-fixceptance-and-shikantaza

Even the fires of anger can be turned to fuel for "righteous" grievance, kept low for heat and cooking rather than burning down the town.

https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/treeleaf/treeleaf-community-topics-about-zen-practice/549128-zen-and-passivity?p=549145#post549145

Gassho, J
stlah