Offering Metta to someone like Stephen Paddock

[Risho]

That is going in my chant book - thank you guys!

Gassho,

Rish
-st/LAH

[Joyo]

Thank you, Jundo. I know you are right, and yet, I have to admit, in my heart I cannot chant metta for the Stephen Padlock's of this world. I can say the words, but in my heart I do not feel them towards such individuals. To commit such horrific acts towards humans or animals, I have a hard time feeling compassion.



Gassho,
Joyo
sat today/lah

[Byokan]

Hi All,

This description of Metta practice comes from Gil Fronsdal, who is not a Zen guy; he teaches Insight Meditation. But I find it very helpful and maybe you will too:

Metta practice is the cultivation of our capacity for lovingkindness. It does not involve either positive thinking or the imposition of an artificial positive attitude. There is no need to feel loving or kind during metta practice. Rather, we meditate on our good intentions, however weak or strong they may be, and water the seeds of these intentions. When we water wholesome intentions instead of expressing unwholesome ones, we develop those wholesome tendencies within us. If these seeds are never watered, they won’t grow. When watered by regular practice, they grow, sometimes in unexpected fashions. We may find that lovingkindness becomes the operating motivation in a situation that previously triggered anger or fear.

.....Sometimes during lovingkindness meditation, seemingly opposite feelings such as anger, grief, or sadness may arise. Take these to be signs that your heart is softening, revealing what is held there. You can either shift to mindfulness practice or you can—with whatever patience, acceptance, and kindness you can muster for such feelings—direct lovingkindness toward them. Above all, remember that there is no need to judge yourself for having these feelings.

-Gil Fronsdal

Gassho
Byōkan
sat + lah

[Anka]

I pitty Mr. Paddock more than anything. To be driven to a point where that act seemed like the right thing to do....its sad.

Metta to all involved in that terrible incident.

Jim/sat/lah

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[JimH]

Thank you for the lesson, Jundo.

A couple of other things have come to my mind as I have thought through this incident over the last couple of days: First, we have no way of knowing what was going through Mr. Paddock's mind during his last days (and weeks, even). To play devil's advocate, it could very well be that he was delusional, and saw enemies at every turn. He may have seen those around him as about to perpetrate a great evil on the world, and he felt that he was saving the world. He may have had evil intent as well....but we will never know. All we do know is that there was something not right in his mind.

Second, he committed suicide. This is an act of desperation, and an act done from a very dark place of great pain and anguish. It is very true that he may have thought that was his only way out rather than face a life in prison. Still, his last moments were not pleasant ones, and he was suffering as much as any of his victims. If anyone has been at a place where they have actually contemplated ending their own life, you know how scary and painful that place is; if you haven't been there....that is somewhere you never want to be, and it is not something that I would honestly wish on anyone.

I cannot dismiss Mr. Paddock's actions. I say metta for him and hope his soul finds peace....but I wish that peace to be through full understanding and acceptance of his actions. I occasionally offer metta to *all* criminals when I sit, wishing them peace and wellness in the same sense: that they accept their past actions, atone for them, and reset their karmic balance. I offer metta to wish them healing of whatever pain drove them to take their actions in the first place, and if they find the cause of the pain, that they can help others get through it as well.

Finally, I have lately found myself offering metta to certain world leaders as a collective....I wish them to be aware of the great burdens that rest on them, that they remember that millions of lives ride on their decisions, and that *all* of us could be affected by a bad decision. The earth herself would be scarred by the wrong move. In my opinion, offering metta to world leaders to wish for awareness of this burden on them, and awareness of their own egos is acting to try and tip the balance away from actions thousands of times worse than even Mr. Paddock.

That last thought might seem a bit overly dramatic, but it is a major concern of mine. I don't think that a world war is imminent, but I think it is something that is frighteningly possible. Too much power rests in the hands of single men with big egos....and who seem to take great offense at minor slights. It concerns me that angry words alone could start a war that would be over in hours, leaving huge destruction. Again, I don't think it's necessarily *going* to happen....but the point that people are talking about the "very real possibility"......eeeesh.

I can't affect any past outcomes, but maybe with enough metta (from me and others that are surely offering it as well).....maybe the scales will tip positively.

Gassho--

--JimH (SatToday!)

[Doshin]

Thank you, Jundo. I know you are right, and yet, I have to admit, in my heart I cannot chant metta for the Stephen Padlock's of this world. I can say the words, but in my heart I do not feel them towards such individuals. To commit such horrific acts towards humans or animals, I have a hard time feeling compassion.



Gassho,
Joyo
sat today/lah

My challenge as well Joyo.

And I add a few others to that list (eg world leaders) But I read all of the above and I will keep "practicing"

Gassho
Doshin
St/lah

[Kyousui]

Jundo Roshi, that was such a good post I'm going to archive the link in my bookmarks

Sat today, LAH