This guy (and the vows)

[Mp]

Everyone's life has many causes and conditions that brought them to that place.

So true Jundo and wow ... amazing how big this world is, yet so small when it comes to the interconnectedness of all things. =)

Gassho
Shingen

[Kokuu]

Everyone's life has many causes and conditions that brought them to that place. The fellow who cuts you off in traffic may be worried about losing his job, or the rude sales clerk may just be having a bad day. I try to keep that in mind now.

Very true! Beyond that, HH Dalai Lama has said that (barring extreme psychological abnormalities) we all come into the world wanting to help and please others. When we meet people who are full of anger and hate, it can be helpful to think about what conditions of life they must have encountered to make them that way. As I tell my children, happy people are not mean to others.

Gassho
Andy

[Eishuu]

I think maybe appointments are a bigger deal for some than others, and the experience of being forgotten about can bring up a lot of painful feelings for some people. There's often hurt under anger, and although this guy isn't handling it very well at all I can relate a little. I sometimes find it difficult when people forget about meeting up because it touches on feelings of rejection. I know it's my stuff and I know what it touches on. Obviously in order to become a counsellor this guy would have to become aware of what was going on in him and what was brought up and take responsibility for it rather than dumping it all on you. Maybe he's not ready for that. Maybe he never will be. It's very unpleasant for you to be in the firing line of all his anger in the meantime. I also wonder if he had lots of idealistic expectations, hopes and ideas about what counsellors 'should' do and be like and he got his bubble rather burst. It's a shame he couldn't stick around and work through it...he probably would have learnt a lot about counselling.

Gassho
Lucy

[senryu]

Hi friends,
I like rationalizing this kind of situations as a karma complex knot. Past situations determined those micro-doses of pain needed to assess our reactions. And is in those complicated situations that we finally grow up . Like a samurai which incidentally entering in a little village, find some criminals attacking innocents. What it means? Karma giving us an opportunity to practice. An opportunity to show who we are. Just that.
Gassho
Senryu

[Heion]

Thanks for sharing! In some ways, it seems that the more difficult a person is the more they teach me about controlling myself!

And, people like that are filled with such negative emotions I try to not let it harm me. Instead, I send compassion.

Thanks Jundo and AlanLa for the reading.

Gassho,
Heion

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

[AlanLa]

Update: Through some sources we found out this guy has a combination of some mental health issues and combat related traumatic brain injury. As we expected, he is suffering in ways beyond the usual.

Bows to him and his difficult journey.

Though it will not be in our program,
I hope he finds a mission that serves him well.

[Jundo]

Update: Through some sources we found out this guy has a combination of some mental health issues and combat related traumatic brain injury. As we expected, he is suffering in ways beyond the usual.

Bows to him and his difficult journey.

Though it will not be in our program,
I hope he finds a mission that serves him well.

Let us sit and offer Metta for him and all folks so suffering.

Gassho, J

[Jamie]

What a wonderful lesson.
Thank you
When someone pisses me off, I do some Metta at the end of my next sit for them, for me, for everyone.
It mostly helps

Gassho

[senryu]

A lot of metta and be thankful for find such a great mate to practice with.
I imagin that like in kendo (Japanise sword martial art), the motodashi make the difference.
Gassho
Senryu