11-year-old Aaron Hern was one of the victims in the Boston Marathon bombings. abclocal.go.com
How should we react to the victims of the Boston Bombs?
How should we react to the victims of the Boston Bombs?
Can we feel compassion without feeling some of the suffering of the injured?
1. Imagine you are a doctor entering a hospital ward where there is a child victim.
It does not help you, nor the child, if you are shaking and weeping.
The good doctor, while feeling compassion, detaches himself from suffering.
The good doctor detaches himself from his selfish ego.
It is the selfish ego which produces anger, grief, worry, and despair.
The good doctor is positive, loving and calm.
This helps the sick child.
schweitzerfellowship.wordpress.com...
But we should practise non-attachment to such extremes.
This means not holding on.
2. Imagine you are the pilot of a passenger plane which has just been struck by some dangerous emergency.
It does not help you, nor the passengers, if your ego feels extreme fear.
On the other hand, a little fear might prevent you from taking foolish risks.
A game of golf would not be real if there were not some minor irritations; but you want to avoid the extremes.
3. Imagine you are the parent of a child who has just been killed by agents of the US government.
Ask yourself - why does the government carry out such acts of terrorism as part of its 'Strategy of Tension'?
They want to get you angry with, and scared of, the 'terrorists'.
When people are scared they will obey their 'big brother' government.
So, detach yourself from fear and anger.
Fear and anger make you sick.
3. Imagine you are the parent of a child who has just been killed by agents of the US government.
Ask yourself - why does the government carry out such acts of terrorism as part of its 'Strategy of Tension'?
When people are scared they will obey their 'big brother' government.
So, detach yourself from fear and anger.
Fear and anger make you sick.
4. There may be times when we are hit by extreme fear, anger, grief, worry and despair.
This means not holding on.
michaelwilliammcdonald.blogspot.com ...
"All the delightful things of the world - sweet sounds, lovely forms, all the pleasant tastes and touches and thoughts - these are all agreed to bring happiness if they are not grasped and possessed.
But if you regard them merely as pleasures for your own use and satisfaction and do not see them as passing wonders, they will bring suffering.
-Sutta Nipata
Blog: Pleasure and Joy
6. It is not a good idea to 'suppress' our feelings.
Research shows that people who are able to talk about their grief, anger or fear get rid of these negative feelings more quickly.
People who are not able to talk about these feelings are more likely to suffer ill health, mental or physical.
The 'good doctor' has the knack of being non-attached to grief, anger or fear when he enters the ward.
Some people get angry when there is a long queue at the airport.
Some people learn not to get angry.
They are not supressing their anger; they just don't feel anger.
5. We should practise non-attachment to lots of things.
But if you regard them merely as pleasures for your own use and satisfaction and do not see them as passing wonders, they will bring suffering.
-Sutta Nipata
Blog: Pleasure and Joy
Research shows that people who are able to talk about their grief, anger or fear get rid of these negative feelings more quickly.
People who are not able to talk about these feelings are more likely to suffer ill health, mental or physical.
The 'good doctor' has the knack of being non-attached to grief, anger or fear when he enters the ward.
Some people get angry when there is a long queue at the airport.
Some people learn not to get angry.
They are not supressing their anger; they just don't feel anger.
12 comments:
good advice, I think I should follow
Should we all become butchers now ?
Kill your feelings to prevent them getting hurt ?
Promoted celibate philosophers often did that,
Zen-Buddhism and New Age recommend that,
SS schools and seminaries train that.
Preventive self-destruction.
If there is nothing to fear,
give away everything
and go living with criminals.
Otherwise, why not stay human ? :-)
When feelings become overwhelming,
try taking a step back.
Talk about it with friends.
When traumatised, try EMDR.
Dear Anonymous,
Do you want to be treated by a doctor who clutches his stomach and vomits all over you, because of fear?
Do you want to be in a plane flown by a pilot with shaky hands?
We should kill (become detached from) our feelings, if they include thoughts of murder and rape and pillage.
Dear dognamedblue,
You make my day.
- Aangirfan
Amen, brothers and sisters.
See also:
Multiple photos from 4Chan
http://imgur.com/a/sUrnA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan
An excellent thought-provoking post aang.
I have been reading your blog for several months now. I am an academic at a UK university with additional investigative experience in the private sector and generally enjoy your output.
My one concern is that lately you place a little too much faith in the Daily Mail. It's fairly obvious that you are not based in Britain for if you were you would realise that the DM is a dubious source indeed. Your recent reliance on it for material actually lessens the factual reliability of your blog. It also seems to be having a corrosive effect on your capacity for critical evaluation which is a shame as up until now this has been pretty damn impressive.
Aang, I shall continue to use your blog to demonstrate to my undergraduates that the truth is far stranger than fiction and that blogs can and do reveal surprising truths with style, skill and an enthusiasm which academics, to our shame, have generally forgotten how to express in our own work. The world is a far stranger place than the majority realise but it is not mirrored with any reliability by the Daily Mail website. Including material from it pollutes your own valid and valuable conclusions.
Keep up the good work...
Dear Anon, vomiting when seeing wounds comes from disgust and nausea, not fear. Pissing and shitting himself would come from fear.
If you oppress your feelings because they make you think of murder, it will make you cold and these feelings will haunt you. Better would be to find out why and find better ways to deal with the problem.
People are not all the same, some love fast action, others love delicate and slow things. Best is not to try making a leopard behave like a butterfly or a dancer like a butcher, for example. Success and happiness are more likely if you accept who you are, including your feelings. Of course if there is bad programming, as there usually is, attempts to change it to a more natural and loving way, while difficult and time consuming, will help.
American Terror: Manufactured by the FBI
http://tv.globalresearch.ca/2013/04/american-terror-manufactured-fbi
Boston Marathon Bombing: Unanswered Questions
http://www.globalresearch.ca/boston-marathon-bombing-unanswered-questions/5331775
Boston Marathon Bombing Highlights the Illusion of Terror and Security
http://www.globalresearch.ca/boston-marathon-bombing-highlights-the-illusion-of-terror-and-security/5331780
Boston Marathon Bombings: ‘False-flag’ Meme Infiltrating Mainstream Media Discourse
http://www.globalresearch.ca/boston-marathon-bombings-false-flag-meme-infiltrating-mainstream-media-discourse/5331789
I lived in Europe during both the late 70's and early 90's blaming the left and Russians was a popular papers and even books subject. I always distrusted tories due to their clear lack of empathy. I always got the impression stiff upper lip was the only compassion the right let anyone feel without guilt. Now after years America gets to feel that stiff upper lip mentality as the spooks start working on their sponsors. A blood coated slippery slope?
Dear Killing Feelings,
You make a good point.
Research shows that people who are able to talk about their grief, anger or fear get rid of these negative feelings more quickly.
People who are not able to talk about these feelings are more likely to suffer ill health, mental or physical.
The 'good doctor' has the knack of being non-attached to grief, anger or fear when he enters the ward.
Some people get angry when there is a long queue at the airport.
Some people learn not to get angry.
They are not supressing their anger; they just don't feel anger.
- Aangirfan
Anonymous said...
"I lived in Europe during both the late 70's and early 90's blaming the left and Russians was a popular papers and even books subject. I always distrusted tories due to their clear lack of empathy. I always got the impression stiff upper lip was the only compassion the right let anyone feel without guilt. Now after years America gets to feel that stiff upper lip mentality as the spooks start working on their sponsors. A blood coated slippery slope?"
I so appreciate your comment.
I do believe Americans, as a whole, have had a surgical transplant of the British 'Stiff Upper Lip', and it has led to severe case of ''me me me''.
It seems as if so few in this nation really give a damn at all about those below them on the economic and social scale.
The middle class has been pillaged to such an extent that they believe any compassion will simply take more money out of their pockets - money they can't afford.
The rich believes they too are being abused by taxes and, to paraphrase: "I earned it. They didn't. Screw 'em!"
The poor in this country actually feel guilt for their place. Many vote Republican and feel that if they just work harder they'll rise to the top. Sorry, but even working minimum (or even $10 an hour jobs) 16 hours per day won't allow a person to care for a family.
And then there are those who have a felony on their record..........
And at the end of the day even if we all paid twice as much in taxes it would only go to service the banker's debt and to propel the Military State to further entaglements.
Serve humans as a human. Using the State as a middleman won't serve you or the human you are attempting to help.
That, and share Truth with the people.
Unfortunately that's the only advice I can offer to anyone.
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