(no subject)

 Haper Tay!!!!!!!!!



W'fua.

connection

 
Earlier this week, i started reading a book on Ghandi, the first chapter of which discussed life in his Ashram in rural India and some of his more spiritual views and beliefs.  It mentioned a passage from the Bhagavad Gita, to the effect of: "He who moves among the objects of sense with the senses under control, free from desire and aversion (..) attains serenity of mind".  It got me thinking about the idea of detachment, which crops up a lot in Hindu and Buddhist thought, and whether even having a favour or preference for any thing over another (eg ugly or attractive street scenes, styles of houses etc) would be folly according to that philosophy, leading inevitably to attachment, loss and disappointment.  Would the goal of an 'enlightened' soul be to regard all things equally, without favour or preference, and to just take everything as you find it? 

Then it occurred to me, in a flash of the bleeding obvious, that perhaps an even more immediate concern would be to regard people without favour or preference, rather than habitually rating some people as more worthy of attention than others.  On a train or walking down the street, instead of taking notice of those that i find interesting, perceive some connection with or just like the look of, what if i were to make an effort to take notice of all the people around me, seeing each as an individual rather than a stereotype and its relevance to me, and to consciously remember that behind every set of eyes is a living person with thoughts, feelings, hopes, fears and ideas?  Surely that would be a good step towards building understanding and reducing the walls we build between each other.  A very practical version of 'compassion meditation' that could be practised every day.

Just giving it a try as i got off the train really did seem to change the way i saw people, so i think it could be an exercise worth pursuing.