Nicholas Weeks
Bodhicitta
How Buddha advised responding to negative speech or actions.
https://www.bps.lk/olib/bl/bl109_Buddharakkhita_Positive-Response.html
This essay looks at one of the suttas spoken by the Buddha, preceded by a brief introduction by the translator. The theme of the sutta, The Parable of the Saw, Kakacūpama Sutta (Majjhima Nikāya 21), may be called a positive response in dealing with provocative people and situations. It sets forth practical techniques for overcoming resentment, hatred and other such pollutants, and for cultivating such elevating mental qualities as good will, amity and compassion. For anyone intent on spiritual development these practical instructions will help to cleanse the mind and to unfold its great hidden potentials.
In the realm of spirituality, ’tit for tat,’ very much a norm in the world, never works. It is only by a positive response that spiritual progress is possible. If one is reproached, even manhandled, and one reacts with resentment, one would certainly fail either to achieve a purposive result for oneself or to win over the opponent. But if one endures the reproach and responds with good will, then one can win over the offending person as well as effect a significant triumph over oneself, making progress on the onward path to spiritual liberation. An outlook that fosters a positive response to every negative move thus becomes imperative to any serious seeker of truth. It is essential, therefore, that a meditator should assiduously strive to cultivate a positive attitude leading to the conquest of evil by good.
In the masterly discourse entitled The Parable of the Saw, the Buddha makes this point amply clear.
https://www.bps.lk/olib/bl/bl109_Buddharakkhita_Positive-Response.html
This essay looks at one of the suttas spoken by the Buddha, preceded by a brief introduction by the translator. The theme of the sutta, The Parable of the Saw, Kakacūpama Sutta (Majjhima Nikāya 21), may be called a positive response in dealing with provocative people and situations. It sets forth practical techniques for overcoming resentment, hatred and other such pollutants, and for cultivating such elevating mental qualities as good will, amity and compassion. For anyone intent on spiritual development these practical instructions will help to cleanse the mind and to unfold its great hidden potentials.
In the realm of spirituality, ’tit for tat,’ very much a norm in the world, never works. It is only by a positive response that spiritual progress is possible. If one is reproached, even manhandled, and one reacts with resentment, one would certainly fail either to achieve a purposive result for oneself or to win over the opponent. But if one endures the reproach and responds with good will, then one can win over the offending person as well as effect a significant triumph over oneself, making progress on the onward path to spiritual liberation. An outlook that fosters a positive response to every negative move thus becomes imperative to any serious seeker of truth. It is essential, therefore, that a meditator should assiduously strive to cultivate a positive attitude leading to the conquest of evil by good.
In the masterly discourse entitled The Parable of the Saw, the Buddha makes this point amply clear.