Oakville Zen Meditation

#397 Resistance: the hidden source of suffering May 8 22

May 8 22

The greatest part of human pain is not only self-created but also unnecessary.

It is self-created as long as the unobserved mind controls and runs your life.

The pain we are created is very often some form of resistance or complaint against something or someone.

Rather than resistance, Zen prefers the word non-acceptance.

Non-acceptance is ego-driven and subconscious but when it becomes conscious, it generates all kinds of judgmental resistance such as complaining, refusal, being upset, angry, fearful, and many more negative emotions, All of these negative emotions are consuming a lot of our mental energy and keep us stuck.

Because our ego sees acceptance as a weakness, it wants to resist.  

What could be more futile, and insane than to create your inner resistance to something that already existed or may will and for which there is nothing you can do about it, and yet this is the most  frequent scenario

What to do?

Before approaching the “how”, it is important again to differentiate acceptance from giving up in  

finding a solution to a solvable problem. If there is a solution, find it first.

Here are a few advice:

Accept what is unsolvable.

       Whatever the past did carry,

       Whatever the present contains, and

       Whatever the future will show.

This will miraculously transform your whole life because surrender immediately opens the door to a quieter mind if not serenity.

By doing so, you will find that sources of your resistance and its negative energy can be dealt with in a more effective way rather than your ongoing ego-driven fighting.

Letting things go is an act of far greater power and intelligence than defending or hanging on since the former brings peace and the latter creates even more emotional negativity.

Acceptance appears when you no longer ask: “ why it is happening to me?”

Summary:

Negative feelings are, quite often, forms of non-acceptance creating negativity, and negativity is never the optimal solution in dealing with any situation.

Accepting is moving from  No to Yes when there is nothing we can do such as mistakes of the past, current situation, or potential outcomes in the future.

Look at acceptance as a great tool to bring your emotional mind under control in order to achieve serenity.

Nonresistance, non-judgment, and non-attachment are the 3 pillars of true freedom and Awakening.

When you live in complete acceptance of what it is with w/o a solution, it is the end of the most drama in our life.

Don’t spend your whole life waiting to start living, and, besides, everything is transient.

Thank you