Sahara wrote:
This is where it becomes so important for an instructor to be a balanced person, someone who is not running from his or her own problems, someone who can assist
people to apply the teachings so as not to foster dissociation or moral indifference.
Many of us want an escape hatch, temporarily or permanently, so we are tempted to take a little too much of something, whether it be alcohol, benzos, or just to hit the snooze alarm and sleep late on a work day.
People like us, when introduced to these doctrines might be biased to use these to dissociate and we would need for an instructor or wise meditation buddy to tell us, 'No, you're taking this too far. You need to stay present to your pain for a little bit longer, find out what it's trying to tell you."
Or:
"Damn right your friends and family are angry at you for meditating. You're physically present to them, while emotionally absenting yourself while claiming
you love them. That's BS and they're right to feel angry at you."
"You have no right to use your advaita or meditation practice to invalidate other people's anger toward you. You may have wronged them, Examine your behavior toward them. You may have done them harm and need to make amends."
Quote
For me this would mean that I might pause before I react instinctively with anger or with gratitude and observe my emotions. But I wouldn't throw away emotions all together, as though they are useless and unimportant. That would make me inhuman!
This is where it becomes so important for an instructor to be a balanced person, someone who is not running from his or her own problems, someone who can assist
people to apply the teachings so as not to foster dissociation or moral indifference.
Many of us want an escape hatch, temporarily or permanently, so we are tempted to take a little too much of something, whether it be alcohol, benzos, or just to hit the snooze alarm and sleep late on a work day.
People like us, when introduced to these doctrines might be biased to use these to dissociate and we would need for an instructor or wise meditation buddy to tell us, 'No, you're taking this too far. You need to stay present to your pain for a little bit longer, find out what it's trying to tell you."
Or:
"Damn right your friends and family are angry at you for meditating. You're physically present to them, while emotionally absenting yourself while claiming
you love them. That's BS and they're right to feel angry at you."
"You have no right to use your advaita or meditation practice to invalidate other people's anger toward you. You may have wronged them, Examine your behavior toward them. You may have done them harm and need to make amends."