From af49dd525657389877651260d0265fee241dd9cc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Chris Koeritz Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:10:02 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] new fortune. --- database/fortunes.dat | 20 ++++++++++++++++++-- 1 file changed, 18 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/database/fortunes.dat b/database/fortunes.dat index cd2a230c..4b240fb4 100644 --- a/database/fortunes.dat +++ b/database/fortunes.dat @@ -38491,5 +38491,21 @@ Nothing will improve, he says, unless we become more intelligent about cause and effect. This is a message worth considering seriously. -- Pema Chödrön, from "No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva". - - +~ + Shantideva cites three benefits of pain. First, it is valuable because +through sorrow, pride is driven out. No matter how arrogant and condescending +we’ve been, great suffering can humble us. The pain of a serious illness or +loss of a loved one can be transformative, softening us and making us less +self-centered. + The second benefit of pain is empathy: the compassion felt for those who +wander in samsara. Our personal suffering brings compassion for others in the +same situation. A young woman was telling me that when her baby died, she +felt a deep connection to all the other parents who had lost children. This +was, as she put it, the unexpected blessing of her sorrow. + The third value of suffering is that evil is avoided and goodness seems +delightful. When we practice according to Shantideva’s instructions, we can +get smarter about cause and result. Based on this understanding, we’ll have +less inclination to cause harm, and more desire to gather virtue and benefit +others. + -- Pema Chödrön, from "No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the + Bodhisattva" -- 2.34.1