Sometimes what we like isn’t good for us. We resist, and things get a little messy. Christmas is a very difficult time of year to practice, and sometimes how things look on the surface is not reality. We must remember to look through the obvious, past the hostilities sometimes, to where the heart is. We have to enter where they come from, and from that place, can we still accept them?
Using the Sigalovada Sutta as a method to help with investigation may seem a bit backwards. This teaching seems to say keep away, don’t be friends. What I see it saying, is be wise, know your limits, but also, don’t be too fast to judge people for who they appear to be either. Look to their heart, look for their direction.
The friend who seeks what he can get,
The friend who talks but empty words,
The friend who merely flatters you,
The friend who is a ‘good for nothing person’
These four are really foes, NOT friends,
The wise man, recognizing this,
Should hold himself aloof from them
As from some path of panic fear”...Having said the above, the Buddha further added as follows :
“The friend who is a helper and
The friend in times both good and bad
The friend who shows the way that’s right
The friend who’s full of sympathy
These four kinds of friends the wise
Should know at their true worth, and he
Should cherish them with care, just like
A mother with her dearest child..
These words are reflective to and for me. This is a time of the year with great change occurring, and great opportunities to practice also.
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