Be Kind
42. 차카게 살자
42. Be Kind
A thin quiver arises and disappears as our breath rushes in and out. As we loosen our stiff body by breathing, our blocked energy begins to flow, enveloping our body in warmth that eases the mind.
If we make it our aim to casually bring all the body’s strength down to the elixir field, the in-and-out breaths will become even. New York and Korea were too far apart for me to share all this in detail with Lee.
Figuring that he would be able to figure it out on his own, I had casually told him to focus his mind on the elixir field and breathe evenly, waiting to see what would happen. Sure enough, Lee did exactly as I said and found his own path. He had studied kendo in the past, so he used the same breath control techniques that he had when meditating at his old kendo studio.
“I definitely feel calmer and happier.”
“Now that you’re breathing evenly, do you notice when you’re experiencing anger toward the people you dislike more accurately?”
“These days, I’ve been feeling more frustration than anger. I haven’t felt angry since that day. Anger is a kind of rising feeling. But it’s still tough for me whenever I run into those guys. I guess I just need to keep at it.”
“What has happened is that this new feeling of frustration has moved in to fill the space temporarily left by anger. This frustration will blossom and wilt just like anger does. I hope you continue noticing your emotions the way you’ve been doing so well so that you don’t get caught up in them. How does it feel now that you’ve practiced being aware of them?”
“I guess I feel like I can look at things from a bit of a distance—like, I really looked like that.”
“It sounds like you’ve developed the strength and freedom to look at yourself. Good job!”
“What about you, and your anger and torment?”
“It’s tough. Every time I get upset, the curses start coming out of my mouth, but I generally do a good job of observing. From close up, anger and pain arise when things don’t go the way I want them to or when people won’t do what I want them to. From a distance, I can see that this is the result of some transgression I have committed without knowing it.”
“So the pain I’m going through is the result of karma? Isn’t that the kind of thing that Buddhist monks usually say—that it’s all your karma? I’m not sure I want to accept that.”
“Karma is a difficult word. You’re receiving what you created for yourself. You’re reaping what you’ve sown. What you have to do now, Lee, is to be good.”
“Huh? Isn’t that my whole job?”
“You’re doing a great job, but I’d like you to put more effort toward being good to the people who are giving you such a hard time. It’s difficult. You have so much anger built up that your first instinct is to fly off the handle;
it’s not easy to be kind to them. So you should start with simple acts of kindness in places close to you—whether you’re picking up garbage you see on the street or yielding to people more often when you’re driving. Sometimes a bright smile is enough of a kindness in itself. Without pushing yourself too hard, I want you to try being kind.”
Lee had been dismissive of ideas of cause and effect, or karma, but the future that acts of kindness will bring him will be brightened by a grace that will give him a palpable sense of the principle of “we reap what we sow.” Only then can he open his heart and reach out to the colleagues who have become bad influences on him.
Why is this? Because as he stands patiently on the rock that is the law of cause and effect—which is a door that opens when you knock upon it—he will finally be able to embrace them.
