The Art of Forgiveness
I’ve always tiptoed carefully through any discussion of forgiveness with students.
Too complicated a process, I would think.
Too time-bound,
Too individual.
The heart is ready for only that which
The heart is ready for.
Not having the language or the willingness
To describe this,
To date,
I’ve mostly ignored it.
I’ve acknowledged forgiveness
Simply as
A journey, an odyssey,
Too intricate to be taught,
Too delicate to be discussed,
Too tender to be talked about too much.
Today, in my last-ditch, holy-shit-it’s-Thursday-I-don’t-have-a-blog-topic moment, I found myself trolling the internet, tired and played out and happy from traveling; life brought me to Jack Kornfeld.
I’m suspicious of teachers; I’m fussy and particular. However, I have always known and trusted Jack’s authenticity, having seen him many a time at Kripalu. He is an author, Buddhist practitioner and one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West.
I listened to this ten-minute forgiveness meditation and found it deeply touching.
Jack offers us three directions for forgiveness;
forgiveness toward ourselves for how we’ve treated another
forgiveness toward ourselves for how we’ve treated ourselves
forgiveness, as we are ready, in our own timing, toward another for hurting us
Please join Jack in this meditation:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/video/item/forgiveness_meditation
I
Acknowledge
I
Have
Hurt
And
Harmed
Others.
I have hurt
And harmed
You.
I ask
Your
Forgiveness.
May I be
Forgiven,
Please
Forgive me.
Just as I have hurt others,
So, have I hurt myself.
I have betrayed
And
Abandoned
Myself.
I’ve caused
Suffering,
Me—to me.
In this moment,
I offer myself
Forgiveness
And
Tenderness.
I remember
The many ways
You have hurt me,
Abandoned me,
Betrayed me.
To the extent
To which
I am able,
In this moment,
I turn
My heart
In the direction
Of
Forgiveness.
I release you.
I will not carry
The pain
Of hating you
In my heart,
To the extent
To which
I
Am
Able,
I
Forgive
You.
Dear Friends, how does this meditation touch you?
Which of the three directions felt more impactful? More distant? Least possible? What did you notice?
How might you practice using the three directions as a journey of forgiveness? What would it specifically look like for you to practice?
To the extent to which we are able, may we turn our hearts in the direction of forgiveness—to self, to another, and to all.
And—good news! We received two-minutes-and-eight-seconds of additional sunlight today, as January slowly sheds her days. I’m proclaiming this as a celebration.
One step, one breath, one moment at a time.
To us, all—
All blessings,
Aruni