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The Art of Forgiveness

01/19/2020 by Aruni

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

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