Session 52: Compassion For Those Who Are Grasping

Grasping the “real I” and “really mine” is at the root of suffering. How do we get rid of grasping? All of Dharma. After 8 weeks we may find that although our thoughts are still like a cascading waterfall of garbage, we don’t have to eat it any more. Even if we can’t stop it, we can cut our suffering by developing discerning mindfulness, by not reifying ourselves and our ruminations, and by not acting while afflicted by grasping. One sign of meditation progress is that our obsessive thoughts and dreams become less disturbing. But before we totally silence our thoughts, let’s try to cultivate good ones.
The immediate catalyst of compassion is to perceive the suffering of others and to know there is hope. Authentic compassion for oneself is called renunciation. In tonight’s meditation we envision how much suffering would be dispelled if we all realized our true nature. By expanding our field of caring we shrink our relative self-grasping. We see that our suffering is really small, like one goldfish in the ocean.