Roots and Hungry Ghosts
Mar. 13th, 2025 07:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mickiThis is an interesting chapter. It compares people without roots to hungry ghosts, who are unable to enjoy food or drink because their desires are so big and their throats are so small. "Hungry ghosts long to be loved, but no matter how much we love and care for them, they may not have the capacity to receive it. They may understand in principle that there is beauty in life, but they are not capable of touching it." Driven by this hunger, many turn to addictions like drugs and alcohol. He connects these cravings not only to a lack of roots but to a sense of meaninglessness. We all need a sense of meaning to motivate us.
"Our society produces millions of hungry ghosts...who have no roots at all. They have never experienced happiness at home, and they have nothing to believe in or belong to....We have to find ways to rebuild the foundations of our communities and to offer people something to believe in. The things you were offered in the past may have been too abstract and presented too coercively. Perhaps you thought that science would bring ease to our society or Marxism would bring social justice, and your beliefs have been shattered....Mindfulness if something we can believe in. It is our capacity of being aware of what is going on in the present moment. TO believe in mindfulness is safe, and not at all abstract. When we drink a glass of water and know that we are drinking a glass of water, mindfulness is there...Mindfulness is the kind of light that shows us the way. It is the living buddha inside of each of us."
Despite the Buddhist language there, he says Christian, Jews, Muslims and Marxists can all accept mindfulness; we can all touch the earth as a source of stability, and build on that.
He also talks about the need for community (sangha) and getting in touch with our roots, because of our interdependence. "Some of us may not like to talk or think about our roots because we have suffered so much from the violence of our family and our culture. We want to leave these things behind and search for something new. It is easy to understand why we feel this way, but when we practice looking deeply, we discover that our ancestors and our traditions are still in us." He talks about the need to transform our relationship with our past by looking deeply into it and finding the best elements in our tradition for ourselves and our children. "We have to live in a way that allows the ancestors in us to be liberated."
He gives a specific meditation to start for people who have been harmed by their parents. Begin by practicing imagining yourself as a five year old child who needs love, who you're giving love to. Then when you're firm in that practice, visualize the parent that hurt you as a five year old child, in need of compassion and love, "fragile, vulnerable and easily hurt....When you are able to visualize him as vulnerable, you will realize that he may have been the victim of his father...The moment you see your father as a victim, compassion will be born in your heart." Continuing this practice over time will help dissolve your anger.
"Our society produces millions of hungry ghosts...who have no roots at all. They have never experienced happiness at home, and they have nothing to believe in or belong to....We have to find ways to rebuild the foundations of our communities and to offer people something to believe in. The things you were offered in the past may have been too abstract and presented too coercively. Perhaps you thought that science would bring ease to our society or Marxism would bring social justice, and your beliefs have been shattered....Mindfulness if something we can believe in. It is our capacity of being aware of what is going on in the present moment. TO believe in mindfulness is safe, and not at all abstract. When we drink a glass of water and know that we are drinking a glass of water, mindfulness is there...Mindfulness is the kind of light that shows us the way. It is the living buddha inside of each of us."
Despite the Buddhist language there, he says Christian, Jews, Muslims and Marxists can all accept mindfulness; we can all touch the earth as a source of stability, and build on that.
He also talks about the need for community (sangha) and getting in touch with our roots, because of our interdependence. "Some of us may not like to talk or think about our roots because we have suffered so much from the violence of our family and our culture. We want to leave these things behind and search for something new. It is easy to understand why we feel this way, but when we practice looking deeply, we discover that our ancestors and our traditions are still in us." He talks about the need to transform our relationship with our past by looking deeply into it and finding the best elements in our tradition for ourselves and our children. "We have to live in a way that allows the ancestors in us to be liberated."
He gives a specific meditation to start for people who have been harmed by their parents. Begin by practicing imagining yourself as a five year old child who needs love, who you're giving love to. Then when you're firm in that practice, visualize the parent that hurt you as a five year old child, in need of compassion and love, "fragile, vulnerable and easily hurt....When you are able to visualize him as vulnerable, you will realize that he may have been the victim of his father...The moment you see your father as a victim, compassion will be born in your heart." Continuing this practice over time will help dissolve your anger.
