Grief and Hatred by Jack Kornfield

Grief and Hatred by Jack Kornfield

Grief

Grief is one of the heart’s natural responses to loss. When we grieve we allow ourselves to feel the truth of our pain, the measure of betrayal or tragedy in our life. By our willingness to mourn, we slowly acknowledge, integrate, and accept the truth of our losses. Sometimes the best way to let go is to grieve.

It takes courage to grieve, to honor the pain we carry. We can grieve in tears or in meditative silence, in prayer or in song. In touching the pain of recent and long-held griefs, we come face to face with our genuine human vulnerability, with helplessness and hopelessness. These are the storm clouds of the heart.

Most traditional societies offer ritual and communal support to help people move through grief and loss. We need to respect our tears. Without a wise way to grieve, we can only soldier on, armored and unfeeling, but our hearts cannot learn and grow from the sorrows of the past.

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Hatred

In these confusing and heated political times, there has been an increase in hate speech and action. In response, we need to rededicate ourselves and our society to the underlying principles of compassion, ethics and kindness.

Buddhism teaches us there is only one way to foster individual and society-wide well-being: through universal respect, compassion and tolerance.

Buddhism rejects all forms of prejudice whether anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-black, anti-white, anti-other. Whether in word or deed, Buddhist teaching shows that any action based on intolerance or hate only brings suffering.

In the Buddha’s words: “Hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love alone is healed.” Stand up for your highest values. Speak out for tolerance.

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