Dr. Krishna sees the poison of greed each day. And with greed, the poison of anger. Especially out on the street or down in the market, people let their anger flare with remarkable ease. At each insult, at each challenge, at the smallest thing, the mind becomes outraged and a certain blindness takes over piling suffering upon suffering. As a doctor, he would love to be able to cure this problem, but then, he reminds himself, we have a cure in calming the mind, training the mind, disciplining the mind and building compassion. We we see no separation any more between me and you, between this and that, then we care, then there can be no anger, then we lead lives free of suffering.
And yet, there is another poison the good doctor notes, namely indifference. This inward dullness lets people wallow in their self-made suffering without lifting a finger to help them. Words he uses as a tool to wake them up. Through his own behaviour he hopes that some may wake up, choose a different course for their lives, even become outraged at their own self-centeredness and self-pity and desire to do something about it!
So many years have passed, he thinks with a smile and a sigh. The world is as it is, unloving, unthinking, grinding day in and day out, as his older patients tell him: they have given up all hope and are even bitter, stewing in their anger at the unfairness of it all. The world is no longer a flower, an exciting game, a road filled with possibilities, rather the embodiment of all their suffering. He watches traffic and knows that this suffering is all in their minds. All inside. All theirs. All trapped, going round and round and round. They are unwilling to listen and unwilling to let it go for this has become their world, this is all they know.
But like any decent doctor, Krishna knows there is a cure. He knows there is a medicine. But as any good doctor knows, the patient must be motivated to take the medicine, must desire the cure, must see that there is an illness to begin with.
How funny, he shakes his head with neither smile nor laugh.
How regretful.
And yet, there is another poison the good doctor notes, namely indifference. This inward dullness lets people wallow in their self-made suffering without lifting a finger to help them. Words he uses as a tool to wake them up. Through his own behaviour he hopes that some may wake up, choose a different course for their lives, even become outraged at their own self-centeredness and self-pity and desire to do something about it!
So many years have passed, he thinks with a smile and a sigh. The world is as it is, unloving, unthinking, grinding day in and day out, as his older patients tell him: they have given up all hope and are even bitter, stewing in their anger at the unfairness of it all. The world is no longer a flower, an exciting game, a road filled with possibilities, rather the embodiment of all their suffering. He watches traffic and knows that this suffering is all in their minds. All inside. All theirs. All trapped, going round and round and round. They are unwilling to listen and unwilling to let it go for this has become their world, this is all they know.
But like any decent doctor, Krishna knows there is a cure. He knows there is a medicine. But as any good doctor knows, the patient must be motivated to take the medicine, must desire the cure, must see that there is an illness to begin with.
How funny, he shakes his head with neither smile nor laugh.
How regretful.
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