A man emerged from the forest and went and knocked at the spiritual master’s door.
“Who’s there?”
“It is I.”
“Go away. There is no room here for you and me.”
The man returned to the forest, meditated for a long time, and then came back.
“Who is it?”
“It is you.”
The door opened.
Not many people would be quick to chop off their own foot if it gets a scrape or suffers a broken bone. Instead, most choose to take care of the injury and nurse it back to health. When relationships are injured, however, how often do we cut people out of our lives? Maybe it’s best to cut someone out, but regardless if we do or not, we are always a part of all we encounter; just as all we encounter is a part of us.
When we view others as separate, it makes it much easier to disavow them, put them down, talk about them, or otherwise be hurtful. But when we view others as a part of our who we are, it challenges us to find the type of compassion we would ask for for ourselves.
If you were the one who hurt you the way that other person has, would you want forgiveness and compassion in return? We are all hurtful to others at some point, and maybe, just maybe, we all deserve to give a little more forgiveness and compassion….
Of course, that’s much easier said than done; but maybe like the man in the parable, we can retreat to reflect on it more deeply.
Maybe a deeper reflection would help us come to the realization that compassion for others might just very well be the compassion we need to give ourselves….