The Buddha repeatedly said to avoid ignorant, immoral people as much as possible, but isn't this - at least a little - opposed to kindness? I associate kindness with being benevolent, caring & somewhat open. Am I missing here something?No, they have nothing be opposed to each other. Actually, they support each other.
The practitioner can do metta to every person, including the immoral people, every time because Metta is mental meditation, but the practitioner shouldn't be very familiar with them because the practitioner can derive their bad behavior.
We help and support a cat, e.g. giving food, but we shouldn't be very familiar with a cat because the cat can't teach us the four noble truth.
Avoiding the ignorant person is not worry or scary. it is understanding of the effects of each fellowship.
The practitioner still wants to give happiness to the ignorant person every time, but the practitioner is just careful to keep the distance between practitioner-self and the ignorant person.
Metta is wishing to give happiness to the other living life(s).
What is that life?
The life is the aggregates in dependent origination cycle, so sometimes life has a wholesome mind and it's mental&physical factors, but sometimes life has an unwholesome mind.
Metta-mind doesn't care about life's mental state. Metta-mind cares about the entire of which is called "living life".
Mind that voiding from ignorant, immoral people is focusing at the mental state. We don't want to derive any bad habit from the ignorant, immoral people, so we should avoid being close with them.
For the example:
I have the only mother, so I can do everything to make her happy, but I have to avoid to study chemistry with her because she is ignorant of it.
I give some food to the immoral victims because I am so sorry with their suffering however I do not support their previous immoral and bad behavior. I am not going to be immoral and to have bad behavior like them.
No comments:
Post a Comment