Month: May 2013

“Recognition of Truth ends violence because there is no conflict in it. Violence and war are at the root caused by resistance to Reality. The world exists as a conflict between Reality and what the mind thinks Reality should be. If you can see that you are actively fighting Reality, you can stop doing it. That is the beginning of world peace. Begin by noticing how your anger is caused by resistance to what is, creating an unpleasant feeling ranging from mild irritation to full-blown fury.

 

Violence begins in you as turbulent emotions such as annoyance, irritation, frustration, and anger that are severe forms of resistance. Annoyance, irritation and frustration are low-grade forms of anger, and rage is violent, explosive anger. These feelings often lead to some kind of destructive action, such as physical violence against a person or angry speech. All violent actions, even words or harsh movements, are harmful to others. Notice that any form of discordant feeling in you is a form of violence. Notice if your movements become angular and sudden. If so, violence is brewing in you. Observe that, when you get angry, you are contributing to violent energy on the planet. If you really want to contribute to world peace, find the cause of your own anger and eliminate it. Then you can be a cause of peace.”

– James Wood, Ten Paths to Freedom

“When I witness suffering, I’m simultaneously seeing myself — at least in the sense of body — as a fleshy contraption that’s vulnerable. There’s real humility in that, I find. There’s really no escaping it.”

– James Wood, Importance of Body

 

“When Whitman says “The armies of those I love engirth me and I engirth them,” he’s talking about compassion. Compassion is in a sense seeing the Divine in another and simultaneously within oneself. And it holds me here — this earth, this realm, whatever you want to call it — because I love. I deeply, deeply love human beings — all beings, but humans suffer — not only suffer but cause suffering in a way that animals don’t, plants don’t. It’s the mind. It’s our ability to conceptualize. Of course, whose ability to conceptualize, right?

Compassion is self-serving. It’s very clear. But it’s self-serving for the sake of others. It’s not the same as selfishness. When we say “self-serving,” that usually means egotism, selfishness, and so on. But there’s an element of compassion that’s a force. That’s not what it actually is, but it manifests as a force. That’s part of its manifestation. It’s a force that holds self together, actually. But it does so for the sake of others, and only for the sake of others.

But paradoxically, when it’s done for the sake of others, it — I almost want to say it makes self impenetrable — like it’s fortified with Wisdom, Truth. Because it’s completely and utterly not for itself. So if ego is an attachment to self, and that goes away, that disappears (in awakening), then what happens is Truth takes over.”

-James Wood, from the talk Importance of Body

 

“The best way to win an argument is

not to have one.”

– James Wood