Bhante Buddharakkhita | Compassion and Forgiveness of Self | The Armadale Meditation Group

Bhante approached subjects that we westerners have trouble with, and he did so with humour, candour and wit. We all have an inner voice that most of us either try to ignore or take too seriously/literally. It can often lead to feelings of shame if we feel we have made a mistake in life. We need to have compassion for ourselves, to forgive ourselves and realise that the inner voice that may be telling us we are stupid or foolish is wrong. We also spend a great deal of time blaming our decisions, our actions and our situations on our parents. We are old enough, surely, to realise that we can decide to stop this cycle and change our own direction by listening to our hearts and not the voice of shame. We can change the direction of our lives by having compassion for, and forgiving, ourselves.

Tonight’s meditation went a little longer than the usual 30 minutes and is well suited to those of us who find our inner voice telling us that we are stupid or foolish, or to those of us who are blaming our parents.

After the meditation, Bhante continued his talk on compassion and forgiveness for ourselves by using his own life experiences as an example.

 

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