Tell us of Pain - Khalil Gibran & Nisargadatta

And a woman spoke saying:

"Tell us of Pain"

And he said:

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your
understanding.  Even as the stone of the fruit must break,
that its heart may stand in the sun,
so must you know pain.

And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily
miracles of life, your pain would not seem less wondrous
than your joy.  And you would accept the seasons of
your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons
that pass over the fields.

And you would watch with serenity through the winters of
your grief.

It is the bitter potion by which the physician within heals
your sick self.

Therefore, trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence
and tranquility.  For his hand, though heavy and hard, is
guided by the tender hand of the Unseen.

And the cup he brings,
though it burn your lips,
has been fashioned of the clay
which the Potter has moistsened
with His own sacred Tears.

Khalil Gibran

The Prophet


~

The real world is beyond the mind's ken;
we see it through the net of our desires,
divided into pleasure and pain,
right and wrong, inner and outer.
To see the universe as it is,
you must step beyond the net.

Look at the net and its many contradictions.
You do and undo at every step.
You want peace, love, happiness
and work hard to create pain, hatred and war.
You want longevity and overeat,
you want friendship and exploit.
See your net as made of such contradictions
and remove them...
Your very seeing them will make them go.

Nisargadatta