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Revenge with no dukkha?

buddhajunkiebuddhajunkie
edited October 2011 in Buddhism Today
I was in a conflict with someone and we both hurt each other. I felt emotionally terrible afterwards.

However, on further reflection I came to believe that I hurt the other person more than he hurt me. I realized I had a type of "revenge." Strangely, I felt a huge pressure taken off my chest and I immediately felt better. This uplifting feeling was perversely similar to what I often feel during both loving-kindness and mindfulness meditations.


So it seems that sometimes revenge is sweet with no (noticeable) bitter aftertaste.

Is the downside of revenge purely karmic, or is there some hidden dukkha?


related article:
http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/22/7901594-revenge-is-sweet-at-first-anyway


(Mods: Sorry, I accidentally posted this first under general banter.)

Comments

  • MindGateMindGate United States Veteran
    You feel no remorse at all for hurting that person?
  • BeachHouseGuyBeachHouseGuy
    Sometimes karma can balance out I hear, but it sounds like you were a bit too mean... uh, I guess you think it was justified I'm not sure myself.
  • GuyCGuyC Veteran
    edited October 2011
    Hi Buddhajunkie,
    Is the downside of revenge purely karmic, or is there some hidden dukkha?
    The desire for revenge comes from an agitated mind. Even though acting on that impulse for revenge might make you temporarily feel better, you have not addressed the underlying cause. Remove the cause of agitation from your mind and you will remove the desire for revenge.

    The person who you wish to take revenge on is just an external trigger for your agitation, they are not the cause. The cause of agitation is internal. Those external triggers are our teachers, showing us our own defilements.

    Of course, it is also perfectly reasonable to, if at all possible, remove yourself from those people and situations which you recognize as triggers.

    Meditation is where we chip away at those defilements and "daily life" (aka "off the cushion") is where we see how our meditation practice is going. Try to be mindful regardless of whether you are on the cushion or off the cushion.

    Metta,

    Guy
  • Ch-an_noobCh-an_noob
    Repent.

    Simply feeling better won't make the bad karma go away.

    The trouble is your already only thinking of removing your own mental suffering after hurting others.

  • wmw111wmw111
    Karma is just not the same karma coming back, but if we keep doing something for example every time there is a conflict we act out based on habituations, what happens is when the same pattern happens we react based on our habituation.

    So even at a later time when we may not want to react in the same way, but due to the force of our habituation we may still act it out the same way. hence letting out one's anger is not a good thing as we habituate ourselves further to be angersome.


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  • wonderingwondering Veteran
    There is a story that the Buddha had an enemy that tried to kill him several times. His name was Devadatta, the Buddha's brother-in-law.

    You can read the story at this web site.....

    http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/2_5lbud.htm
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