Tips for dealing with my condition responses.

Micsunderland3

Hello, everyone. This is my first post at this forum.

Ive been Buddhism for a few months now and love it, but now that i am being more aware, i am having trouble conditioning myself to have absolute compassion for everyone.

Example, I saw someone with their neck pierced the other day, and i thought to myself "That's trashy".

Its not normally until AFTER i make a bad thought about someone, that i catch myself and change my perspective.

Im really trying to condition myself so that i am natural loving for EVERYONE.

Does anyone else have similiar problem? or tips to help condition myself to love everyone?

Sorry if i haven't been descriptive enough!

Thanks!

Valtiel

Karuna is the word translated as "compassion." karuna is recognizing dukkha in others and their own desire to be free of it. please also look up prajna and metta. These all go hand-in-hand.

This is just personal perception. There are people who find those things beautiful. Is that person's piercing causing them dukkha? No, in fact, it's only causing you dukkha. The thought you had has nothing to do with being compassionate or not. It's just a simple opinion and your clinging to it is causing you dukkha. If I were you, I would start by exploring that, the nature of dukkha... How it arises and what the true issue really is.

Micsunderland3

So, is there nothing wrong with having that initial opinion?

It is pointless to try and not have negitive initial opinions?

Jeffrey

Its enough just to notice that it is a conditioned response. If you react too strongly against that conditioned response you might strengthen it (make it more likely to come up again). Just be at ease and notice it.

Regarding compassion. If you can have compassion on yourself for having crappy judgements on others. Well you may be able to have compassion on others for having crappy judgements on yourself. Think about it.