heartsteps

To be able to forgive your enemies can make a difference to one’s spiritual progress.

This is crucial. It is one of the most important things. It can change one’s life. To reduce hatred and other destructive emotions, you must develop their opposites – compassion and kindness. If you have strong compassion, strong respect for others, then forgiveness is much easier. Mainly for this reason: I do not want to harm another. Forgiveness allows you to be in touch with these positive emotions. This will help with spiritual development.

I use a meditation technique called giving and taking. I do a visualization; I send my positive emotions like happiness and affection to others. Then another visualization. Visualize receiving their sufferings, their negative emotions. I do this every day. I pay special attention to the Chinese – especially those doing terrible things to the Tibetans. So, as I meditate, I breathe in all their poisons – hatred, fear, cruelty. Then I breathe out. And I let all the good things come out, things like compassion, forgiveness. I take inside my body all these bad things. Then I replace poisons with fresh air. Giving and taking, I take care not to blame – I don’t blame the Chinese and I don’t blame myself. This meditation is very effective, useful to reduce hatred, useful to cultivate forgiveness.

Dalai Lama

Forgiveness is the answer to the child’s dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is again made clean.

Forgiveness breaks the chain of causality because he who forgives you – out of love – takes upon himself the consequences of what you have done. Forgiveness, therefore, always entails a sacrifice.

Dag Hammarskjold

Decide to forgive
for resentment is negative,
resentment is poisonous,
resentment diminishes
and devours the self.
Be the first to forgive,
to smile and to take the first step,
and you will see happiness bloom
on the face of your human brother or sister.
Be always the first.
Do not wait for others to forgive,
for by forgiving
you become master of the fate,
the fashioner of life,
the doer of miracles.
To forgive is the highest
most beautiful form of love.
In return you will receive
untold peace and happiness.

Robert Muller