  Spiritual
This week: Edited by: SophyBells  
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An Excerpt from The Wisdom of Forgiveness: Intimate Conversations and Journeys by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Victor Chan
Whenever the Dalai Lama talks about forgiveness, he likes to use as an example the story of Lopon-la, a Lhasa monk he knew before the Chinese occupation.
“After I escaped from Tibet, Lopon-la was put in prison by the Chinese. He stayed there eighteen years. When he finally was free, he came to India. For [all those] years, I did not see him. But he seemed the same. Of course, he looked older, but physically OK. His mind still sharp after so many years in prison. He was still the same gentle monk. He told me the Chinese forced him to denounce his religion. They tortured him many times in prison. I asked him whether he was ever afraid. Lopon-la then told me: 'Yes, there was one thing I was afraid of. I was afraid I may lose compassion for the Chinese.'
“I was very moved by this, and also very inspired. Forgiveness helped him in prison. Because of forgiveness, his bad experience with Chinese did not got worse. Mentally and emotionally, he didn't suffer too much. He knew he could not escape. So, better to accept reality than to be traumatized by it.” The Dalai Lama is convinced that Lopon-la's power of forgiveness helped him survive all those years in prison without irreparable damage to his psyche.
Hi, I'm SophyBells ~ your editor for this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter. This week we'll talk about forgiveness.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book "Finding Your Religion," compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred.  |
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The Miracle of Forgiveness
On the morning of February 15, I picked up a copy of USA Today and came across an article which immediately inspired me as a great jumping off point for a Spiritual Newsletter. The article is by Amy Sullivan, a Time magazine writer, and is entitled: “Rwanda’s “Miracle” of Forgiveness," which you can find below:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2010/02/column-rwandas-miracle-of-forgiveness-.ht...
I am astounded, when I originally read it and again now, by the relationship Rosaria and Sevari. If someone murdered even just one of my loved ones in such a vicious act as those that took place in Rwanda in 1994, I doubt very much I’d be able to forgive them, let alone talk and laugh with them one day. I am equally amazed by Sevari having the courage and humility to ask for forgiveness, and then build Rosaria the very house in which they were meeting. The whole scene was inconceivable to me and I kept asking myself, over and over, “How does something like this happen?” Do we, as some evolutionary biologists suggest, have a natural inclination to forgive? And if so, does it have anything to do with our spiritual proclivities, or is it all biology? Does it matter?
I agree with scientists who claim that our human search for vengeance is a natural instinct when we or someone we love is harmed. It’s obviously our natural response, both as individuals and as a society. You hurt me, I hurt you back. You kill someone; the state puts you to death. You smash planes into the World Trade Center, we go bomb the heck out of a country even though it may or may not have had anything to do with it. We have an innate need to retaliate. It’s not about rehabilitation or reconciliation – it’s about revenge, pure and simple. So how are some able to go against human nature and work toward forgiveness rather than payback?
In his book Beyond Revenge: The Evolution of the Forgiveness Instinct, Michael McCullough suggests that while the desire for revenge is a built-in feature of human nature, he believes that the capacity for forgiveness is also a built-in feature of human nature. So, if we have the instinct to desire and seek out revenge but also have the capacity to forgive, what motivates us to choose one over the other? McCullough asserts that it has to do with the right social conditions, which include how crime is dealt with (in a corrupt or weak manner versus an efficient or fair manner). Thus we learn when revenge and forgiveness is appropriate from our culture, because both are adaptive solutions to problems that arise within society that have evolved over time. And it’s up to us to choose which type of solution we want to employ, based on what we’ve learned from our culture as well as our own personal choices.
But is there something more than evolutionary biology going on when we talk about our built-in human capacity to forgive? Is it merely a way to advance our kin, our species, by adapting a more forgiving response to wrongdoing? Or is there something spiritual going on as well? The article states that many spiritual traditions have something to say about the value of forgiveness – and in this case Christianity is specifically mentioned. But we all know that whether or not we follow a particular spiritual path, whether it’s Christianity or Buddhism, while forgiveness may be at the heart of all of them, it can be one of the hardest practices for us to achieve as many of us carry grudges around for years, lifetimes even, unable to forgive the wrong done to us.
I am inspired by the story of Rosaria and Sevari – and of the countless other people of Rwanda who, in the face of such evil and violence on a scale that no one in this room has ever had to experience – and am moved to reconsider my own actions regarding forgiveness. Does Rosaria forget what Sevari did, the lives he took? No more than Sevari can forget what he did, I’m quite certain. We all know that forgiveness doesn’t mean one forgets what was done – but in this case, in the act of forgiving him, she essentially gave them both their lives back, and in terms of the evolution or biology of the matter, they, like the Tibetan monk I mentioned at the very start of the newsletter – ultimately were able to survive devastation they experienced and move on.
So why am I telling you about this in a Spiritual Newsletter on a writing web site? Well for one, it's a deeply spiritual subject -- but in addition forgiveness is a common theme in writing. Some of my favorite novels have forgiveness at their core: The Poisonwood Bible, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and I Know This Much is True to name a few. So if you are looking for something to light your creative writing fire in the spiritual arena, what could be a richer to mine than something to do with forgiveness?
Until next time, SophyBells |
Below you'll find some offerings from other WDC members about forgiveness. Please let the folks know if you read their piece by leaving a thoughtful comment or review.
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Now for a few comments about my last newsletter about "going deep:"
From From Angelica Weatherby-Star on top 
*dives into the water* I love deep waters!
Have a great swim! 
   
From Katya the Poet 
By the way, I rented The Legend of Bagger Vance to see a bit of that authentic swing!!
Did you like it?
From embe 
Hello Sophy,
No need to fear the deep water
our Savior there to hold you
on the mountain top.
All I want is you
The ark to launch
The sails set high
Above the horizon,
Your hands to hold
Fastened the wheel
Waves rustling bye
The blue liquid sky,
A cloud down below
The lightning strike
Bursting the rain
A drowning sound -
"Noah where are you?
The doors may open
Save our souls today
Earth has disappeared."
Too late a dove to rest
His weary wings to fly
Returning bye and bye
Noah waiting for a sign,
God’s gift a green leaf
Peeping into the sky
The sun shining down
Brown a mountain side.
Where to now and bow
Low on his holy ground
The new earth to rise
Chipped deep in stone,
Believing this is seeing
The cross upon the hill
Christ the Savior dying
Saving the world in time,
His stars to shine down
A light so bright to see
Eden the garden green,
Life to live forever.
embe, in appreciation
your news letter.
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful poem.
From Incurable Romantic
Sophy, the part of your question about living in the shallow or deep end that fits my situation was, "Or what depths were you afraid to plunge into but did anyway, and what was your reward?" I fell in love with a girl in high school that was an epileptic. In 1966, epilepsy made a person a social outcast more often than not. It wasn't understood yet, and people always fear the unknown. Linda was one such outcast. Till I fell in love with her and defended her "to all comers", ultimately asking her, during my senior year to marry me. The fear? I knew nothing about epilepsy but was determined not to let even that keep me from loving her. I'll send you an email with some of the things I've written about us, and let you find out the reward.
This newsletter article is definitely one of your best. Keep up the great work.
Thanks so much for your kind comment, and for sharing a bit of your own deep waters with us.
From Being Diane
Sophy, This is one of the best newsletters I have read on writing.com. It touched my heart in so many ways. I do believe as Rev. McLennan believes their are many faces of Christ. If I can find the essay I wrote about a poor man we saw around Xmas you'll see.
My friend lives in San Jose and I visted her not too long ago. They went to Hawaian and she is scared of water her hubby ask her to snorkel. She did and like you went further out and said the colors can't be described!
You even touched on my favorite movie, "A River Runs Through it!" I think we forget the Lord tells us in Psalms 23-to lie down in green pastures to sit beside the still waters. Be still and know I am God. We are too fast too everything.
Diane
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Thank you for your thoughtful comment, and for sharing your item with us.
From Steve adding writing to ntbk.
Thank you for hosting this Newsletter. Your choice of writes to share are all high caliber writes and I enjoyed reviewing and rating them.
I am a believer in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord, I have dedicated the gift of writing to His glory, and I am bold in my witness here and elsewhere for Jesus as Savior.
I fished when I was younger with my step-dad and little brother on a barge in Texas. Some of these stories brought back some good memories and thank you for selecting some of the best I've read.
The highlighted item I've submitted deals with a journey I'm on in dealing with pain caused by a robbery and my response to a writing prompt here in the WDC.
Copenator out!
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Thanks for writing in, and for sharing your item. I hope your pain heals as you continue your journey.
From Shannon 
What a beautiful newsletter, Sophy. Thank you for sharing a little bit of your honeymoon story. My husband's been trying to convince me to take scuba lessons. I've been resistant so far (I don't know how to swim and am afraid of the water), but this makes me want to try. Thank you.
You can wear a life-vest when you snorkel so it's pretty safe, especially in calm waters!
From Leo 
magnificent, I mean, that was beautiful.
Aww, thanks!
Please keep your comments and suggestions coming, they are greatly appreciated!
Until next time! SophyBells |
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Spiritual: March 10, 2010 Issue [#3600]
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