My Buddhist teacher talked today about thorns in the heart and how they keep us from being the person we wish to be. He said no one is evil: if you look deeply enough, you see the thorns in the person's heart that have hindered him/her from kindness and compassion. They are in a cloud of confusion, striking out or mimicing something done to them. The more you understand the easier it is to forgive. This includes ourselves. Those sharp hurts in our hearts are keeping our heart from expanding and embracing others. If we ease these thorns out by examining them and speaking of them to a witness, then our heart no longer hurts.
Speaking of and acknowledging these thorns is difficult. And we are often unaware of them, unaware that are actions are resulting from a long ago hurt, a grudge, a wound. An invisible wound cannot heal, but we can take action to heal ourselves and turn to others to heal us if we make it visible. And after we've undergone this process, our compassion and ability to see thorns impeding others is enlarged. But the speaking must happen. Teachers say a Buddhist practice needs one witness, at least. Usually, the teacher is that witness. I also have several friends who are my witnesses. I'm blessed. It takes my admission of the thorn to pluck it out. I must speak of the unspeakable. And I must have a listener. I am engaged with others to be able to practice. We are interdependent. And we have the opportunity to heal each other by our speech.
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