The Dalai Lama on Responsibility, Peace, and Joy
Practitioners of Ho'oponopono also speak of taking "100% responsibility" for everything showing up in our lives. Next to understanding about one's personal identity and connection with Divinity, this may be the most important concept in Ho'oponopono.
Yet for many it can be confusing. It seems to ask us to take on much more than we feel is ours. What about personal boundaries, after all? What do WE have to do with riots in the Middle East, or genocide in African nations?
And what about codependency -- a state of blurring between what's ours to do, and what belongs to others? In codependency, we try to control the alcoholics or addicts in our lives rather than deal with our own issues. 12-step programs warn against taking other people's inventories, and rightly so.
So how do we understand this idea from the Dalai Lama [and his seeming brother in heart, Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len] that "everything springs only from yourself"? How do we work with this in our own lives, without becoming overwhelmed with the magnitude of suffering in the world?
I believe that when we're at peace, we can sense our interconnectedness with all of life. We are all made of the same stuff. We share molecules in continuous dynamic exchange. Dr. Hew Len often tells us that we share eons of memories (or data) too. A more folksy way of saying it might be: "If you spot it, you've got it!"
And the world can change, the instant our own perceptions of anything within it change. According to Ho'oponopono, we are perfect beings -- but the data that runs us (and through which we experience life) can be pretty scary.
The process of "cleaning" in Ho'oponopono means owning the fact that our experiences may be skewed, and that only Divinity sees things as they truly are. In cleaning, we're taking care of our own experiences -- no one else's. We can accept all opportunities to let painful data (skewed experiences) go -- with the help of Divinity.
Ho'oponopono holds that if we don't do this, ALL our suffering will only increase. The Dalai Lama states this very succinctly also.
Additionally, taking 100% responsibility allows us to be our truest, most powerful selves rather than victims. But if all that happens to us is everyone else's "fault," we can never be anything but victims. In this sense, taking responsibility brings great freedom. We can clean, and receive divine inspiration that moves us into perfect action, joy, and peace.
I don't know whether the Dalai Lama and Dr. Hew Len have ever met in this lifetime. But I'm sure we're all sharing the same molecules, memories, and opportunities. And it warms my heart that their messages are so very similar.
Peace begins with me,
Pam
Comments