A common experience that students ask me about is the experience of dealing with people who only have negative things to say. Whether it be words said in anger, direct insults or just people who are impolite, we have to deal with these types of experiences on a daily basis. If we take each hurtful word to heart whether accurate or not, it will surely get us down. A common reaction is to blame others for how we are feeling but even though it may be true that, without those words we wouldn’t feel bad, the actual cause of feeling bad is taking things to heart and internalizing them.
If we could somehow find a way to let go of the things that don’t matter more easily then we wouldn’t suffer so much. How can we be more like a duck and let thinks roll of our back?
The answer lies within our own heart and mind. We simply have to find a way to access it. If we can be in the present moment when we hear the hurtful words and train ourselves to also let go of them in the moment they are happening we can learn to overcome this difficulty.
This is how Vipassana can help. By training in present moment awareness, suddenly the words and opinions of others can be observed objectively and taken at face value, and opinions that don’t matter can be let go of easily and naturally. This training through practice at a meditation retreat is a skill that can be developed and then brought back into our daily lives which in turn can improve the quality of our daily interactions. Generally students feel an increased sense of harmony and contentment in their daily lives as a result.