The Delicacy of Sharing Difficulties Publicly
La Delicadeza de Compartir las Dificultades Públicamente
A question about why some teachers' public accounts of awakening seem seamless and free of difficulty, and how much of the challenging side should be shared openly.
The Delicacy of Sharing Difficulties Publicly
A question about why some teachers' public accounts of awakening seem seamless and free of difficulty, and how much of the challenging side should be shared openly.
It seems so different from person to person. I was watching an interview where someone describes the process as almost seamless, with no mention of terror or difficulty. But then in a separate conversation, her partner talks about the terror she went through. It seems like for some people the process is presented as smooth, but that's not the whole picture.
I actually spoke with her about it. You just can't talk about everything in one interview.
The problem of incomplete accounts
There is a lack of information, and there is also a delicacy around speaking about this publicly. It is different for us sharing about it now, in this context, where we are being transparent about what happened. My read was that, without any doubt, this was a very profound part of the process. She then spoke to someone else who confirmed it; his sense was the same.
How much to reveal
I think it is important for us to share about this, and I bring it up from time to time. But it is different if you are going to put out a video publicly and highlight the difficulties prominently, because it could simply have the effect of scaring people for no reason. So there is a fine line: how much to highlight the challenges. And there is also a fine line around how much to highlight the fruits of the work, because if you say it is all peace and love and everything is going to go well, then there are other problems.