| Untagged | 5 Jun 2008 |
| Withdrawing from the world by david | |
You sound like a very responsible person, socially involved and aware of the needs of others. But you speak a lot about meditation, and I used to think that meditation is a way to achieve personal peace by withdrawing from the world, from other people, by dodging our responsibility towards each other and the society. I’d like to hear your point of view on that.
Meditation is not a selfish thing. Even though you’re diving in and experiencing the Self, you’re not closing yourself off from the world. You’re strengthening yourself, so that you can be more effective when you go back out into the world.
It’s like they say on airplanes: “First put your mask on, and then help those next to you put theirs on.” My friend Charlie Lutes used to say, “There’s a guy crying on the curb, and you sit down to comfort him, and pretty soon there’s two guys crying on the curb.”
So compassion, appreciation for others, and the capacity to help others are enhanced when you meditate. You start diving down and experiencing this ocean of pure love, pure peace—you could say pure compassion. You experience that, and know it by being it. Then you go out into the world, and you can really do something for people.
