Recognizing the power of our minds means that even as unfortunate or
terrible things happen to us, we can receive them in a more spacious and
ultimately more enlightened way. The Buddha taught his students to
develop a power of love so strong that the mind becomes like space that
cannot be tainted. If someone throws paint, it is not the air that will
change color. Space will not hold the paint; it will not grasp it in any
way. Only the walls, the barriers to space, can be affected by the
paint. The Buddha taught his students to develop a power of love so
strong that their minds become like a pure, flowing river that cannot be
burned. No matter what kind of material is thrown into it, it will not
burn. Many experiences--good, bad, and indifferent--are thrown into the
flowing river of our lives, but we are not burned, owing to the power of
the love in our hearts.
-- Sharon Salzberg, in /Lovingkindness/
from /Everyday Mind,/ edited by Jean Smith, a /Tricycle/ book
