You use several images for experiencing pain rather than running from it: stretching out on an “icy couch,” moving onto the “razor’s edge” - excruciating images.
But they’re not excruciating - the minute you experience what you’ve been running from. For instance, suppose you’ve been humiliated. Well, nobody likes to be humiliated; it’s one of the yuckiest feelings in the world. We want to pretend it didn’t happen; we want to blame someone. To turn around and just to feel that - eech. But part of what sitting does, in time, is give you the strength to stay with it. And after a while - surprise! - it’s okay. And then it’s not only okay, but it begins to change things. It’s as if the sun comes up.
See, that is the gate to enlightenment. When you practice like that thousands of times, you’re a different person. There’s a true transformation, and that’s what practice is about."
See, that is the gate to enlightenment. When you practice like that thousands of times, you’re a different person. There’s a true transformation, and that’s what practice is about."
