MISERY – 7th Stage of Insights – Part 3 of THE DARK NIGHT

The stage of Misery is characterized by intense feelings of sadness, grief, and loss. Again,

for some who can appreciate what such emotions teach,

there is a redeeming quality to the heartfelt depth of grief and melancholy,

but this tends to be greatly overshadowed by their dark and engulfing aspects.

In Misery,

we are having our whole concept of self and the world as being

permanent, able to satisfy, and even being “me” or “mine”

torn up from the roots, and eroded by

the now undeniable truth of the three characteristics of

impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and no-self.

There can be enormous grieving in this process.

Those with a broader or more archetypal point of view may feel they have

tapped into the suffering of the world,

like having tapped into the vast universal ocean of sorrow.

We may feel like failures and frauds, as if we can’t do anything right.

We may relive memories of those actions and words we regret the most in life,

undergoing a tour of those times when we most disappointed ourselves

and others.

Be gentle, loving, and forgiving of yourself if this happens.

Wise remorse is key, and will help a lot more than self-pummeling guilt.

We may feel that our meditation and path is all just some sad and dead-end trip.

The hard, unfair, and cruel aspects of life may affect us more deeply in this stage.

~~~

Attention continues to broaden and the center to become more absent.

As things continue to fall apart, clearly demonstrating their

unsatisfactoriness, and their selflessness, this can cause…

DISGUST

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The Progress of Insight

Inspired by Daniel Ingram’s book Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha,

With this section “The progress of Insight”

Inspired by Mahasi Sayadaw