The Dharma, sutras, and commentarial interpretations of interest to American Buddhists of all traditions with news that not only informs but transforms. Emphasis on meditation, enlightenment, karma, social evolution, and nonharming.
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(Wisdom 2.0, April 16, 2018) Byron Katie may or may not be a Buddhist. Her husband of many years practices Zen Buddhism, and her The Work is a contemplate tradition of self-inquiry, but it is not an end-all be-all. Like a Buddhist seeker she is striving for wisdom (prajna) at The Wisdom 2.0 Conference (wisdom2conference.com). Let's question reality, at least our version of it; it's full of assumptions that do not serve us. What is the way out to freedom and happiness?
No one can wrong me: The Work of Byron Katie®
(Byron Katie, Feb. 6, 2018)
At the Wisdom 2.0 Conference in San Francisco, California, a woman from the audience says she was verbally attacked and blamed by her classroom teacher.
Byron Katie guides her through The Work, beginning with questioning the thought, “My teacher is blaming me.”
“When emotions arise and you experience anxiety, depression, or sadness,” Katie says, “identify what you are thinking and believing, capture it on paper, and then meditate on the four questions and turnarounds.
“These feelings of blame are far off from our true nature. Until mind matches true nature, our Work isn't done. When they match, it’s the end of separation and the beginning of intimacy. It’s a whole new way of being. It’s a life without problems.”
As she finds her answers to the four questions, the woman realizes that her teacher didn’t actually say what she believed she said. And through the turnarounds, she discovers the ways she actually blames herself.
She's a quote machine: Be right or be free?
Then she questions the many other thoughts she has identified from the situation. Ultimately, she can clearly say, “I look forward to feeling blamed, because it shows me where I still have Work to do, where my beliefs are still hurting me.”
The only way I know to break the spell of belief is to meditate on “Is it true?” — Byron Katie
The Work is simply four questions that, when applied to a specific problem, enable us to see what is troubling us in an entirely different light. As Byron Katie says, “It’s not the problem that causes our suffering; it’s our thinking about the problem.” Contrary to popular belief, trying to let go of a painful thought never works; instead, once we have done The Work, the thought lets go of us. At that point, we can truly love what is, just as it is. Impossible? More
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