True empathy is for everyone,
including ‘demons’ who are suffering,
and ‘demons’ who will be suffering.
Shilashanti
Hearing that Fay was bullied,
Kay commented indifferently to May that,
‘Fay must have just been paying back
for her negative karma.’
Uneasy with Kay’s response,
and uncertain about what to think,
May asked Ray about this,
to which he commented,
‘All suffering is indeed karmic in nature.
But this does not mean we should suffer blindly
when we can walk away or defend ourselves,
to possibly change our karma.
Likewise, just because others’ suffering is karmic,
this does not mean we should let others
inflict suffering on anyone,
or let it go unchecked.
Allowing others to do so
is to kind of ‘endorse’ suffering on our part,
also kind of ‘creating’ negative karma,
by letting it possibly proliferate.
Speaking up and acting
against others causing suffering
to prevent them from creating negative karma
creates positive karma on our part instead.
If we hope others will have empathy for us,
we should have empathy for others too.
If we do not have empathy for others,
why should others have empathy for us?
There should be proper addressing of the situation,
to not let the bully possibly bully more.
Who knows? Even Kay might be bullied in time,
if everyone becomes indifferent like her.’
Indifference to others only seems ‘cool’
when not suffering much from others;
when not needing help from others.
Shilashanti
