In the modern Western world, we seem to have developed to a very high level this ability to see what is wrong. And it’s turning against us. We are destroying ourselves. We are unable to enjoy our lives, or experience joy. From reading the newspapers, one gets the impression that it’s too late to do anything — we’ve gone too far! We hear the harsh, hissing sounds of despair, fear and anxiety. We may believe there’s something we should do — we should change something, we should get rid of something, we should create something new. Maybe we should have a revolution?

The spiritual path, on the other hand, is noticing and accepting the way it is, even if it isn’t very good. If one feels despair, one looks at this feeling. The feeling is seen as an object, as a mood of the mind, as something that arises in consciousness. And making a feeling into an object is the transcendence of it. There is no suppression or rejection of anything felt, there is no identifying, commenting, or making judgements on a personal level. One accepts — does not necessarily approve — but accepts the way one is feeling. And in that perspective, the spiritual path is developed.

Ajahn Sumedho

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