A Vicious Cycle
Hate vs. Hate

By Shane Collins

(Page 5 of 5)

As an example of the spread of the hatred mindset, Iraq’s Sunni and Shia Muslims, who had shared an enforced truce during the Hussein years, began attacking each other for post-war control of Iraq. Since then, amongst the Iraqi Kurds, bordering Turkey, separatist groups have begun warring to gain independence from Iraq. In response to that, Turkey began preparing for armed conflict on its border.  All of this has resulted from waging war for the sake of stamping out terror.

It’s important to remember that all of these examples given are not intended to polarize opinion and encourage angry focus on what certain countries and individuals have done but rather, to demonstrate, through generally available information, how focusing on, and getting hooked into, hatred and acting from that only leads to more of the same. There is no logic in that. It’s a vicious cycle that bears the same results no matter who is acting from hatred, or for what reasons.

Besides the current conflict in the middle east, the history of Northern Ireland, Russia/Chechnya, Israel/ Palestine, India/Pakistan, to name a few, show more of the same results of fighting hate with hate over time. In reality, it perpetuates because people won’t forgive each other, or themselves, for their hate-filled actions, and it is then impossible to let go of suffering and live a happy life. The anger keeps the situations in place. To cease suffering, we must become tired of suffering so we can let it go; then we can put our attention on what uplifts.

We are all responsible for our own actions, including where we put our attention, how we feel about what we see, and what we do with those feelings. If we seek change for the uplifting of the whole, we must be the change we seek in our own lives. While it may not always seem easy to forgive others or ourselves for lashing out in hatred, it is the only logical course of action. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take evasive action to stay out of harm’s way as much as possible, but to resist hate with hate, only amplifies and solidifies what is not wanted in the first place. If we want real peace, we must walk our talk.

*The views expressed in this article come from the Teachings expounded by Wisdom Master Maticintin, the founder and spiritual leader of HÜMÜH Transcendental Buddhism.

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