Think about how important it is when we look at any situation of violence to open our minds to see the circumstances of not only the victim but also the person we label the victimiser. Those are simply labels. If we look inside the hearts of both parties, there is a lot of misery and both of them are under the control of their mental afflictions and karma. Looking at our own experience, we can see how we are also controlled by our mental afflictions and karma, we just happen to have a little bit of clarity from time to time to be able to realise this. Therefore, there is no reason to judge, condemn or throw others out because we understand very deeply what their situation is.

It is not that anybody ever really wishes anyone harm. People’s minds may get overpowered by confusion, anger or hatred, but that is the disturbing attitude. These people basically want to be happy themselves but in their confusion, think that certain behaviours will bring them happiness. But it is not actually the person who wants to cause harm. They are afflicted by mental attitudes that are making them do things that afflict other people. It is the disturbing attitudes and the negative emotions that are the difficulty. We can point our finger at those and say get rid of them, but not the person. When we can really put that in our hearts, our minds are really free of a lot of anger and hatred, it prevents the judgmental mind, and it enables a lot of acts of forgivness. When there is forgiveness, there is a lot of healing.

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