In Yoke

He insulted me, he cheated me, he beat me, he robbed me - those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace. -The Buddha Resentment is nothing more than compulsive attachment to a set of memories. If you could peek through the window of the mind when you feel resentful, you would see a production line turning out the same emotion-charged memory over and over: "He did that to me in 1993, he did that to me in 1993 . . ." You are dwelling on something that took place in the past - or, more likely, on how you misunderstood that event and reacted to your misunderstanding. When you keep pumping attention into an event in this way, a limp little memory gets blown up into a big balloon of hostility. When you withdraw your attention by repeating the mantram , the balloon is deflated. It's as simple as that. ~ Sri Easwaran I am definitely synchronous with Sri Easwaran's position, in that my own personal mantra is the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy...

From Eswaran: "If we could interview a negative tendency, say, Resentment , it might say, "I don't worry! I've been living safely in this fellow's mind for years. He takes good care of me - feeds me, dwells on me, brings me out and parades me around! All I have to do is roar and stir things up from time to time. Yes, I'm getting fat and feeling grand. And I'm proud to tell you there are even a few little rancors and vituperations running around now, spawned by yours truly!" So he may think. But when you repeat the mantram, (and practice presence and detachment with self remembering and mindfulness) you are prying him loose. You are saying, in a way that goes beyond vows and good intentions, that resentment is not part of the real you. You no longer acknowledge its right to exist. We use something genuine to drive out impostors that have roamed about largely through our neglect and helplessness.We move closer and closer to our divine Self, because thes...