Respond Equally to Everybody—Notice the Categories that I Made Up
1. Visualize a friend, a person you have difficulty with, and a stranger. Ask yourself, “Why do I feel attachment for my friend?” Listen to the reasons your mind gives. Then ask, “Why do I have aversion toward the difficult person?” and do the same. Finally, explore, “Why am I apathetic toward the stranger?”
2. What word do you keep hearing in all these reasons? On what basis does your mind consider someone good, bad, or neutral; friend, disagreeable person, or stranger? Is it realistic to judge others based on how they relate to “ME”? Are others really good, bad, or neutral from their own side, or is it your mind that is categorizing them as such? How would others appear to you if you stopped discriminating them based on your own selfish opinions, needs, and wants?
3. The relationships of friend, difficult person, and stranger change constantly. One person can be all three within a short period of time. If someone hit you yesterday and praises you today and another person praised you yesterday and hits you today, which is your friend? Which is the difficult person?
Conclusion: Acknowledging that your attitudes create the seemingly solid relationships of friend, difficult person, and stranger, let go of the attachment, anger, and apathy towards them. Let yourself feel an openhearted concern for all people.