Here’s an excerpt from my novel, Shrine, in which the character, Miss Kinsey, is overwhelmed by what she’s seeing, as she tries to consume a large and very dark collection of relics, owned by Mr. Hasdidge. Some were WW2 war trophies that were collected from Gestapo headquarters and concentration camps, and others medieval torture devices. She’s having a visceral experience that they are both trying to understand and process. Here is part of their conversation.
“Mr. Hasdidge, my heart aches when I witness these items which represent so much horror. The pain and suffering that was endured during the war is unimaginable and seeing the results, here with the skulls and shower heads, it’s just too much for me. I can feel it in my body,” Miss Kinsey cried. “The medieval torture devices really signal pain within me. I feel like I’ve lived through it, perhaps in a past life?” She clutched her dress over her heart.
“That is good, Miss Kinsey, it tells me you are deeply compassionate and loving. The Buddha speaks of Four Sublime Attitudes and Compassion is one of them, along with Empathy and Goodwill, or Metta. But the fourth is Equanimity which acts as an aid to check in on the other three. When you encounter suffering that seems as if will never end, no matter how hard you try, you need equanimity to avoid creating additional suffering and to channel your energies to areas where you can be of help. Witnessing these oppressive pieces can help you to train your equanimity or Upekkhā. It is for this reason I can even begin to have these within my possession or keep them on my property, for that matter. Stay with it, Miss Kinsey, feel the pain then alchemize, my dear. You will be a brilliant steward of your own collection, count my word.”
He goes on to talk about the effects of remembering one’s history in order to create a better future and encouraging victims to speak about their experiences in order to individually and collectively heal. I know enough about the human existence to understand that there’s something which regulates our souls to manage the really hard stuff. Otherwise, we’d all be puddles of sadness and despair, am I right? So, I looked into it. Researching has become one of my favorite parts of the process of writing and I quickly stumbled upon the Buddhist teachings of the Four Sublime Attitudes. So, having Mr. Hasdidge describe the Buddhist concept of Equanimity to Miss Kinsey, during this moment in which she’s suffering, is so beautiful. It put words to the formula I use to keep myself grounded in life and it will hopefully teach the reader a skill they can add to their tool bag, for when they may need it. I’ve made note of the online source, tattooedbuddha.com, and will include it in the footnotes of my novel.
Meanwhile, please use Equanimity plus the other Four Sublime Attitudes as you watch the news, dear ones.
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