The Search For Enlightenment

Going back over your mistakes, asking yourself painful questions and giving honest answers is a difficult, but enlightening experience.

We’ve all made mistakes in life, some more serious than others, but talking them through, trying to explain why you made this decision at that point in time, makes you re-examine your own values.

Our history is set in stone, we cannot go back and make those decisions anew. But we can try to make amends, apologise for any hurt we have caused, and, above all, be honest with ourselves and others.

The changes in myself, that I see and feel, the way I view life, and my responsibility for events affecting me and people around me, have come about through my Practice and my study of Nichiren Buddhism.

As I have said before, once you see things in a different light, you cannot undo that change. Nor would I want to, because even though I know I will make other mistakes in the future, I know that those mistakes will be made despite honourable intentions, and with a great deal more Wisdom, Courage and Compassion.

The one thing I really must try very hard to improve is how I hear the answers that others give to the questions I ask. I have been guilty of having selective hearing over the last few months and of trying to dissuade others from taking the path that is right for them.

That guilt has caused a great deal of pain to all parties concerned, and for that I am truly sorry. Sadly, I now realise that trying to impose my feelings upon situations beyond my control was never going to work. I hope that I can take the lessons learned into any similar future situations.