__________________ ^ ____________________
q(~?~)p
THE LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA
q(~?~)p
THE LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA
nourishing an iconoclast
intelligence
______________________________________________
Zoom your screen for best view ♦ Maybe re-set at 100%
" The Doors of Perception will
open wide for you ! "
~ Aldous Huxley
~ Aldous Huxley
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Among ALL
the heart-themed compassion-practices of 'spirituality' --,FORGIVENESS comes
FIRST ! It’s The Really Big Emotional Issue ! A
cultivatable ‘capacity’ for Forgiveness needs to be available in order to Love
--There's an endless Abundance
of ‘Practice Opportunities’ when ‘working’ with Forgiveness.
Here’s Numerous
Quotes: Quiet Contemplative / Ponderable Into Forgiveness - Recitation Learning
Practice -- Take On A Few Read Em; Outloud -- one major ‘Forgiveness
Practice-Mantra' at The Laughing Buddha Sangha ~ is "Forgiveness is giving up all
hope for a better past." ~ Aba Gayle
Spiritual FORGIVENESS:
It’s The Really Big One !
• ARCHIVE:
Many Forgiveness-Learning Quotes
Western and Asian pieces on Deep Forgiveness
• How Do
You Do Forgiveness Of Oneself and Others?
• The
Buddha's Teachings on 'Loving-Kindness'
• The
Basic Practice: Three Kinds of Forgiveness
'Self First ! 'Self First ! 'Self First ! 'Self
First !
Forgiveness Offers Freedom to Forgive
• The
Beginner’s Guide to Forgiveness
• Embracing
Our Own ‘Attachments’
• Forgiveness
is possible – Forgiving the Unpardonable
Mindful PRACTICE ENHANCES BALANCE
Mindful PRACTICE COUNTERS VENGEFULNESS
• It's
simple: Attachment ::v:: Letting Go
__________________________________________
“Out beyond
'ideas' of wrong-doing and right-doing –
there is a
field. I'll meet you there.” ~ Rumi
______________________________________
WIGGLING -- THE STRUGGLE
OF LIVING THROUGH THINGS
When wiggling through a hole
-
the 'difficult' world looks
different
than when scrubbed clean by
the wiggle
and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
__________________________
Anger as soon as fed is
dead -
It’s
starving makes it fat.
Of the Seven Deadly Sins,
Anger is
possibly the most fun.
To lick your wounds, to
smack
your lips over grievances
long past, to roll over
your tongue the prospect
of bitter confrontations
still to come, to savor
to the last toothsome
morsel both the pain
you are given and
the pain you are giving
back
–in many ways it is
a feast fit for a king.
The chief drawback is
that what you are
wolfing down is yourself.
The skeleton at the feast
is you.
~Emily Dickinson
---------------------------------------
HOW to DO THEM ~
Using FORGIVENESS-LEARNING
QUOTES ~
Find a
quote that speaks to you or challenges you and learn it.
Or at
least, semi-learn it, get intimate with the quote. Let it in.
Way in.
Then walk
around all day mumbling it softly to yourself as it increases
its depth
within you. ‘Pondering’ quotes a lot leads to ‘contemplation’
that leads
to ‘realization’. This is a form of affirmation-work. Build-it-in.
Keep
coming back here to this site’s Forgiveness section – and Forgive.
WHAT’S
Below is only a semi-organized, yet huge compilation of Western and
Asian
pieces on Forgiveness - so you'll want to patiently & lovingly scroll down
...
and make
best s l o w use of it.
Forgiveness: Don't strive, stalk, search or seek
for
'answers' or resolves ... or worse, ‘demand’ answers – simply come back to
these
special ‘words’ from time to time... recall & ponder a lot . . . it'll
loosen...
Hard
to Say Sorry,
Hard
to Say Thanks
How do you do Forgiveness ?
You just do it.
You really ‘work’ it. And yes, you ‘suffer’ it. Feel it.
You sincerely, deeply ‘process’ it way down within.
You feel it. You ‘live’ it –
IF You forgive 100% - You’re free !
Reason’s don’t count. Then you drop it.
Let it go more each time. You’re free !
Then you truly can Forget about it.
Forgive and be free.
Forget that you have forgiven -
and be even freer. ~ The Buddha
"You
can no more win a war
than you
can win an earthquake."
~ Jeanette Rankin
"If
we practice and eye for an eye
and a
tooth for a tooth,
soon the whole world
soon the whole world
will be
blind and toothless."
~ Mahatma Gandhi / Martin Luther King
"Violence
is the language of the inarticulate."
~ Michael Beckwith at Agape
______________________________________
remember . . .
self
first
Forgiveness for Myself ~
and Then Others
------------------------------------------
There is No 'Failure' in forgiving -
we are all still learning.
The real failure is giving up learning...
![]()
the
arrows of unforgiven resentment and revenge hurts oneself
|
Holding
resentment
is letting
someone else
punish us.
|
The weak can never forgive.
Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
~ Gandhi
We harm
Ourselves ~
not
because we remember the harm we experienced,
but
because we forgot to Forgive the harm done.
Being
upset with myself for being upset,
I had to
forgive myself for being unforgiving.
It is more
painful to not forgive yourself.
Perhaps
the primary "unforgivable" thing
is to not
forgive yourself – when ones self
is the only
person that can forgive oneself.
Not taking
anything 'personally' –
was
something personally very liberating.
~ all
above quotes – Shi'an ( Chine Sensei )
"Man
is the measure of all things." ~ Protagoras
Is the
Hu’man the measure of all things ?
The
deluded hu’man
is the
'false measurer'
of all
"Their Own-things".
The
enlightened hu’man
is the
'true measurer'
of "All
Things".
They alone
see Reality.
____________________
Revealing
how
the intention
to Forgive
and the intention
to Be Forgiven
acts as a
source of ‘alternative’ energy ~
The Basic
Buddhist Practice of Forgiveness
There are
three kinds of forgiveness, all interrelated. There is self-forgiveness,
which
enables us to release our guilt and perfectionism. There is the forgiveness
we extend
to others and receive from them, intimates and enemies alike.
And there
is the forgiveness of Spirit that assures us of our worth
and
strengthens us for this practice.
All the
spiritual traditions raise up the value of forgiveness, but many people
still find
it to be a nearly impossible ideal. Just start somewhere. Look truthfully
at one
hurt you have not been able to forgive. Identify any associated feelings
you might
have, such as anger, denial, guilt, shame, or embarrassment. Imagine
what it
would be like to live without feeling this offense. Then let it go.
Other
steps may be necessary for healing — a confession of your contribution
to the
conflict, making amends, changing behavior, a commitment to the community –
but giving
up your claims for, and sometimes against, yourself is where you have to begin.
PRACTICE
ENHANCES BALANCE
PRACTICE
COUNTERS VENGEFULNESS
Forgiveness
Offers Freedom
"If I
have hurt or harmed you in any way,
either
intentionally or unintentionally,
I ask your
forgiveness.
And if you
have hurt me in any way,
intentionally
or unintentionally,
I forgive
you."

The
Beginner’s Guide to Forgiveness by Jack Kornfield
Forgiveness
is possible – but first exploring why forgiveness personally and globally
is
essential to our health and happiness, and how you can start using this
timeless
practice
to transform emotional wounds into healing and understanding – revealing
the Path
to Forgiveness and the way out of our pain.
Once you understand
your own suffering, compassion arises naturally, so you can
extend it
to others as well as yourself. How forgiveness can be practiced as a Gift
we give not
only to others – but ultimately to ourselves.
In order
to be released from deeply held aversion for ourselves and for others,
we must be
able to practice forgiveness. It’s all in the Practice! Forgiveness
has the
awesome power to ripen forces of purity such as love, and affirms the
qualitites
of patience and compassion. It creates the space for renewal, and
a life
free from bondage to the past.
When we
are held prisoner by our own past actions, or the actions of others,
our
present life cannot be fully lived. The 'resentment', the partially experienced
pain, the
unwelcome inheritance we carry from the past, all function to close our
hearts and
thereby narrow our worlds.
The intention
of ‘forgiveness’ is not to force anything, or to forget about ourselves
in utter
deference to the needs of others. In fact, it is out of the greatest compassion
for
ourselves that we can create the conditions for an unobstructed love, which can
dissolve
separation and relieve us of the twin burdens of lacerating guilt and
perpetually
'unresolved outrage'.
It is much
more difficult to forgive than not to forgive. Political leaders seem
to rely on
this fact: It may be much easier to unite people with a bond of common
hatred
than with shared love. It is not so easy to access that place inside of us
which can
forgive, which can love. Remember, to be able to forgive is so deep
a
letting-go that it is a type of dying.
We must be able to say, "I am not that
person
anymore, and you are not that person anymore."
Forgiveness
does not mean condoning a harmful action, or denying injustice
or
suffering. It should never be confused with being passive toward violation
or abuse.
Forgiveness is an inner-relinquishment of guilt or resentment,
both of
which are devastating to us in the end. As forgiveness grows within us,
it may
take any outward form: We may seek to make amends, demand justice,
resolve to
be treated better, or simply leave a situation behind us.
The sense
of psychological and spiritual well-being that comes from practicing
forgiveness
comes directly because this practice takes us to ‘the edge’ of
what we
can accept. Being on the edge is challenging, wrenching & transforming.
The
‘process of forgiveness’ demands courage and a continual remembering
of where
our deepest happiness lies. As Goethe
said – "Our friends show us
what we
can do; our enemies show us what we must do."
It is
indeed a 'process', which means that as you do these forgiveness reflections,
many conflicted
emotions may arise: shame, anger, a sense of betrayal, confusion,
or doubt.
Try to allow such states to arise without judging them. Recognize them as
natural
occurrences, and then gently return your attention to the forgiveness
reflection.
The
reflection is done in three parts:
asking
forgiveness from those you have harmed;
offering
forgiveness to those who have harmed you;
and
offering forgiveness to yourself.
Sit
comfortably, close your eyes, and let your breath be natural and uncontrolled.
Begin with
the recitation ( silent or not, as you prefer ): "If I have hurt or harmed
anyone –
knowingly
or unknowingly - I ask their forgiveness."
If different people, scenarios or
images
come up, release the burden of guilt and ask for forgiveness: "I ask your
forgiveness."
After some
time, you can offer forgiveness to those who have harmed you. Don't worry
if there
is not a great rush of loving feeling; this is not meant to be an artificial
exercise, but
rather a
way of honoring the powerful force of intention in our minds. We are paying
respects
to our
ultimate ability to let go and begin again.
We are asserting the human heart's capacity
to change
and grow and love.
"If
anyone has hurt or harmed me - knowingly or unknowingly - I forgive them."
And, as
different thoughts or images come to mind, continue the forgiveness recitation,
"I
forgive you. . . . "
In the
end, we turn our attention to forgiveness of ourselves. If there are ways you
have
harmed
yourself, or not loved yourself, or not lived up to your own expectations, this
is the
time to let
go of unkindness toward yourself because of what you have done. You can
include
any inability to forgive others that you may have discovered on your part in
the
reflection
that just immediately preceded - that is not a reason to be unkind to yourself.
"For
all of the ways I have hurt or harmed myself –
knowingly or unknowingly - I offer myself
forgiveness."
Continue
this practice as a part of your daily meditation, and allow the force of
intention
to work in
its own way, in its own time.
~Jack
Kornfield
_______________________________________________
______________________________________________
The “Act
of Forgiveness”
is an act
of mercy to yourself
Embracing
our own ‘attachments’
with an
open-hearted forgiveness
Breathing
into our hearts with patience and friendliness
The “Act
of Forgiveness” is an act of mercy to yourself.
That very
special feeling of Metta —
That
purity of universal & unconditional love.
That
touching an infinite compassion through the
transformations
& blessing of loving-kindness
FORGIVENESS
How faith
resides not in adherence to a belief system
but flows
from an inner-grounding in reality —
and a cooperative-surrender
to Change.
The first
step on the journey of faith and forgiveness,
is to
recognize that everything is moving onward
to
something else, inside us and outside…
a
self-image we’ve been holding
doesn’t
need to define us forever.
Faith
means always seeing our own ‘potential’
for
happiness, for vibrant wisdom, for forgiveness
and ‘sustained-compassion’
to sustain us in troubled times.
~ Sharon
Salzberg
_______________________________________________
______________________________________________
A pearl
goes up for auction
No one has
enough –
so the
pearl buys itself.
~ Rumi
Love
exists in itself, not relying on owning or being owned.
Like the pearl,
love can only buy itself, because love is
not a
matter of currency or exchange. No one has enough
to buy it
– but everyone has enough to cultivate it.
Metta (
Loving-kindness ) and forgiveness reunite us
with what
it means to be alive and unbound.
_______________________________
Sensitivity
:: Balance It
Sometimes
people are insensitive.
Forgive
them anyway.
Sometimes
people are oversensitive.
Forgive
them anyway.
First
comes First: Forgiveness for Myself.
What
alternative is there?
Bear a grudge
for the rest of your life,
such that
it makes you mad in the mind
whenever
you think of an unhappy encounter?
No point
at all ! Practice the Middle Way.
Just have
a balanced sensitivity to others.
Don't be
insensitive or oversensitive.
Let go of
others' insensitivity or over sensitivity.
'Balanced
sensitivity' is balanced Compassion
and Wisdom
to oneself and all others.
.: :: ::
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :.
“It will
always be a challenge for
2
unenlightened beings to be together.
Anger and
cravings will always get in the way.
Have
compassion.”
We need to
accept
all
unenlightened beings
if we wish
to meet all the Buddhas
that they
will become. ~ Stonepeace
No being
is ‘hopeless’.
All have
perfect Buddha-nature,
the ‘potential-ability’
to become perfect.
Let's give
all beings a chance, and another,
and
another, and another, and another...
... as
long as chances are needed. ~ Toh Yeng
Yen
_________________________________
What to Do
with It ?
Whatever 'It'
is –-
I follow
Four Precepts:
Face It,
Accept It,
Deal with
It,
then Let
It Go.
Face it -
because it's your consequences.
Accept it
- because it's your responsibility.
Deal with
it - because you should do something about it.
Let it go
- because you have changed, and so had the situation.
face it -
not easy, takes courage, the pain and the agony,
the
suffering and the loss all not easy to face...
accept it
- not easy either, takes courage. The anguish, the suffering,
the sudden
change and the pain not easy to accept... death is not easy
to accept,
but must accept nevertheless...
deal with
it - not easy, takes plenty of courage, confidence and wisdom...
then let
it go - not easy, takes plenty of courage too, wisdom and insight...
four
simple lines - but extremely difficult for lay person to fulfill.
Appropriate
action, repentance action and remedial action.
hmmm...
not easy - still must do. What other alternative? Suffer?
Definitely
to Forgive, you will feel much better. But it's painful...
~ Chan
Master Sheng Yen
______________________________________________
____________________________________________
He / She: Un-Forgiving
Apologies
Because He
was magnanimous,
he did not
need an apology from her.
But since
he is magnanimous,
he could readily
accept an apology.
Because She
was petty,
she did not
apologize to him.
But since
she is petty,
she should
readily give an apology.
He begged
for her forgiveness repeatedly.
But she couldn't
forgive him at all.
Instead,
she simply became close to someone else.
Forgiveness
is easy but painful to forget.
Magnanimous
comes at a price and needs to be trained.
Petty is
to let the other know it bothers her –
and
apology may not be enough to make
the other
change - because it takes time.
Hard as it
might be to forgive and let go,
forgiveness
is the only sensible thing to do –
after doing
whatever necessary to right the situation.
Holding
resentment is letting someone else punish us.
~ Shi'an
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
When one
can forgive oneself,
you can
forgive everyone else
and everyone
can forgive you.
One is the
world, the world is One.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
What ? :
No Problem
What is
there to forgive?
What is
there to forget?
When you
and I are indistinguishable
like one
segment of space to the next,
Who steals
and who gets stolen?
No amount
of words can comfort you
if you do
not make the first step yourself.
Take this
opportunity to further enhance
your
forgiving-heart.
Forgive
his foolishness.
Forgive
her heartlessness,
Forgive
yourself too.
Thank him
for showing you how big your heart is.
Thank her
for showing you how great your love is.
Thank
yourself for trying your very best.
~ Zy'rica
Only after
you have tried your best to seek forgiveness
from the
one you are sorry to, can you really forgive yourself.
Otherwise,
you are just letting yourself off the hook too easily.
Only after
you have done your best to thank appropriately
the one
you are grateful to, are you really appreciative.
Otherwise,
you are just taking kindness too much for granted.
~ Shi'an
Love Helps
Me Help You Let It Go
True Love
encompasses True Forgiveness
of the
smallest hurt to the greatest betrayal.
It always
forgives because it always cares,
and
because bearing resentment –
the opposite
of Love,
hurts both
parties instead.
Most of us
are in the ‘process’
of
learning to love and forgive perfectly.
Few of us
can love and forgive anyone instantly.
We’re not
yet masters of forgiveness. Work on it.
It is
natural to fluctuate between love and hate at times.
Finding it
hard to forgive does not always mean
one is
unwilling to forgive.
If you are
struggling, chances are
that you
seriously want to forgive.
That is already
‘love in action’ to some extent.
What needs
to be done is
to further
extend the love and forgiveness.
~ Shi'an
Task:
Forgiving
the Unpardonable
( personally,
a really a big one )
Forgive
Others –
Forgive
those whom you feel are unpardonable.
Forgive
still Others –
Forgive them
– forgive them for ’forgiving others’ –
( those
whom you feel are unpardonable.)
Forgive
yourself –
for having
‘done’ that what you feel to be unpardonable.
Forgive still
yourself – for ‘Forgiving yourself’ –
for
‘forgiving yourself’ for having done that
( what you
still feel to be unpardonable.)
What is truly
unpardonable is not to truly pardon.
Do It
Fully. Otherwise, you’ll never get out of the loop.
~ Shi'an
__________________________
__________________________
Forgive and
~
You’re Off
the Hook
When you
forgive someone,
the first
person you let off the hook
is not
that person, but yourself.
To bear a
grudge
is as
surely punishing of oneself,
and .. it
might not punish the other at all.
Maybe we
can apply “forget” into it as well?
Actually,
there is no ‘need to forget’ about an unhappy experience.
Just let
go of the pain that comes from not forgiving.
In this
sense, to still feel pain means the forgiveness is still incomplete.
~ Shi'an
Attachment
::v:: Letting Go
“Just let
it go!” He yelled to his heartbroken friend.
Still
'attached' to not wanting her to be attached –
he did not
realize he was himself still attached.
“Just let
go of wanting her to let go!” - another friend yelled.
It's so
easy to say “just let go”. . .
and
letting go of “just let go” is no easy task.
But try
nevertheless.
Good Luck
and May the Triple Gems Bless
those who
“let go” the pain, “let go” the suffering,
“let go”
the agony, “let go” the loss, “let go” the anguish,
“let go”
the disappointment, “let go” the resentment,
and “let
go” the “letting go...”
And, “letting
go” is not about telling people that they are attached.
But at
that very instant when one realizes or sees it as attachment
~ be it
others or oneself – one goes to the mantra immediately –
– “Just
let it go!” – “let it go!” – “let it go!” – “let it go!” !” – “let it go!”
It's never
easy to ‘just let it go’...
Nothing is
really easy...
It's
painful and full of anguish.
But the
more you cling to it,
the more
pain and the more suffering –
and
‘letting go’ is the only way to preserve our sanity,
and it
also helps to reinforce and strengthen our mind.
Just learn
to ‘let it go’ and life will be a breeze –
but not
without much love, some hope and lots of compassion.
Blessings
& Love to all who let go...
Anything
and everything is
a
Dharma-door to Enlightenment !
You can
enter from anywhere anytime – alas,
but it
seems you do still prefer a ‘proper’ door?
~ Shi'an
________________________________________________________________________________
True Love
encompasses True Forgiveness - of the smallest hurt to the greatest betrayal.
True Love,
it always forgives because it always cares, and because bearing resentment
( the
opposite of love ) hurts both parties instead. Most of us are in the process of
just
‘learning’
to love and forgive perfectly - few of us can love and forgive anyone
instantly.
Not yet
Masters of Forgiveness, it is natural to fluctuate between love and hate at
times.
Finding it
hard to forgive does not always means one is unwilling to forgive. If you are
struggling,
chances are that you seriously want to forgive - that is already love in action
to some
extent. What needs to be done is to further extend the love and forgiveness.
No need to
be angry at yourself for being repeatedly angry - for this only feeds the
demon of
anger repeatedly. Just be mindful of anger when it arises and let it go
as
instantly as you would drop painful hot coals. One day, you will find the need
to forgive
no longer there, that you have truly let go of the pain.
Any pain
we have for having been hurt in the past is actually a “phantom pain” ~
illusory
mental anguish which is only as painful as your unmindful clinging and
prolonging
of it. Such pain is sustained by a conflicting mix of attachment ( to
having
been hurt ) and aversion ( to the hurt ). The past has already passed.
If we do
not let the unhappy past go, it will not let us go - it will only make our
present
moment always unhappy. There is a simple but wonderful teaching
from the
Buddha on forgiveness - “You too shall pass away. Knowing this,
how can
you quarrel ( have conflict with others, or within oneself )?”
Life is
too short to live in ‘self-sustained phantom pain’.
One of the
most important things to know in life is that no one withholds
any
happiness from us - not even our most loved ones. Our happiness
is our
charge. While we often place our happiness in the charge of others,
it is us
who voluntarily do that - and we can take this responsibility back
to own it.
Be good to yourself because nobody else has the power to
make you
truly happy. Only when we mindfully see and take up this
personal
responsibility, can we truly love - both ourselves and others.
~ Shi'an
Enmity ::
The Real Enemy
Victory –
is to Rebel against the Self
en·mi·ty [
en'meh'tee ] noun - state of mind
[ Latin:
inimicus ( see 'enemy' ) ]
Hostility:
the extreme ill will or hatred that exists between enemies
"trying
to resolve age-old enmities" :: synonyms: hostility, hate,
antagonism,
hatred, ill-will, animosity, antipathy, rancor
antonym:
goodwill
What we
need is to eradicate enmity with Love.
Not to
eradicate enemies with Hatred.
~
Stonepeace
Am I not
destroying my enemies
when I
make them my friends?
~ Abraham
Lincoln
To conquer
Oneself is a greater victory
than to
conquer thousands in a battle.
~ The
Buddha
If you
want to be an Ultimate Rebel –
You have
to rebel against yourself, ultimately.
Knowing
moral shamefulness,
I
unashamedly repent.
~ Zyrius
_________________________________________
Shan: I would
like to apologize for all the bad things
I had said or done to you in the
past.
Chan: Are
you apologizing for the Past You or the Present You?
Shan: What
you mean?
Chan: The
‘past you’ that did me wrong does not exist anymore,
and the ‘present you’ has not done me any
wrong so far.
It's great that you feel remorse
about past mistakes. It's the first step.
However for forgiveness to be
complete - you have to forgive your past too.
I forgive the past because I do not
‘cling’ to it anymore. Now it's up to you
to let it go too! Just make the ‘resolution’ not to repeat the
mistake to anyone else!
__________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
"Forgiveness
has such power because it is characterized by the inner-quality of letting go
or relinquishing.
Being able
to let go, to give up, to renounce, to give forgiveness generously — these
capacities spring from
the same
source within us. When we practice generosity, we open to all of these
liberating qualities at the
same time
simultaneously. They carry us to a profound ‘knowing’ of freedom, and they also
are
the loving
expression of that same state of freedom."
~ Sharon
Salzberg
A Small
Note about Being Blocked
You will
always know when you are blocked by people in your Path.
But unless
you are Mindful enough – or if someone lets you know,
~ you will
never know when you block others behind you.
As readily
as you forgive yourself
for unknowingly
blocking others,
so too
should you forgive others
for
blocking you.
When
overcoming obstacles
on the
Path to Buddha-hood,
remember
that countless Buddhas
have
"been there, done that",
and they
say to us,
"What
they could do,
you can
too."
~ Shi'an
" If
there is any kindness I can show
or any good thing I can do for a fellow being
–
Let me do it now - and not deter or neglect
it –
as I may not pass this way again." ~ William Penn
__________________________________________________
“There is no
future without forgiveness”
~ Bishop Desmond Tutu
__________________________________________________
Anger as soon as fed is
dead -
It’s
starving makes it fat.
Of the Seven Deadly Sins,
Anger is
possibly the most fun.
To lick your wounds, to
smack
your lips over grievances
long past, to roll over
your tongue the prospect
of bitter confrontations
still to come, to savor
to the last toothsome
morsel both the pain
you are given and
the pain you are giving
back
–in many ways it is
a feast fit for a king.
The chief drawback is
that what you are
wolfing down is yourself.
The skeleton at the feast
is you.
~Emily Dickinson