“ The wise neither resist nor delight in feeling; knowing its arising and cessation, release is attained.”
( this is my elaborate and profound understanding of this saying )
This saying feels far beyond my present level of understanding. I have struggled to move through my own emotions while trying to simplify it and I hope that struggle does not remain forever. I trust that one day I may fully grasp the depth and complexity it implies. For now, I try to simplify it so I can relate to it, because without personal connection, I don’t believe this complexity can truly be learned.
My understanding is this: one must make a sincere effort not to attach to any feeling. Once a feeling arises, the mind almost inevitably moves toward it—clinging and delighting if it is pleasant, or resisting and rejecting it if it is unpleasant. Either way, the task is to guide this restless, capricious mind so that it does not wander through the emotional reactions that follow feeling, but instead remains steady and at ease, as often as possible, to a neutral clarity.
Much easier said than done, isn’t it?When I look closely, the difficulty is not abstract—it is immediate and personal. How does one train the mind to release a feeling it cannot yet release? How does one meet a feeling at the very moment it arises, before it hardens into reaction? Is it not there, at its first appearance, that feeling must be known in its bare essence? And yet, the point at which letting go becomes necessary remains elusive, even unfathomable.
When a pleasant feeling arises, the mind inclines toward it, delights in it, and seeks its continuation. When an unpleasant feeling arises, resistance appears—the mind is troubled by what is seen and observed, and thus by what is felt. Moving between craving and aversion, the mind follows feeling, mistaking it for something to be owned, rejected, or sustained. To see this movement clearly may itself be the beginning of understanding.
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And then I realized I needed a solid experience, something real, to give shape to my understanding and to quantify the essence of it. Where could I find it? I did not have to look far. I simply looked through my window, and there it was: a quiet path into understanding suffering, and my own difficulty in letting go of the feeling that arises in response to it.
What do I see? Why does it affect me so deeply? Why does it return every morning, uninvited, and trouble the mind again and again? Why am I so consumed by it?
Outside my window, I see hunger. I see birds, lots of them, constantly searching for food, and squirrels restless and agitated. At least one form of suffering is plainly visible. And I find myself asking: how am I meant to know that such suffering exists and remain at ease? How does one meet the painful feeling that arises from witnessing it? How does one release thoughts that surface again and again, refusing to fade?
What I observe touches me deeply. It weighs on the mind and grows heavier with repetition. Non-resistance does not feel like an option to me, because I am genuinely disturbed by what I see. And yet, if I resist only by turning away, nothing changes. If I do not act, the suffering outside my window continues unchanged. That suffering is not optional for them and knowing this, the feeling that arises in me does not feel optional either.
Caught here and now, I begin to understand the saying more clearly: suffering is present in the world, and feeling arises in response to it. And you may ask: what is this suffering that I am observing? Why can’t I let it go? Why does it consume me so fully? The answer is not simple, my friend. Perhaps the path itself must be walked, slowly and carefully, to see it more clearly. Perhaps we need to walk it together, or to communicate more openly, or to ask the right questions—alone or in company—in order to understand, to evolve.
Food for thought — pause and ponder!! Will you? Can’t you?
But here is a question for you, a little food for thought: do you know how many species of birds exist alive today? Approximately eleven thousand. And how many of them will you feed tomorrow? Have you ever really paused to ponder that? Will you please pause for a moment to reflect on it? It’s my humble request, on behalf of my dearest birds and angry squirrels living in my backyard, thank you!
The question lingers, not to burden, but to awaken reflection. It reminds us that suffering exists beyond our control, yet feeling arises naturally in response. How we meet it; how we witness it without being consumed; may itself be the quiet practice we seek.
This is the dilemma of a naturalist or scientist. We can observe the harshness of the natural world, hunger, species that suffer or flourish, natural selection. And yet we are beings who care. If we have power to intervene, we can do more than observe. We can feed the birds. It is truly difficult to set our feelings aside or become a neutral observer. Perhaps this is to be celebrated, it’s what makes us human.
What a thoughtful and illuminating comment, thank you for this insightful observation. I had never truly paused to consider natural selection until now, and your words stirred a quiet curiosity in me. They sent me into study mode, not just to learn, but to start my inquiry. While reflecting on it, two questions came to mind.
Can a human ever truly observe without emotion? Can a naturalist witness a starving animal and remain entirely detached, as though feeling were not part of seeing?
Or are emotions woven into perception itself? empathy, awe, and care subtly shaping what we notice and how we understand it? Perhaps our inability to stand apart is not a flaw in observation, but its most humane in nature, don’t you agree?
thank you. Indeed, we could do more than just observe the harshness of the nature; indeed we may gain the strength to act upon it, as we possess the power to make-a -change.
and yes, I do want to celebrate and I would like to celebrate with my birds as I want to exist in harmony with them, right in my backyard; and sharing the space with them and relishing their presence everyday :)