Boddhisattva Never Disparaging

I have had a little… difficulty, shall we say… with sharing a home with my sister and her family, recently. I have been determining to change my relationship karma, to let go of my need for abusive relationships, and not surprisingly, this has kicked up some karmic dust. Difficult relationships have become a little more difficult and my first reaction is to run and hide away in my room.

Relationships are mirrors. What is becoming clear to me now is that transforming this karma is not so much about how other people treat me, it’s a lot more to do with how I treat myself and others.

I found this passage on Boddhisattva Never Disparaging on the SGI USA website:

“There is a fundamental oneness of self and others. Therefore when Bodhisattva Never Disparaging made his bow of obeisance to the four groups of people, the Buddha nature inherent in the lives of the four groups of arrogant people bowed toward Bodhisattva Never Disparaging. This is the same as how when one bows facing a mirror, the reflected image bows back” (GZ, 769).

I’ve resisted looking at some people’s Buddha nature. I figured how can someone that mean or nasty have Buddha nature? I realise now that they DO have Buddha nature, they are just not aware of it. By refusing to see the Buddha nature in those people, I am refusing to see the Buddha nature in me, and thus, slandering the Mystic Law.