No Giving Up

Question: Sorry, I’ve done my best to help her. I’ve no more energy. I give up!

Answer: No worries. Take a break. It’s important to not leave the friendship bitter – or there would be negative karmic affinity formed, that creates more problems in time to come. When conditions are ripe, we can still help in ways we can. In living Bodhicitta (the aspiration to help all, including ourselves, advance towards Buddhahood), there’s no giving up. But we can rest when needed!

6 thoughts on “No Giving Up

  1. If we help till we are exhausted, we have unknowingly become too attached to the result we want to see. Humans are very result orientated, it’s rare to find someone who’s at ease with whatever outcome may be. If so, he or she is not an ordinary being 🙂 Yes, resting is good and come back whenever you are ready.

  2. Yes, me sometimes don’t know when to give up, and end up disappointed with the ones I’m trying to connect to and myself, less able to continue later. We need to rest at a station to top up our fuel not when we are running on empty but before we run on empty.

    (&)

  3. The only thing I can rely on is my sincere motivation. – The Dalai Lama

    If, we are really honest and sincere, even if we failed or were misunderstood at times (we are after all unenlightened), as long as we know we did try our best and change for the better, we should not need to feel that we have to shoulder all the blame.

    Mindfulness of the Buddha is a good Dharma method for energy recharge 😉

  4. Yes, we do help till we are exhausted, we might not expect good results but neither did we expect bad results. If situation gets worse, how could we be at ease? End up not only disappointed and even full of frustration and confusion.

  5. Attachment to expectations often causes pain. It’s not easy to be aware of subtle attachments, but mindfulness can be increased via practice.

    If the situation worsens, we still do what we can. (Sometimes, it’s best to do nothing for a while too.) All we can do is our best in the moment. If we learn to live moment to moment, without the baggage of the past, and expectations of outcomes, it’s easier to help while remaining at ease. Let’s practise this!

    🙂

  6. Being emotionally ‘detached’ from the situation with no aversion to whatever outcomes will enable one to think clearer and may even come up with a better solution. Takes a lot of practise though.

    Always think positive. Nothing remains the same forever. We can only do our best. Maintain awareness at all times.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.