Feeling Arises, Feeling Passes
Watch a feeling arise; watch it pass. Neither chasing the pleasant nor pushing away the unpleasant — simply observe what comes and goes.
Am I one who watches feelings, or one swept off instantly by them?
📝Reflection
Every feeling has a lifespan. The fiercest anger, the sharpest joy, the bleakest sorrow — none stays forever. It rises, peaks, and passes, like a wave. Yet the moment a feeling arises, we leap onto the wave and are swept away. Angry, we act as if the anger is us; sad, we collapse as if sorrow were eternal. This teaching points to another vantage: when a feeling arises, the place that watches — "ah, anger is rising." Standing there, I become not the wave but the shore that watches the wave. I neither strain to hold a good feeling nor fight to push away a bad one. I simply watch it arise and pass. And strangely, watching, the feeling subsides faster — as a wave unresisted settles more easily.
🌱Apply It Today
When a strong emotion rises today, instead of "I am angry," watch from a step back: "a wave of anger is rising now." The wave soon settles.
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
