WHERE DOES HATRED COME FROM? NEGATIVE AFFINITIES GIVE RISE TO HATRED
Master Jun Hong Lu: Now that we have started practising Buddhism, why is it that we still can’t stand the sight of certain people and bear grudges towards others? It all comes down to affinities. When negative affinities come along, ignorance starts to arise. You become unhappy and you start to quarrel with others. All the more so, when you are confronted with untoward incidents for example, your belongings are stolen or you have been issued a fine. You will become even more foolish then.
There was once a man who kept receiving summons for the traffic offences he committed. He hated the traffic officer so much. One rainy day, he chanced upon a traffic officer who was then issuing a ticket amid a downpour. Donning a hat and a big face mask, he rushed towards the traffic officer, pulled down his mask and spat on him before scurrying away. Don’t you think it was such a foolish act?
Not realising that it was due to his negative affinities that he always got caught and fined for his wrongdoings. Instead of blaming himself, he recognised it as the faults of others.
One must understand the effect of predestined affinities as our hatred will only lead us to ignorance.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhism In Plain Terms, Volume 3 Chapter 15
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