Published Friday, 12 August 2022
Life is easy
for one who lacks shame,
who is as impudent as a crow,
who is arrogant, aggressive,
invasive and corrupt.Dhammapada v.244
Shame in the sense that it is used here is not the toxic mind state associated with humiliation and unkindness. Rather it is a wholesome sense of remorse associated with any intention to cause harm; harm to both oneself and others. Such skilful shame is described by the Buddha as a ‘protector of the world’ – lokapala. Without it, the outer world and our inner worlds disintegrate. Life might appear easy for those who reactively follow any impulse they feel, but what they don’t see is the distress and despair they are storing up for themselves.