The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching

Chapter 11

Right Mindfulness

Right Mindfulness traditionally is the seventh part of the Eightfold Path of Buddhism, but that doesn't mean it is seventh in importance. Each part of the path supports the other seven parts, and so they should be thought of as connected in a circle or woven into a web rather than stacked as if in an order of progression.

Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh says that Right Mindfulness is at the heart of the Buddha's teaching. "When Right Mindfulness is present, the Four Noble Truths and the other seven elements of the Eightfold Path are also present." (The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, p. 59)

What Is Mindfulness?

The Pali word for "mindfulness" is sati (in Sanskrit,smriti). Sati can also mean "retention," "recollection," or "alertness." Mindfulness is a whole-body-and-mind awareness of the present moment. To be mindful is to be fully present, not lost in daydreams, anticipation, indulgences, or worry.

Mindfulness also means observing and releasing habits of mind that maintain the illusion of a separate self. This includes dropping the mental habit of judging everything according to whether we like it or not. Being fully mindful means being fully attentive to everything as-it-is, not filtering everything through our subjective opinions.

Why Mindfulness Is Important

It's important to understand Buddhism as a discipline or process rather than as a belief system. The Buddha did not teach doctrines about enlightenment, but rather taught people how to realize enlightenment themselves. And the way we realize enlightenment is through direct experience. It is through mindfulness that we experience directly, with no mental filters or psychological barriers between us and what is experienced.

The Ven. Henepola Gunaratana, a Theravada Buddhist monk and teacher, explains in the bookVoices of Insight (edited by Sharon Salzberg) that mindfulness is essential to help us see beyond symbols and concepts. "Mindfulness is pre-symbolic. It is not shackled to logic," he says. "The actual experi­ence lies beyond the words and above the symbols."

The first Miracle of Mindfulness: be present and be able to touch deeply the blue sky, the flower and the smile of our child. 

The second Miracle of Mindfulness: make the sky, the flower and the smile present also. 

The third Miracle of Mindfulness: nourish the object of your attention. 

The fourth Miracle of Mindfulness: relieve the other's suffering. 

The Fifth Miracle of Mindfulness: looking deeply, which is also the second aspect of meditation. 

The Sixth Miracle of Mindfulness is understanding.

The Seventh Miracle of Mindfulness is transformation. 

Mindfulness and Meditation

The sixth, seventh and eighth parts of the Eightfold Path -- Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration -- together are the mental development needed to release us from suffering.

Meditation is practiced in many schools of Buddhism as part of mental development. The Sanskrit word for meditation, bhavana, means "mental culture," and all forms of Buddhist meditation involve mindfulness. In particular, shamatha ("peaceful dwelling") meditation develops mindfulness; people sitting in shamatha train themselves to stay alert to the present moment, observing and then releasing thoughts instead of chasing them.Satipatthana vipassana meditation is a similar practice found in Theravada Buddhism that is primarily about developing mindfulness.

In recent years there has been a growing interest in mindfulness meditation as part of psychotherapy. Some psychotherapists find that mindfulness meditation as an adjunct to counseling and other treatments can help troubled people learn to release negative emotions and thought habits.

Four Frames of Reference

The Buddha said there are four frames of reference in mindfulness:

1. Mindfulness of body (kayasati).
2. Mindfulness of feelings or sensations (vedanasati).
3. Mindfulness of mind or mental processes (cittasati).
4. Mindfulness of mental objects or qualities (dhammasati).

Have you ever suddenly just noticed that you had a headache, or that your hands were cold, and realized you'd been feeling these things for a while but weren't paying attention? Mindfulness of body is just the opposite of that; being fully aware of your body, your extremities, your bones, your muscles. And the same thing goes for the other frames of reference -- being fully aware of sensations, aware of your mental processes, aware of the phenomena all around you.

The teachings of the Five Skandhas are related to this, and are worth reviewing as you begin to work with mindfulness.

Three Fundamental Activities

The Venerable Gunaratana says mindfulness comprises three fundamental activities.

1. Mindfulness reminds us of what we are supposed to be doing. If we are sitting in meditation, it brings us back to the focus of meditation. If we are washing dishes, it reminds us to pay full attention to washing the dishes.

2. In mindfulness, we see things as they really are. The Venerable Gunaratana writes that our thoughts have a way of pasting over reality, and concepts and ideas distort what we experience.

3. Mindfulness sees the true nature of phenomena. In particular, through mindfulness we directly see the three characteristics or marks of existence -- it is imperfect, temporary and egoless.

Practicing Mindfulness

Changing the mental habits and conditioning of a lifetime is not easy. And this training is not something that only happens during meditation, but throughout the day.

If you have a daily chanting practice, chanting in a focused, fully attentive way is mindfulness training. It can also be helpful to choose a particular activity such as preparing a meal, cleaning the floors, or taking a walk, and make an effort to be fully mindful of the task as you perform it. In time you will find yourself paying more attention to everything.

How do we work with thoughts and feelings throughout the day? Thich Nhat Hanh continued,

When a feeling or thought arises, your intention should not be to chase it away, even if by continuing to concentrate on the breath the feeling or thought passes naturally from the mind. The intention isn't to chase it away, hate it, worry about it, or be frightened by it. So what exactly should you be doing concerning such thoughts and feelings? Simply acknowledge their presence. For example, when a feeling of sadness arises, immediately recognize it: 'A feeling of sadness has just arisen in me.' If the feeling of sadness continues, continue to recognize 'A feeling of sadness is still in me.' If there is a thought like, "It's late but the neighbors are surely making a lot of noise," recognize that the thought has arisen. ... The essential thing is not to let any feeling or thought arise without recognizing it in mindfulness, like a palace guard who is aware of every face that passes through the front corridor.

Zen teachers say that if you miss the moment, you miss your life. How much of our lives have we missed? Be mindful!

The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching

Chapter Ten

Right Thinking

When Right View is solid in us, we have Right Thinking. We need this at the foundation of our thinking. Training ourselves will cause Right View to improve. Thinking is the speech of our mind. Right Thinking makes our speech clear and beneficial. Because thinking often leads to action, Right Thinking is needed to take us down the path to Right Action.

Right Thinking reflects the way things are. Wrong thinking causes us to think in an upside-down way. Practicing Right Thinking is not easy. Our mind takes us in one direction whilst our body wants to go in another. Mind and body are not unified. Conscious breathing is an important link. When we concentrate on our breathing, we bring body and mind back together again.

When Descartes said, "I think, therefore I am," he meant that we can prove our existence by the fact that our thinking exists. Because we think, we are really there. We exist. Or, you can conclude the opposite: "I think, therefore I am not." When mind and body are apart, we get lost and cannot really say that we are here. If we breathe mindfully and touch the healing and refreshing elements that are inside and surrounding us, we will find peace and solidity. It stops us being preoccupied by past sorrows and future anxieties. It helps us be in touch with life in the present moment. A lot of our thinking is unnecessary; thoughts that are limited and carry little understanding. Sometimes we have a tape always running in our head - day and night - unable to turn it off. We worry and become tense and have nightmares. Mindfulness can let us hear the tape and notice whether our thinking is useful or not.

Thinking has two parts: initial thought and developing thought. The first is "I have to turn in a report for history." The development is to wonder about the correctness of the assignment, do we need to proofread it again, whether the teacher will notice it is late, etc. This is Vitarka (original thought). Vichara is the development of that original thought. 

In dhyana (first meditative stage) both kinds of thinking are present. In the second stage, neither is there - we are actually in deeper contact with reality, free of words and concepts. While walking in the woods, Thich noticed a little girl deep in thought. "Grandfather monk, what colour is that tree's bark?" He told her, "It is the colour that you see." He wanted her to enter the wonderful world that was right in front of her. 

Four practices related to Right Thinking. 

1. "Are you sure?" -- if there is a rope in your path and you see it as a snake, you will have fear-based thinking. The more erroneous your perception, the more wrong your thinking will be. Ask yourself this question again and again. Incorrect perceptions cause wrong thinking and unnecessary suffering.
2. "What am I doing?" -- ask yourself this to help you release your thinking about the past or the future, and come back to the present moment. It will help you be right here, right now. Just smile in response. That will demonstrate your true presence. This will also help you overcome the habit of wanting to finish things quickly. Smile to yourself and tell yourself whatever you are doing at that moment is the most important job. If your thoughts are carrying you away, you need mindfulness to intervene. (To a point.)*  For example: Emperor Wu asked Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism in China, how much merit he had earned by building many temples. Bodhidharma said, "None whatsoever." Not wanting to be elsewhere and not caring about fame or recognitiion will give you boundless merit and you will be happy. When your thinking is concentrated, you do things in mindfulness and you will be happy and a resource for others.
3. "Hello, Habit Energy." -- We stick to our habits, even the ones that cause suffering. Workaholism for example. Our ancestors had to work all the time just to eat. But today, our way of working can be compulsive and prevent us from having contact with life. We think about work all the time and don't have time to breathe. Find time to contemplate the cherry blossom and drink our tea in mindfulness. How we act depends on how we think, and how we think depends on our habit energies. Make good friends with your habitual patterns of thinking and acting. Then you can accept these ingrained thoughts and not feel guilty about them. They will lose power over us. Right Thinking leads to Right Action.
4. Bodhichitta -- Our "mind of love! is the deep wish to cultivate understanding in order to bring happiness to many beings. It is the motivating force of mindful living. With that at the foundation of our thinking, everything we do or say will help others be liberated. Right Thinking also gives rise to Right Diligence. 

In a sutra the Buddha described the practice as "changing the peg." A carpenter can use a peg to connect two blocks of wood, and if he finds that the old peg is no good, he would like to change it with another peg. Just by driving the new peg into the old one, he can replace the old one with the new one. So if you have a state of being that you don’t like, you can change the peg. That peg is called a mental formation. We have fifty-one categories of mental formation. Fear is one, anger is another one, and jealousy is another one. If you don’t like it, change the peg: use another peg and change it. And since you have stored within yourself many wonderful pegs, it is very easy for you to take one of the pegs and just change it. Then, suddenly, you find yourself on the other shore. And by going back to the present moment, you will discover these pegs, these wonders that belong to life, that are available to you: the positive things that you can identify through your full presence. That is why it is said that our true home is in the here and the now; and if you practice going back to your true home, you’ll be able to meet, to touch, to identify these wonderful things, these miracles that will be available to you every time you need them. Crossing to the other shore is a matter of seconds or minutes if you are already capable of identifying the positive things that are still available to you. Among them I just mentioned one: the fact that you are still alive.

Right Thinking is thinking that is in accord with Right View, like a map that guides us. We we get there, we have to put the map down and fully enter reality.
"Think non-thinking" is a well-used statement in Zen. Dwell deeply in the present moment and touch the seeds of joy, peace and liberation  heal and transform your suffering, and be truly present for others. 

* Dan and I discussed this last evening and both felt that this is not not necessarily the case. I for one have to think of many things at one time. Standing washing 84,000 dishes without thinking or other things (or listening to music) would soon have me tearing my hair out from sheer brain-numbness. 

            

Daily Om

April 30, 2013 Enlightenment  Not everyone will feel the need to travel afar to become enlightened as that can happen right where you are. Many spiritual seekers feel called to far-flung places across the globe in the interest of pursuing the path of their enlightenment. This may indeed be the right course of action for certain people, but it is by no means necessary to attaining an enlightened consciousness. Enlightenment can take root anywhere on earth, as long as the seeker is an open and ready vessel for higher consciousness. All we need is a powerful intention, and a willingness to do the work necessary to moving forward on our path.  In terms of spiritual practice, at this moment, there are more tools available to more people than at any other time in history. We have access to so much wisdom through the vehicles of books, magazines, the Internet, television, and film. In addition, the time-honored practice of meditation is free, and sitting quietly everyday, listening to the universe, is a great way to start the journey within. There is further inspiration in the fact that the greatest teachers we have are our own life experiences, and they come to us every day with new lessons and new opportunities to learn. If we look at the people around us, we may realize that we have a spiritual community already intact, and if we don’t, we can find one, if not in our own neighborhood, then on-line.  Meanwhile, if we feel called to travel in search of teachers and experiences, then by all means, we should. But if we can’t go to India, or Burma, or Indonesia, or if we don’t have the desire, this is not an obstacle in terms of our spiritual development. In fact, we may simply be aware that our time and energy is best spent in our own homes, with our meditation practice and all the complications and joys of our own lives. We can confidently stay in one place, knowing that everything that we need to attain enlightenment is always available right where we are.

The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching

Part Two

The Noble Eightfold Path

When the Buddha was 80 years old and dying, a young man named Subhadda came to see him, and although the Buddha's attendant thought it would be too exhausting, the Buddha said, "Please invite him in." 

Subhadda wanted to know if other religious teachers in the region were fully enlightened. The Buddha knew that with only a short time to live, answering such a question would be a waste of precious moments. So, when you have an opportunity to ask your teacher about the Dharma, ask something that can change your life. The Buddha said it was not important whether other teachers are fully enlightened. The question was whether the young man wanted to liberate himself. If so, he said, then practice the Noble Eightfold Path.Wherever it is practiced, joy, peace and insight will be there. The Buddha taught this for 45 years - both his first and last Dharma talks offered the Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livlihood, Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration.

Arya ashtangika marga (a noble path of eight limbs) suggests the interbeing nature of these 8 elements of the path. Each limp contains all the other 7. Use your intelligence to apply the elements in your daily life.

Chapter Nine.

Right View - samyag drishti

First we must have a deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths - our suffering, the making of our suffering, suffering can be transformed, and the path of transformation. The Right View is to have faith* and confidence that there are people who have been able to transform their suffering. i.e. knowing which of the four kinds of nutrients that we have ingested to bring about what has come to be. It is the ability to distinguish wholesome roots (kushala mula) from unwholesome roots (akushala mula). Both exist in all of us. There are both kinds of seeds in the depths of our consciousness. If you are a loyal person, it is because the seed of loyalty is in you. You might also have the seed of betrayal in you. If your seed of loyalty is watered, you will be a loyal person. If your seed of betrayal is watered, you may betray even those you love. You will feel guilt, but the seed of betrayal in you may be strong enough to cause you to do it. 

The practice of mindfulness helps us identify all the seeds in our store of consciousness, and water the ones that are the most wholesome. Someone may make us very uncomfortable, while another may make us like them immediately. Something in each of them touches a seed in us. Also, being reminded of someone we like or do not like can spark that seed as we meet new people. When we become aware of the seeds in our storehouse, we will not be surprised by our own behaviour or the behaviour of others. 

The seed of Buddhahood, the capacity to wake up and understand things as they are, is also present in each of us. When we join our hands and bow to another person we acknowledge the seed of Buddhahood in them. When we bow to a child, we help him or her grow up beautifully and with self-confidence. If you plant corn, corn will grow. If you plant wheat, wheat will grow. If you act in a wholesome way, you will be happy. If not, you water the seeds of craving, anger, and violence in yourself. Right View is to recognise which seeds are wholesome and to encourage those seeds to be watered. This is called selective touching.We need to discuss and share with each other  to deepen our understanding of this practice and the practive of the Five Mindfulness Trainings, esp. with regard to the foods we 'ingest'.

At the base of our views are our perception: 

saṃjñā (Sanskrit; Pāli, saññā). The third of the five aggregates (skandha), saṃjñā is the psychological faculty of perception or discernment. Saṃjñā is said to recognize the distinctive characteristics of things, for example, by identifying different colours. It is sixfold, with respect to perception of the objects of the five senses plus the ideas perceived by the mind. Sometimes the term is used simply in the sense of ‘idea’ or ‘concept’, especially in lists of meditation topics (for example, anitya-saṃjñā as the concept of impermanence; see anitya).

Bhikkhu Bodhi states:

The characteristic of perception is the perceiving of the qualities of the object. Its function is to make a sign as a condition for perceiving again that "this is the same," or its function is recognizing what has been previously perceived. It becomes manifest as the interpreting of the object...by way of the features that had been apprehended. Its proximate cause is the object as it appears. Its procedure is compared to a carpenter's recognition of certain kinds of wood by the mark he has made on each. 

Mahayana

The Abhidharma-samuccaya states:

What is the absolutely specific characteristic of conceptualization (saṃjñā)? It is to know by association. It is to see, hear, specify, and to know by way of taking up the defining characteristics and distinguishing them.^[2]

Mipham Rinpoche states:

Perception consists of the grasping of distinguishing features.

In terms of support, they can be divided into six types: perceptions resulting from contact, the meeting of the eye and so forth, up until the mind.

Furthermore, the are distinguishing characteristics in regard to sense objects... and... in regard to names..

Perception

The Buddha taught that most of our perceptions are erroneous, and that most of our suffering comes from wrong perceptions. We have to ask ourselves over and over "Am I sure?" Until we see clearly, our wrong perceptions will prevent us from having The Right View. 

To perceive always means to perceive something. ie. When we perceive the moon, the moon is us. When we smile at a friend, our friend is in us - because he/she is the object of our perception. Whe we look at a mountain, the mountain is the object of our perception. As is the moon etc.

When we say, "I can see my consciousness in this flower," it means we can see the cloud, the sunshine, the earth, the minerals in the earth. But how can we see our consciousness in a flower? The flower IS our consciousness. It is the object of our perception. It IS our perception - the coming into existence of the perceiver and the perceived. The flower is part of our consciousness. The idea that our consciousness is outside of the flower has to be removed. It is not possible to have a subject without an object. It is not possible to remove on and retain the other. 

The source of our perception, our way of seeing, lies in our store of consciousness. If ten of us look at a cloud, there will be ten different perceptions of it. Whether it is seen as a dog, a hammer, or an angel depends on one's mind - sadness, memories, anger. Our perceptions carry with them all the errors of subjectivity. Then we praise, blame or condemn or complain  depending on our perceptions - which are in turn made of our afflictions: craving, anger, ignorance, wrong views, and prejudice. Whether we are happy or suffering depends on our perceptions. It is important to look deeply at them and know their source. 

The Perception of Happiness

We have an idea about  this - only certain conditions will make us happy. But it is the very idea of happiness that prevents from being happy. We have to look deeply into our perceptions in order to become free of them. Then, what has been a perception becomes an insight. A realisation of the Path. This is clear vision - seeing things as they are. Our happiness and that of those around us depend on our degree of Right View. Touching reality deeply - knowing what is going on inside and outside of ourselves - is the way to liberate ourselves from suffering that is caused by the wrong perceptions. Right View is not an ideology, system or Path. It is the insight we have into the reality of life, a living insight that fills us with understanding, peace, and love. 

Right View cannot be described. We can only point in the direction. It cannot be transmitted by your teacher; he can only help us identify the seed of Right View that is already in our garden. But we are the gardeners. The instrument for watering wholesome seeds is mindful living - breathing, walking, living each moment of our day in mindfulness. 

"As long as the tree is behind you, you can only see its shadow. If you want to touch the reality, you have to turn around. Image teaching uses words and ideas. Substance teaching communicates by the way you live. 

To practice is to go beyond ideas. No idea is the path of non-conception. As long as there is an idea, there is no reality, no truth. It does not mean no mindfulness.

The eight practices of the Noble Eightfold Path nourish each other. As our view becomes more 'right', the other elements deepen. 

不知道

   

Why do I feel worthless and ugly?

Self-worth

by James Ure 

Though much of who and what we are changes as we journey through life, our inherent worth remains constant. While the term self-worth is often used interchangeably with self-esteem, the two qualities are inherently different. Self-esteem is the measure of how you feel about yourself at a given moment in time. Your worth, however, is not a product of your intelligence, your talent, your looks, your good works, or how much you have accomplished. Rather it is immeasurable and unchanging manifestation of your eternal and infinite oneness with the universe. It represents the cornerstone of the dual foundations of optimism and self-belief. Your worth cannot be taken from you or damaged by life's rigors, yet it can easily be forgotten or even actively ignored. By regularly acknowledging your self-worth, you can ensure that you never forget what an important, beloved, and special part of the universe you are. 

You are born worthy-your worth is intertwined with your very being. Your concept of your own self-worth is thus reinforced by your actions. Each time you endeavor to appreciate yourself, treat yourself kindly, define your personal boundaries, be proactive in seeing that your needs are met, and broaden your horizons, you express your recognition of your innate value. During those periods when you have lost sight of your worth, you will likely feel mired in depression, insecurity, and a lack of confidence. You'll pursue a counterfeit worth based on judgment rather than the beauty that resides within. When you feel worthy, however, you will accept yourself without hesitation. It is your worth as an individual who is simultaneously interconnected with all living beings that allows you to be happy, confident, and motivated. Because your conception of your worth is not based on the fulfillment of expectations, you'll see your mistakes and failures as just another part of life's jo! urney. 

Human beings are very much like drops of water in an endless ocean. Our worth comes from our role as distinct individuals as well as our role as an integral part of something larger than ourselves. Simply awakening to this concept can help you rediscover the copious and awe-inspiring worth within each and every one of us. 

From the Daily Om website.

James: May we all realize our Buddhahood which is already within us. May we melt away the layers of ice that is hiding our buddhahood through the hot water of mindfulness, meditation, self-love and practicing the 8 fold path.

-Peace to all beings-

**A Zen Buddhist who follows in the tradition of Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh but I enjoy teachings from all Buddhist traditions. In addition, I am influenced by Taoism and Secular Humanism. I am also a nature lover and live with Schizo-Affective Disorder. The blog is titled, "The Buddhist Blog" because it was all that I could think of for a name. It does not mean that somehow I think my blog is the definitive blog on Buddhism. It is not. It is one traveler's footprints and nothing more. I am not a Buddhist teacher. This blog is a journal of my humble travels as I try to follow the middle path of Buddhism. Take my hand and walk with me for awhile. I have a university degree in U.S. History with a special emphasis in African history. As well as a minor in World Geography. Contact me: jaymur@gmail.com

Tolerance and Not Being Judgmental.

Perfection of Respect

I once heard someone say that the difference between tolerance 

and respect is that tolerance is putting up with something you don't like, 

while respect is seeing value in something even if it differs from

what you prefer.

I bring this up because the new focus feature this week is ksanti paramita, sometimes translated "perfection of tolerance." And it was interesting to me that the word "tolerance" first brought to mind the value of accepting diversity, or not discriminating against people who are "different." But that kind of "tolerance" isn't mentioned in any of the commentaries.

Instead, tolerance in this case means something like "endurance," as in "petunias can tolerate a variety of soil conditions." Or. if you are human, you are called to tolerate hardship and misfortune when it comes.

Still, the word tolerance bothers me. It connotes just putting up with something. I know what I do when I put up with things -- I close my emotional drawbridge, so to speak. I ignore it, or try to distract myself with something else, or otherwise grit my teeth until the whatever-it-is goes away. This is not skillful.

Instead, perhaps it's more helpful to think in terms of respecting hardship. Acknowledge it and accept it as your path. Perhaps the experience will show you a beneficial course correction. Don't just plop down and try to wait it out.

When you're going through a rough patch, people will tell you to "stay positive." That's not bad advice, but I think we have to be careful about how we do that. If we "stay positive" by imagining that some unlikely stroke of luck will save us, that's not accepting or respecting.

In his book The Six Perfections: Buddhism and the Cultivation of Character, Dale S. Wright says,

"Geshe Sonam Rinchen asks us to 'regard suffering as happiness,' that is, to see in every moment of life, especially the most vivid, an opportunity to awaken from our own patterns of self-deception and avoidance. As he puts it, 'Seeing hardships as an adornment is to see them as an opportunity and an asset. If you begin by willingly accepting minor hardships, your capacity will gradually increase. ... It is possible to regard suffering as happiness. If we willingly accept difficulties, each hardship we face will simply increase our courage.'"

You might remember that courage is an aspect of virya paramita, also.

The Art of Disagreement

Tolerance is not always seen as a virtue. Some of the connotations of the term tolerance are not very pleasant. For instance, to tolerate can mean to put up with something in a rather grudging or resentful manner or tolerance can be associated with weakness, an inability to stand your ground and assert yourself. I have heard tolerance defined as supercilious condescension. And tolerance is often thought to mean agreement. Tolerance is not always seen as a virtue and even when it is seen as a virtue it is often misunderstood. From a Buddhist perspective, tolerance is extremely important and it has been a hallmark of Buddhism down the twenty five centuries of its history. Tolerance is the acceptance that other people hold different views from ourselves. Tolerance is the willingness to allow others to be different in their views and actions. Above all tolerance is the absolute avoidance of using power, violence or coercion to force oth Õer people to think and believe as we do. Tolerance is an attitude of loving kindness (metta) towards those who hold views which are different from ours and even towards those who hold views which are repugnant to us. Intolerance on the other hand is the willingness to use and the use of force, violence and coercion to make other people behave as we want them to and hold the views we want them to hold. There is also the intolerance that doesn't want to force others to change but simply wants to exterminate or exile them for being different.