Whenever I got bumped into by unmindful and unapologetic pedestrians in the past, the natural tendency was to give rise to some resentment. It’s as if the world is totally at fault, while I’m perfectly blameless. Nowadays, I have a different take. I realised that most of these bumps are the results of my own unmindfulness - in the sense that if I were more mindful, I should had seen these bumps coming. There is karma at play too. Even if it’s not right for someone to bump into me accidentally, it’s no accident that I’m are bumped into, because I karmically deserved it in some way - even if it’s wrong on the part of the bumper to be unmindful. Every bump is a sudden yet solemn reminder that I have negative karma, which can bear fruit in unexpected ways.
These days, I brace myself for bumps which I see to be coming, and try to prepare myself for those I don’t see coming too. I remind myself that Samsara is the realm of Dukkha (dissatisfactions), that I should expect Dukkha from various aspects of life - from work, relationships, and yes, even from ‘random’ strangers on the walkway. Who am I to imagine that a ‘walk’ to anywhere from Point A to Point B (within Samsara) will be smooth-sailing and free of any ‘bumps’? My karma can’t be that good. Samsara is the public school fo hard knocks. I brace myself in a relaxed but mindful way. And hey, the resentment when bumped into then becomes almost non-existent. As Master Chengyen put it, ‘To be angry is to let others’ mistakes punish oneself’. Ultimately, all punishment is self-punishment because we choose to victimise ourselves and suffer - when there’s absolutely no need to.
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