Consequences of the Closed Heart

If you shut down your heart because of past injuries, life becomes a painful ordeal. Even if you hold a grudge against just one person, anytime you think of them, or recall the time you were hurt, you will suffer. Since you have no control over when these thoughts will arise in your mind, you will always be susceptible to sudden pain. And if you resent many people — whole groups of people, or humanity at large — you will be susceptible. It will be like walking around a crowded train station in India with an open wound. There is no peace in such an existence, no matter how good your life may look from the outside.

Dzigar Kongtrul

from Training in Tenderness

Chapter: Opening the Injured Heart