exaggeration practice

this saturday i learned a new buddhist practice which is hilarious, you have to try it. one could call it exaggeration practice. here’s the practice:

whenever you catch yourself in a negative or selfish emotion, up the ante for a moment. so if you’re irritated with a person for example, really start ranting. they took the last cup of coffee and didn’t refill the pot. but instead of just stewing in this mild irritation, really get into it and exaggerate: that criminal should never be allowed to drink coffee again, even if it gives them convulsions of withdrawal, and they turn to hard drugs to compensate, someone who commits that offense should be paraded around the office and humiliated by each coworker belittling them and calling them foul names.

this makes me laugh, because it’s so ridiculous. and that’s the point. ego’s game of irritation and negative emotion is founded somewhat on ignorance; on not seeing the bigger picture. so the stewing only works if the view stays fixed. by increasing the volume to the point of absurdity, then ego’s gig is up. the stuck nature of the original irritation is unmasked.

this seems to work for all sorts of things, gossip about people, jealousy, talking about yourself (”i’m the worst brother that ever was. i completely ignore my siblings; i’d be perfectly happy if they dropped off the planet. i just don’t care about them for a single moment. i should go return this birthday present for my brother right now. better yet, i’m just going to keep it for myself!”), or pretty much anything.

i am finding that doing this practice in public turns a few heads. perhaps might be best in private. oh ya, the credit for this practice goes to Shantideva who lived in the 8th century. timeless…

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