image source by MoteOo in Pixabay
There is a saying that "slander is crueler than murder". I think the saying is true, because if we are killed by someone, then we only lose our bodies. But, if we are slandered, we can lose our jobs, our self-respect, and even our lives.
I have also been slandered several times. Maybe they were jealous or misunderstood me, so they slandered me. Many lies were spread to other people about me. Some of the slander that were uttered had an impact on my life, and some of it was just a small slander that had absolutely no meaning.
The most painful slander for me is the slander committed by the closest people. It hurts when I think about it, but over time, the slander and pain finally disappeared.
However, did you know that in this digital era, slandering someone is getting easier? I have seen a lot of lies that are spread on various social media, slander on the internet is so commonplace and common.
The impact of the slander is so terrible, many people are angry and feel humiliated when they are slandered so that the intention of revenge arises. In the end, conflicts occur due to slander. The most dangerous of this slander is a major conflict that occurs between races, ethnicities, or religions.
Then, a question arose in my head, Why is slander so painful? There is something that must be understood to answer this question. Humans have a strong ego but are so fragile when slandered or insulted. Because in the ego there is arrogance, the structure of the ego is what makes humans feel miserable if they are slandered.
People who suffer from being slandered, are caused by brainwashing in the past. Since childhood, some people are taught to get praise, but when they don't get praise in life, then that person feels disappointed and suffers. The next brainwashing, humans are taught to be afraid of being criticized or insulted. Many people educate their children to avoid reproach or humiliation. This makes one's mind becomes fragile when it gets insulted in the form of slander.
Zen is here to reveal our true selves. Human identity existed before likes and dislikes, human identity also existed before insults and praise. People who do not understand or do not know who he is, then that person will be easily hit by praise and insults, including slander.
People who continue to train themselves in Zen, think that slander is not a disaster. Instead, slander can be an opportunity to train the mind to recognize its true identity. Every praise and insult is always directed to the abstract ego, so taking compliments and insults seriously is too stupid.
When slandered, our emotions and anger are so hot. Take this an opportunity to observe the emotions that flare up inside. The purpose of observing emotions is to experience and find out how temporary emotions are. At a certain point, emotions are just guests who just pass by, without disturbing the inner being within us. We will realize that emotions and anger are not permanent.
So, being a victim of slander will be very painful and suffering if you don't have the right understanding. Here, Zen offers serenity and inner peace to respond to any situation. We can take lessons from a slander that comes to us, and we can also recognize our true identity in Zen.
