‘How Do We Listen Actively, Mindfully And Wholeheartedly In A Conversation? Especially When The Other Person Constantly Rambles?’

This is another topic close to everyone’s heart, as evidenced by the intense discussion among the participants. One participant shared that whenever her mum nagged at her, she will try to listen to her mum attentively, because she understood this is how her mum expressed her love and concern for her. There was another participant who nodded in agreement, and expressed similar experience with his aged parents. His aged parents also showered him with love and concern by nagging at him constantly. He too, listen attentively as he respected his parents and wanted to do his part for everyone to live in harmony.

The discussion then led to more questions:

- What will you do when your friends or family members continuously ramble?

- Do you find yourself trying to change the discussion topic?

- Or giving excuses to avoid the topic before they could complete their sentences?

Of course there can be many answers to these questions, but would these be the right actions that lead to the right consequences? What will the Buddha do in such circumstances?

From many Buddhist’s scripts, the Buddha taught us to be kind and to be compassionate to all living beings. Learning from this, we could develop compassion by putting ourselves into the shoes of our friends or family members. Like us, our friends wish to be appreciated and understood. So, whenever we are faced with such circumstances, learn to listen with a sincere heart and understand their difficulties.

The take home of the day is :

Everyone has their own problems, be patient and listen wholeheartedly to what others are trying to convey, and try to understand how others may feel before making any conclusion. Let’s be the reason why our love ones are smiling!

For the upcoming Sunday, we will be discussing a topic that we are sure to face everyday - "Pleasant Speech - Should I Compel Myself To Speak Kindly To Someone Who Has Incurred My Wrath?" Join us this Sunday at the Monastery to find out and share your views too! Stay Connected with us!

Auspicious Puja

Sunday, 20 October 2019, 9:30 am to 10:45 am

BW Monastery Lvl3, Room 304

https://bwmonastery.org.sg/events/2019/10/20-auspicious-puja-eng

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