Whenever I’m in the company of others,
I will regard myself as the lowest among all,
And from the depths of my heart
Cherish others as supreme.
It used to be that I had great aversion to the training verse above. I mean, didn’t the Lord Buddha advise us not to become entangled in the the conceits of imagining oneself to be better, worse out the same as anyone else? And although such a question begs for further study it seems to me that, as I have surrendered my own imperfect understanding for just long enough to practice the advice of the second verse, that I may just be mistaken.
What I often find when I am in groups of people, such as the large crowds in the subway where I often write these posts, is that I silently sit in judgement of each individual imagining all the ways in which I’m better, smarter out more capable. As shameful as it is to admit it that is honestly what I do in those moments not dedicated to the practice of the brahmaviharas. So, naturally, as I pause to consider the possibility that I am the last of all of these people, that I have something to learn from each one of them the shift is tectonic. Gone is the arrogance and pride and in its place a curiosity and tenderness.
Surely the lesson here had something to do with appropriate attention and were it the case that I began to habitually feel lesser than the company in which I found myself I would apply the antidote of reflecting on my good qualities (caganussati) but, for now, it seems like this profound Mahayana teaching really is working like a wish fulfilling gem.
May all beings find true release from suffering!
Cattāri Brahmavihārā 
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