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Just my thoughts #0526

If you can’t throw away what you have, you don’t own it properly. If you cannot leave the place you are staying, you are not entirely settled. Possession and non-possession share the same root, and wandering and settlement share the same root. There is no eternal state; we only enjoy a temporary state. It is often misunderstood that a state of possession for a moment is possession, and that a momentary absence is mistaken for wandering. The world changes, and you change too. Obsession and stubbornness will only hinder your change. If you know how to give up and leave at any time, the value of what you currently have and the state you are in will change significantly. Stability comes from sharing instability. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Just my thoughts #0212

Jesus taught, “If you got slapped your right cheek, turn the other cheek.” One of the actions that the Jewish Qumran community denied and forbade was “pointing with the left hand.” Violations of this rule brought sanctions from the community. To hit the right cheek means the opponent strikes with an unclean left or right backhand. This cheek slap is deliberately insulting and humiliating rather than merely a pain-inflicting action. Therefore, this teaching of Jesus, “turn the other cheek,” suggests not allowing oneself to be struck by the back of the hand and can signify not being helpless but being active in nonviolent resistance without seeking revenge or retaliation. Perhaps this teaching carries a frightening meaning. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”