you consider to be wise and courageous about their
lives, you may find that they have hurt a lot of people
and made a lot of mistakes, but that they used those
occasions as opportunities to humble themselves and
open their hearts. We don’t get wise by staying in a
room with all the doors and windows closed.
“Train in the three difficulties” is my favorite slogan
because it acknowledges that this path is difficult, all
right, but it’s a good way to spend our time. There are
three difficulties. The first is seeing neurosis as neuro-
sis, and the second is being willing to do something
different. The third difficulty is the aspiration to make
this a way of life.
Seeing neurosis as neurosis. The first difficulty is to
see what you do. There is a slogan that goes along
with that that says, “Liberate yourself by examining
and analyzing.” This is an interesting point, to be able
to see what we do without hating ourselves. This can
also be a description of maitri—loving-kindness. We
could see what we do with honesty but with gentle-
ness. We could see what we do and realize that that’s
our first experience of the big squeeze. It’s the path of
a warrior, seeing what we do without turning it
against ourselves.
This slogan about liberating yourself by examining
and analyzing simply means, as with the slogans
“Don’t be jealous,” “Don’t be frivolous,” and “Don’t
The Big Squeeze 185