we might see quite a shift in the aggressive energy
that’s causing such a widespread holocaust.
“Drive all blames into one”—or “Take the blame
yourself,” if you prefer—sounds like a masochistic
slogan. It sounds like, “Just beat me up, just bury me
under piles of manure, just let me have it and kick me
in the teeth.” However, that isn’t what it really means,
you’ll be happy to know.
One way of beginning to practice “Drive all blames
into one” is to begin to notice what it feels like when
you blame someone else. What’s actually under all
that talking and conversation about how wrong
somebody or something is? What does blame feel
like in your stomach? When we do this noticing we
see that we are somehow beginning to cultivate brav-
ery as well as compassion and honesty. When these
really unresolved issues of our lives come up, we are
no longer trying to escape but are beginning to be cu-
rious and open toward these parts of ourselves.
“Drive all blames into one” is a healthy and com-
passionate instruction that short-circuits the over-
whelming tendency we have to blame everybody
else; it doesn’t mean, instead of blaming the other
people, blame yourself. It means to touch in with
what blame feels like altogether. Instead of guarding
yourself, instead of pushing things away, begin to get
in touch with the fact that there’s a very soft spot
under all that armor, and blame is probably one of the
most well-perfected armors that we have.
Drive All Blames into One 71