Sorry

Sympathy is of the heart and has its place but if pity should raise its head, draw your sword and decapitate it.

Hard to fudge

There is no direct benefit to be derived from observing the mind. Can we learn honesty from a thief, fidelity from a philanderer or detachment from a sports fan?

The benefit of observing the mind is indirect. To observe the mind, we move out of the mind. Therein lies the benefit.

The spiritual traditions aren’t big on self-improvement. (Outside of the mind, there is nothing to improve.) What they do talk about is self-obliteration, e.g., “Unless you die to the self, you cannot enter the peaceful place.”

“Die” is one of those hard-to-fudge words.