Forgetting is Better

Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion

Ajahn Sumedho tells the story of visiting an elderly monk in a monastery who had suffered a stroke. Sumedho explains that this was a very learned man who had published multiple books.

The stroke had caused him to lose most of his memory.

Sumedho reports that he said he was much happier.

This is a very Buddhist story. In some sense, our identities, our egos, are mostly just…