Jun 20, 2022
**** Please be advised, in this episode Ken and I discuss some potentially triggering topics. During our time together we touch on the topics of assault, rape, bomb detonation, and death by electrocution. We do so respectfully. Please be aware and proceed in a way that best supports your emotional and mental health. Thank you. ****
One day you are enjoying breakfast at your local diner. You feel like you have a friendship with your waitress. Most days she is the one who takes your order and brings you your food. The next day she is in an accident, and you are on the scene as she takes her last breath.
While doing your duty, you arrest someone who cannot afford bail. While he is in jail his partner is attacked. You know you did your job, yet you wonder about the karma of this situation.
Months later you see the person you arrested die in a particularly grisly accident. You can’t help but wonder why you are part of his experience.
Ken Yamarashi lives with these memories and more. He understands the importance of finding a way to process the shock that comes when karma and violent impermanence meet.
His experiences are not uncommon for someone who has served in the military and on the police force. And he knows that too many of his fellow veterans have ended their lives, rather than continue with the suffering.
In most of these traumatic experiences, it is impossible to talk to the other parties who were involved. What Ken teaches us during this episode is that the only place he can do the work is within his own mind.
These things have happened. This is a historical fact. The only thing that can change is the way he perceives now. You have to have a technique of letting go and the ability to tap into equanimity. Let Ken share the practice(s) that have been the most helpful to him on his journey.
Connect with Ken here: https://www.everydaysamurai.life/
For more on the teachings of Shinzin Young please visit: https://www.shinzen.org/about/