My grandmother was born in 1916 and passed away at the age of 91.
She was left with 3 young kids and parents-in-law when her husband passed away at around 40.
I guess the reason why she had a long life is that she was doing this training unconsciously and kept her mind healthy and happy.
If we know how to make ourselves happy, no matter what we are experiencing, that is a very useful skill. Our life is a long journey to master the skill.
I guess my grandmother unconsciously practiced the training of the “Great Peacock” because she knew it worked.
The “Great Peacock” is an English translation of Mahamayuri in Sanskrit. It is an object of worship in Buddhism known as the Peacock Wisdom Queen.
Training of the Great Peacock
The peacock is a beautiful bird. A male peacock can be as big as 2 meters in size when it opens its feathers. My primary school had peacocks in a cage. When a male opened its feathers, every human being was amazed, not only female peacocks.
Peacocks eat poisonous insects and venomous snakes. But they don’t get hurt. They digest the poison and toxins and change them into nutrition and keep themselves extremely beautiful.
What does this mean?
We bump into toxic experiences or unpleasant things, or we meet mean people, and natural disasters occur. But isn’t it wonderful when we take all the toxic stuff into ourselves, change the poison into benefits, and make ourselves even better and more beautiful?
That is the training of the Great Peacock.
My mom says her mom, my grandmother, NEVER complained about her life, never whined, however tough her life was. My grandmother knew naturally that complaining about her life didn’t help. Rather it was toxic.
I respect my grandmother for this.
But in reality, things happen.
So, this is what I suggest.
Even though your circumstance is very tough, you don’t complain and don’t whine.
This is a good chance to improve your communication skills.
- Instead of complaining and whining, you can simply express how you feel, starting with “I feel ….”
- Instead of blaming someone, you can simply be curious about why the person is like that.
This is not easy. It takes courage. But it is worth doing.
When we decide to change toxins or tough experiences into the power to make us happy and beautiful, people around us become happier and inspired. This training will bring happiness and longevity not only to you but also to the people around you.
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