Don't Wait in Ambush

Examples defined.

Don't Wait in Ambush

 
The Tibetan version of this slogan literally says "Don't ambush", that is, wait for somebody
to fall down so you can attack. You are waiting for that person to fall into the trap or
problem you want or expect. You want them to have that misfortune, and you hope that
misfortune will take place in a way which will allow you to attack.

If you are having a disagreement with somebody, you don't usually attack him or her right
away because you don't want to be in a powerless position. Instead, you wait for him to fall
apart, and then you attack him. Sometimes you pretend to be his adviser, and you attack
him in that disguise, pointing out to him how wretched he is. You say " I have been waiting
to tell you this. Now you are falling apart completely, I am going to take the opportunity to
tell you that you are not so good. I am in much better shape than you are." That is a sort of
opportunism, a bandit's approach. That bandit's approach is the meaning of waiting in
ambush, which happens quite frequently.

From Training the Mind & Cultivating Loving-Kindness by Chogyam Trungpa 

Don't Wait in Ambush

 
The next one is "Don't wait in ambush," yet another "naked truth" slogan. You have been
taught that you should be a nice person; on the other hand, you don't feel so nice. Maybe
you know something about your husband that he doesn't know you know. You keep it up
your sleeve, waiting for just the right moment to spring it on him. One day you're in the
middle of a big argument, very heated. He has just insulted you royally. At that moment
you bring the ace down from your sleeve and really let him have it. That's called waiting in
ambush. You are willing to be very patient until just the right moment comes along, and
then you let someone have it. This isn't the path of the warrior, it's the path of the coward.
Not only do you want to "win"; you aren't even willing to communicate. The aspiration to
communicate with another person-to be able to listen and to speak from the heart-is what
changes our old stuck patterns.

From Start Where You Are : A Guide to Compassionate Living by Pema Chodron

 

Don't Wait in Ambush

 
When someone has caused you trouble, the tendency is to fix it in mind and never forget it
though many years go by. When there is an opportunity to ambush the person and to return
the injury, revenge is taken. Give up this approach and be as helpful as you can in your
response to troublesome situations. For the kind of trouble caused by demons, don't cling to
the problem, but work only on love and compassion.

From The Great Path of Awakening : An Easily Accessible Introduction for Ordinary People
by Jamgon Kongtrul, translated by Ken Mcleod

Do Not Wait at the Narrow Passageway

 
Picture a scene from a western, or from the highlands of Tibet: bandits waiting in ambush at
a narrow pass, where the victim has no chance of escape. To really damage someone, one
waits till one's intended victim is most vulnerable. What we are told to avoid here is biding
our time to be especially hurtful, lashing back at someone maybe weeks or months after
they have injured us, whether physically or verbally.

On first hearing verses such as this we may assume they do not apply to us. Obviously, this
is meant for malicious people, and we are not among the bad guys. Perhaps this initial
response is honest; some of us may hold no grudges. If so, we need not be concerned with
this right now; we have certainly practiced well in the past, either in this or previous
lifetimes. Let us focus instead on problems that are relevant.

But our initial response may not be very insightful. In meditating on this pledge as well as
the others, the point is to examine our past experience and try to recall: Have I done this
kind of thing before? What was the context? What prodded me to do it? What were the
results? Do I still have this tendency? And in the present, any resentment still active should
be brought to light. Am I anticipating revenge? There are ways of getting back at others
more subtle than standing at the ready with a shotgun. We need to check for ourselves
whether each pledge is pertinent for our present situation, but they are all worthy of clear-
minded, honest introspection that does not rely on the initial response, "Who, me?" Maybe,
after more reflection, we may say, "Well, yes, at times." This does not mean that we are
evil and vulgar, but simply that we have some work to do.

Excerpted from: The Seven-Point Mind Training(first published as A Passage from Solitude :
Training the Mind in a Life Embracing the World), by B. Alan Wallace.

Don't Wait in Ambush

 
'Ambush,' in this case, means remembering the harm done to us by others and biding our
time for a moment of weakness when we might strike back, seeking the help of the
powerful or even resorting to witchcraft, and so on. We should relinquish any thoughts of
this kind.

From Enlightened Courage, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Copyright 1993 by Editions
Padmakara