“Most of us can forgive and forget; we just don\'t want the other person to forget that we forgave.” “To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.” “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.” Introduction to forgiveness A reporter once asked the Dalai Lama if he was angry with the Chinese for having taken over Tibet. The Dalai Lama responded, “They have taken everything from us, should I let them take my mind as well ?” Letting go of anger and grudges has apparent benefits for one’s peace of mind and well-being. Definition of forgiveness As with anything, to have a robust and holistic definition, it is important to look at it not only from a physical or psychological perspective but also from a spiritual perspective. This is because a large proportion of the events (good or bad) that happen in our lives are dictated by the karma or destiny we have to undergo. Negative karma or destiny is a spiritual problem. This, therefore, means that most of the significant events that take place in our lives, where we feel we have been aggrieved and we need to forgive to move on, are usually karma related. Gaining a deeper insight into the concept of forgiveness All major life events like marriage, good and bad relationships, accidents, and major illnesses are mostly caused by one’s destiny. Therefore, the suffering and pain that needs to be undergone due to destiny often play out through such events. The people that give us the maximum pain or happiness in our lives are also mostly doing so as they could be settling accounts from previous lifetimes. Our mind is defined as the seat of our feelings and emotions. It is made up of the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. While the conscious mind is small in comparison, it is part of our mind that we are aware of. The subconscious mind on the other hand is something we have little awareness and understanding of, yet it is one that heavily influences the conscious mind. It contains millions of impressions that define our personality traits, along with our qualities and defects.