If we have enemies, we tend to think of them as permanently hostile.. Maybe this is what we think, but the reality is quite different. At present we might have every confidence in our parents who are so dear to us, but when they go from this life, who is to say that they will not be reborn among our enemies?

If we consider this carefully, we might picture a situation where many people are at work on some elaborate project. At one moment, they are all friends together, feeling close, trusting and doing each other good turns. But then something happens and they become enemies, perhaps hurting or even killing one another. Such things do happen, and changes like this can occur several times in the course of a single lifetime - for no other reason than that all composite things or situations are impermanent.

From Enlightened Courage, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Copyright 1993 by Editions Padmakara (Padmakara Translation Group). Published and distributed by Snow Lion Publications. Used by permission.