What is hatred?

It's an ugly beast. It reminds me of a rat that lives in the shadows. It nests in your very home — the walls, the ventilation, the pipes, anywhere it can find a suitable spot to rest. If you've ever had a rat problem, you know they can be tricky creatures — and they're usually not alone. They are familial and know how to keep the lineage going for generations.

The rat finds scraps to keep itself plump, leftover foods or forgotten imperishables to sustain itself on. You know a rat is there by its droppings, you'll rarely see the rat itself. And it scares us when we see it — rightly so, if you handle it with your hands, you are positioning yourself to get poisoned, infected by its bite.

The rat is relatively small but it hides well and reproduces quickly. You may trap and kill one with patience, persistent cleverness. You may even call an exterminator to fumigate the house. But your home will always be warm enough for new vermin to nest, and keeping them out... well, I'm not sure how you would really.

The rat is ultimately a frail creature — so too is hatred a thin mask for deep sorrow, sadness, pain. The metaphor may only go so far, so I am not sure if trapping or killing hatred is the right approach. I do know that enough silence inspires the rat to emerge — it feels safe to rear its head and search for food in the silence. When there is too much noise, the rat remains hidden in the walls.

I have seen great anger emerge from within me during long meditations. I am almost scared to see the rats I never knew lived within my inner walls. They are frightening to witness — and we certainly consider the rat and hatred ugly creatures to remain unspoken of and in the shadows.

And yet some cultures praise the rat. I admit my ignorance here, but I have some vague understanding that the Chinese year of the rat shines a favorable light on the creature. Cultures consider those born in such years to have their identities bound to the qualities of the creature. Those qualities may include cleverness and adaptability.

Perhaps too we can appreciate hatred in a different light. We certainly do not want it living in our walls, but we can approach it with empathy. The rat is not objectively bad — it abides by its own nature and is a creature of God no less than you or I am. Hatred may come to live within us to help us survive, to avoid confronting great pains that we cannot bear to face.

But at some point, allowing hatred to emerge into our awareness and observation may allow us to free it. If we continue to yell, scream, or keep the frail beast in hiding, we may never give it the opportunity to leave our home and make its nest elsewhere.

So many timid creatures can emerge in the darkness and silence of our uninterrupted observation.