bethbrotz:

Hatred will never cease by hatred.  Never.  Hatred can only cease by love.

  ~  Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha

All beings want to be happy, yet so very few know how.  The process of forgiveness is one way for us to remember where our deepest happiness lies. When our minds are full of anger and hatred toward others, we need to ask ourselves, “Who is the one suffering from this anger?”  In most cases, we will realize that we are in fact the ones who are really suffering.  Forgiveness thus actually comes out of the greatest compassion for ourselves.  Forgiveness helps us create the conditions for unconditional love, which can dissolve separation and relieve us of our perpetually unresolved outrage.

This is admittedly difficult.  It is much more difficult to forgive than not to forgive.  National and world political leaders seem to rely on this fact:  It is much easier to unite people with a bond of common hatred than it is to unite them with shared love.

Remember, forgiveness does not mean condoning a harmful action or denying injustice or suffering.  It should never be confused with being passive toward violation or abuse.  What forgiveness is, on the other hand, is an inner relinquishment of our resentment, which is devastating to us in the end.  As forgiveness grows within us, it may take any outward form:  we may indeed seek to make amends, demand justice, or resolve to be treated better.  Or we may find that it’s best to simply leave a situation behind us.

  (adapted from Sharon Salzberg)