A few years ago I was reading a review of a new book by Thich Nhat Hanh on Amazon. I was thinking of buying the book and thought I’d just check the first few reviews to get a better idea of what it was about.
The first reviewer wrote that the master repeats his ideas. A second, perhaps more experienced, reviewer commented that the master repeats ideas because we haven’t gotten them yet.
So repetition is necessary since it does take us many times to "get it."
Over the past eleven months, I have periodically happened to think of my mother’s last few days and of what she went through and said. Although she maintained her sense of humor amazingly well, there were a few times when her words caused me such intense sadness that I had to consciously put them away as I chanted "Amituofo."
We can accept, logically and emotionally, that our suffering is a part of our living. But watching someone we love suffer is different. It hurts. We want to end their suffering, but are helpless.
Last week I was preparing for a class by reading a book Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda’s book How to Live Without Fear & Worry. He was writing of suffering, something I often speak and write about. Suddenly, something shifted within me. And it was okay. The words I had read and spoken so often became an experience, and everything settled. I truly "got it."
So if you wonder why the masters keep repeating the same ideas, it’s okay. They know what they’re doing. They know that it takes us many times to "get it."