culture

Jack Kornfield, renowned Buddhist meditation teacher, describes a ritual of the Babemba tribe of South Africa in his book “The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace.” When a tribal member commits a crime, the whole tribe gathers and surrounds the person in the center of the village. Rather than punish the person, they begin listing off every positive thing he has ever done to remind him of who he is. "I was hungry and you fed me," they might say, or "My children were lost and you led them to safety." Or maybe: “You comforted me when I was very sad, and made me laugh.” Every positive…