Be wise, O my Woe, seek thy grievance to drown,
Thou didst call for the night, and behold it is here,
An atmosphere sombre, envelopes the town,
To some bringing peace and to others a care.
Whilst the manifold souls of the vile multitude,
'Neath the lash of enjoyment, that merciless sway,
Go plucking remorse from the menial brood,
From them far, O my grief, hold my hand, come this way.
Behold how they beckon, those years, long expired,
From Heaven, in faded apparel attired,
How Regret, smiling, foams on the waters like yeast ;
Its arches of slumber the dying sun spreads,
And like a long winding-sheet dragged to the East,
Oh, hearken Beloved, how the Night softly treads !'
-- from Baudelaire's 'Les Fleurs du Mal' / en: 'The Flowers of Evil' /.
Source: archive.org.
Critic.
From my knowledge & experiences:
Eastern meditation is a tool for reaching Enlightenment, Mind State beyond happiness - but still containing happiness, i should add.
When one engages in the buddhist meditation, one's grieviances drown, transform to state where regrets & despair disappears, replaced by feelings of happiness, love & meaning.
Mind's calmness appears, there's sense of belonging to a Buddhist community, Sangha.
Sangha reaches for those who need help and for those who are motivated to repay with helping others as well.
Shame, remorses & regrets are 'plucked' from one's thoughts & feelings, leaving only neutral memories that these appeared in past.
There's also a critic - as i perceive it - in Baudelaire's poem that regrets are coming from heaven, from catholic upbringing.
But a buddhist meditation of the East has a way, it tempts & seduces like softly-treading night, making these feelings calm down, go to peaceful sleep.
