Where is the Point of No Return?

This image is from The Onion, which had a fake news report on 26 July 2010 (http://www.theonion.com/articles/trojar-introduces-no-ones-pleasure-condoms-for-bit,17781/) about the invention of a new line of condoms for bitter and resentful couples called "No One's Pleasure". The article demonstrates how well thie new version of condom can enhance alienation between the couple with functions such as quarter-inch-thick layer of non-lubricated latex with a unique abraxive texture that creates a variety of stinging sensations "for both him and her". It also mentioned that the demand of the society has been really high as there are a large number of couples who stay together with hatred and wanting to use sex to torture each other. This triggers me to think about how far at one point that a couple not only no longer love each other, but starting to hate each other.

To be honest, whenever I think about my past relationships, I always sigh. I sighed because there were wonderful moments in those relationships, but the ending is just a real disappointment. I guess I always try to put away negative memories. Such tendency can be shown by me throwing out hostile letters from ex-boyfriends while keeping the love letters. Time helps with forgetting things, and I would help myself in living more happily by doing it selectively.

However, I have also seen people who can't take the thought of a past relationship, destroy all sorts of possible memories and replace those with hatred. If the relationship is long enough, it is almost like a massive tidy up of the home. I had an ex-boyfriend who once told me that he burnt all my love letters when we had a big fight and was at the edge of breaking up. And there are a number of friends who feed all the "evidence of a relationship" to the garbage bin.

I have a Buddhism story which I want to share at this point (even if you are not a Buddhist, I think you would enjoy it):

One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude yound man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right to teach others, " he shouted, "you are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing."

Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man, "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does this gift belong?" The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, "it would belong to me, because I bought the gift."

Buddha smiled and said, "that is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurting yourself. If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone's happy.

I guess the message of the story is clear enough. Let's hope that even if the "No One's Pleasure" is being promoted into the market in the future, it won't be needed.