“Let me forget my brother’s past today.”
Thinking about the past, analyzing it and drawing conclusions based on your interpretation of what you think happened, is part of living in this world. It is a strategy you have adopted to support your physical survival. You only have to put your hand in the fire once to know that next time you need to keep your distance or wear proper gear. That is a factual and practical way to process this experience. It is not tied to a negative emotion about the phenomenon of fire or to your caution.
When it comes to people you can still use this factual, practical way of learning from the past. If you let go of a toddler’s hand, he may wander over to the edge of the sidewalk and venture into the street. That only has to happen once, and you’ll know to hold his hand firmly next time. You do not have a negative emotion about the nature of toddlers, nor do you condemn toddlers for their need to explore. In fact, you full well know that once they are a little older, they will understand that venturing into the street is not a wise thing to do, and so you patiently guide them toward that understanding. Learning from the past in a factual, practical way is fine.
So, what does forgetting “my brother’s past” mean? It means that you do not hold anything against any person, thing or situation, none of what you may believe happened in the past. The wind has blown the past away, allowing the present moment to arrive in its full glory now. Keeping negative emotion or condemnation active in your mind is like trying to catch the wind and cage it. The attempt itself will snare you, for what is active in your mind will then be reflected in images you see in the world, images that will seem to justify your efforts to catch the wind and cage it.
Forgetting your neighbor’s past is allowing the wind to continually wipe the slate clean so that the glory of Creation can be welcomed by you and all those you touch in each new moment.