Doctrine to address or alleviate someone's sense of betrayal? Does Buddhism say anything about suffering as the result of having a sense of &quot;betrayal&quot; -- perhaps a sense of someone else having committed an &quot;injustice&quot;?
I think that for some individuals it's an important and a very long-lasting type of suffering -- for example:

if they feel betrayed or mistreated by their parents
... or their spouse, their children
... or even become outraged as a result of criminal offence by a stranger
... or even just impersonal bad luck (&quot;oh, that is so unfair!&quot;)

But although it can be important, I see nothing about it on Access to Insight.
The one possible mention of it that I can think of is Dhp 3:

&quot;He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me.&quot; Those who harbor such thoughts do not still their hatred.

Another mention in passing might be the parable of the saw -- i.e. the importance of keeping a mind of good will even if you are abused -- but that's all: very few examples/mentions.
I understand it as being a specific case of a more general problem, i.e. of &quot;craving&quot; (for things to be other than as they are), and &quot;I-making&quot; -- but do you know any doctrine on this more specific subject, i.e. of betrayal and/or a sense of injustice?
Also is it right to say that Buddhist doctrine on the subject tends to &quot;well actually, you deserved this misfortune&quot; -- for example something like the origin story for Dhp 5 implies that if someone persecutes you, then perhaps that's a result of something you did in a previous life. If so, is there a way to paraphrase or explain that principle to a modern non-Buddhist audience? Because &quot;actually it's your fault&quot; might be quite unwelcome (therefore ineffective), the modern view tends to denounce that as &quot;blaming the victim&quot;, and the victim themselves might want to know that you're on their side and not siding with their abuser.
If this is a 'reference request' question, it might be asking for doctrine from outside the suttas.
The reasoning is along these lines and where the answer diverges that is due to self view and one then questions on whether it is appropriate to hold that view.
&quot;Who hurt you? Did the head hairs, body hairs, the teeth, the nails, the skin.. did the earth element, the liquid element, the wind element, the fire element or the space element hurt you?&quot;
&quot;Did the intellect element hurt you?&quot;
&quot;No but the person who has these elements hurt me:(&quot;
&quot;What do you think, bro: Do you regard form as the person?&quot;
&quot;Not rly.&quot;
&quot;Do you regard feeling as the person?&quot;
&quot;Not rly.&quot;
&quot;Do you regard perception as the person?&quot;
&quot;Not rly.&quot;
&quot;Do you regard fabrications as the person?&quot;
&quot;Not rly.&quot;
&quot;Do you regard consciousness as the person?&quot;
&quot;Not rly.&quot;
&quot;What do you think, friend: Do you regard the person as being in form?... Elsewhere than form?... In feeling?... Elsewhere than feeling?... In perception?... Elsewhere than perception?... In fabrications?... Elsewhere than fabrications?... In consciousness?... Elsewhere than consciousness?&quot;
&quot;Not really, no.&quot;
&quot;What do you think: Do you regard the person as form-feeling-perception-fabrications-consciousness [taken together]?&quot;
&quot;Nah brah.&quot;
&quot;Do you regard the person as that which is without form, without feeling, without perception, without fabrications, without consciousness?&quot;
&quot;Nope..&quot;
&quot;And so, Friend — when you can't pin down the person as a truth or reality — is it proper for you to declare, 'Friends, he/she betrayed &amp; abused me:( '
&quot;I guess not..&quot;
In the end one can only think in terms of true elements and can delineate the elements of delusion as the corruption of intellect element which like the other elements can be grasped with wrong view to be personal for this or that being, corrupted knowledge can be shown to beget wrong resolve, wrong action etc
So one breaks this idea of a person being a true element and likewise with the idea of the self who got abused.