The Lotus Still Blooms (4 page)

In metaphysics this first point would be called spiritual understanding. By incorporating it into our lives, we begin to view life accurately— not simply according to our perceptions (clouded, mixed, muddled) but what is spiritually true in any given situation.

When we evaluate life through our perceptions we keep ourselves in a perpetual state of confusion. Perception keeps our lives in chaos. Our perceptions are legion. We have numerous perceptions about any given subject, and for the most part they are all terribly inaccurate!

The reason they are inaccurate is because we have been asleep. With Right View we no longer perceive life from an upside-down perspective, and our perceptions begin to right themselves. Then we can begin to “view” life accurately, truly, eternally. This takes tremendous spiritual commitment.

The Zen Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh speaks frequently in both his teaching and his writing of “watering seeds.” The seeds you may be watering are seeds of being misunderstood, victimhood, judgment and deception, seeds of past hurts and sorrows. If you are, then you need to be watering seeds of kindness, loving action, forgiveness, love and compassion. These latter seeds are the seeds of Right View.

If we are watering seeds of “he done me wrong,” we are watering seeds of misperception. The Buddha said on this subject, “Perception leads to deception.” What a phenomenal yet simple way to convey this entire teaching. I’ve learned to repeat this statement frequently. It is most helpful.

—HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA

Right View is sometimes called Right Understanding. Our Right View begins with a deep understanding. Says Thich Nhat Hanh, “When we can come to truly understand impermanence . . . then it could be said we have Right View.”

With Right View we can begin to recognize those beliefs, views and concepts that have caused us to suffer, and we can begin to learn how
not
to water them and increase their strength.

In Right View we water the seeds of truth—loving-kindness, generosity, goodness, compassion, loyalty, selflessness—and these views blossom and grow within us. We learn to water and nurture the beneficial and wholesome seeds in us, those that are part of our Buddha nature, and we cease watering the angry, mistrustful, selfish, fearful seeds. Over time we will see huge shifts in our perceptions and advancement on our spiritual path.

Our perceptions are attached to illusions rather than the truth. That gets us into soul trouble. We live as if a false belief is totally true, and this causes us to suffer and suffer greatly. What needs to occur and occur constantly is intense self-examination. To be vigilant is to be introspective. This takes a highly disciplined mind and an enormous willingness to live a different life. But doing so results in a life that is becoming more and more free of suffering. Sogyal Rinpoche teaches that, when one is angry, 90 percent of one’s perception is distorted. So it is essential to resolve one’s anger in order to have Right View.

Other ways for a Westerner to grasp Right View is to recall the words of Paul from the New Testament: “I look in a mirror darkly.” We cannot see because of the clouding of the mirror of our minds. Another common expression is: “Do you see the glass half full or half empty?” In other words, what seeds are we watering?

The current means for most of us seeing our “view” is the result of our accumulated memories, teachings and experiences, all stored in our subconscious minds. It is easy to believe our perceptions are accurate. They are not. We have the wrong view and don’t even realize it.

The Buddhists call that which fills the subconscious mind “store consciousness.” Each person’s store consciousness is uniquely his. That is why a dozen people can each have a different perception of any given situation or event.

—HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA

I believe an accurate understanding of Right View is very important for Westerners. We have been so conditioned to believe that our happiness comes from the outer, such as the accumulation of more possessions. If we have more and more, bigger and better, then we will be happy. Or perhaps we believe that more educational degrees will make us happy. Or perhaps we think it’s knowing the right people, belonging to the right club, going to the right parties, receiving recognition and awards. Many Americans view success as living through their children’s accomplishments, even living their lives
for
their children. These are all wrong view, because someday all of the preceding are going to cause you to suffer. Someday you will see they are all impermanent with no enduring reality.

The door will close in your face. You’ll be passed over for the award. Your child will resent you. Someone will come along who is more educated, more clever, more handsome and on and on. You will suffer because you mistakenly believed your happiness was circumstance-dependent rather than knowing that the impermanent can never bring about happiness.

An affirmation you can use to change this “outer” thinking is: “My happiness comes only from that which is eternal.” From time to time I meditate on that affirmation, and it brings much clarity to my mind, helping me to really know what is truly valuable. And I have discovered these valuable truths for myself: love, caring, kindness, sharing, generosity, a peaceful mind, peaceful perceptions, compassion, understanding. These are the seeds in my life that I water daily.

Right View is truly seeing life as it is, not as it appears to be in the outer. As I write this, it is just a few days past the London suicide bombings of three underground stations and one double-decker bus. In the West our collective head is spinning over the shock of it all. We question how this could happen and happen in of all places the seat of civility, London. The four young men, three born in England and all raised there, by all appearances were totally integrated into British culture. Yet their secretly held views were anything but pro-British. While they plotted their destructive plan, those who lived with them and knew them had no clue of their sinister scheme. Most would agree they harbored wrong view.

Anytime anyone believes some benefit can come forth by causing another to suffer, it is the opposite of Right View. It is wrong view. Unwholesome seeds of hate were watered by these young men. We must be very mindful to water only wholesome seeds so they are what blooms in us and in our children.

Thich Nhat Hanh sums up Right View with this teaching: “From the viewpoint of ultimate reality, Right View is the absence of all views.” Right View is realizing that the true nature of the mind is the true nature of everything. This is the absolute truth.

Our perceptions deceive us, pure and simple. They cannot be trusted. Perceptions lead to deceptions. And when we begin to realize this, we begin to wake up. In order to experience Right View we have to make the connection between what is manifesting in our lives and what seeds we are watering.

Right View is distinct from Right Thought, but all are linked. Right View is a challenging concept, an ultimate concept. With the very highest expression of Right View we relinquish our judgments, good or ill, about everything. Who has accomplished this? Not many. But when we grasp it, we can end our suffering.

When the historical Buddha first began to teach, he knew in his awakened mind that it was possible to end suffering and to cease being miserable. It
is
possible to end being miserable, but we must start with an accurate view of an experience. These are the seeds we must water.

—
THE DHAMMAPADA

RIGHT THOUGHT

THINKING IS THE SPEECH of the mind. This is such a simple and profound way to define our own thinking. When our thinking is aligned with Right View, we are thinking clearly in accord with the highest ideals.
A Course in Miracles
speaks of upside-down thinking, and the Buddhists have a term for this, “viparyasa,” which translates as “upsidedown way.”

Often we are caught in upside-down thinking. Our greatest challenge is that we don’t recognize it as being upside down. We think we are right. We think our perceptions and thoughts are accurate. They are not. Medieval man thought the world was flat, but it did not make it flat. We could say they had wrong view and wrong thought.

Here are some suggestions for ways to prevent upside-down thinking, or wrong thought:

These practices are supportive in keeping you on track daily. Think of it as a spiritual diet. Feeding your soul is equally as important as feeding your body.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “We become what we think about all day long.” Be ever mindful of what your thoughts beneath your thoughts might be. Think in accord with that which is spiritually true, good, kind, helpful, loving.

In order to have Right Thinking we must have it in the foundation of Right View. Our minds must be constantly trained and every thought mindfully witnessed in order to move into Right View.

—
THE DHAMMAPADA

Our thinking is constantly creating our reality. The easiest way to observe your past thinking is to look at what is present in your life today. Whatever it may be is a certain indicator of where your thinking has been.

—HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA

In Buddhism there are three practices that instruct us in Right Thought that are very helpful in creating a calm mind:

First:
There is a practice to frequently ask yourself, “Are you sure?” Are you sure your thinking about a person or a situation is accurate? Or is it just a story you are telling yourself? This humorous story illustrates the point.

After several years of observing him do it, a woman in my congregation asked me why it was my husband, David, left the 9 A.M. service immediately preceding the offering. For years she had thought he left at that moment as some sort of cosmic act not to be in the sanctuary when the tithes and offerings were being given and received. Her thinking told her something to the effect that he did not feel it was appropriate for the minister’s husband to be in the room during that part of the service. In actuality he always left the service at that point to go to another part of the building to be on time to facilitate a
Course in Miracles
study group. Her perception was essentially a story she had made up.

When she revealed to me what her self-talk story had convinced her was true, I burst out laughing. I dropped my usually unflappable platform, ministerial persona and laughed heartily. It was slightly embarrassing. She had been attending only the 9 A.M. service for years. If she had attended the 11 A.M. service, she would have observed David staying through the offering and even giving his weekly tithe.

Are you sure about what you are sure about?

To help bring clarity to your mind by asking, “Are you sure?” I suggest creating several flash cards containing only those words written in bold script in your own handwriting. Place them where they will be most frequently seen: in your journal, taped to mirrors in your home, on the dashboard of your car, at your desk, at your computer. Place at least four or five around your environment.