{"collection":"Buddhism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/bud/tib/window.htm","path":"bud/tib/window.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/bud/tib/window.htm","text":"[This document can be acquired from a sub-directory coombspapers via anonymous\nFTP and/or COOMBSQUEST gopher on the node COOMBS.ANU.EDU.AU]\nThe document's ftp filename and the full directory path are given in the\ncoombspapers top level INDEX file]\n[This version: 2 August 1993]\n-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nThis text addresses some of the most fundamental and delicate religious issues.\nTherefore, it should be read, quoted and analysed in a mindful way.\nTHE WINDOW OF RIGHT VIEW TO LIFE\nby Lama Choedak\n[reprinted with permission from the CLEAR MIND QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER No 8,\nMay-July 1991]\nCopyright 1991 (c) by Lama Choedak Yuthok, Sakya Losal Choe Dzong, Canberra\nIf you live in a house from where you have a nice view, you are probably happy\nas far as the location of your house is concerned. The happiness of living in\nthe House of Life depend on what kind of views you have to your life. In this\nissue you will read my thoughts about ways of applying one's understanding of\nthe Dharma and meditation practice in everyday life by developing the right view\nto life. Those who have genuinely taken refuge in the Dharma and have developed\nself-discipline through meditation would have discovered a view which provides\na clear understanding of what is going on in their lives and why. The\nteachings of the Dharma makes lot of sense as it shows how to see things in a\ncorrect manner without being obscured by any distorted views of life's\nconfusion. The Buddha taught about eight interrelated techniques that were\nessential to provide as a guide to sustain one's spiritual inspiration and\npractice. Practising the Dharma according to its teachings depends on how much\nunderstanding we may have of the Eight Noble Paths. Just as we use the\nprescribed ingredients to prepare a meal according to a recipe, we must combine\nand integrate correctly all the eight skillful techniques. In this issue we will\ndiscuss two Buddhist principles which constitutes main factors to develop the\nright view.\nTo understand anything and life as a whole, one must not be influenced by any\nnarrow and limited views. If you have strong views, they will bring problems\nwhether you believe them to be right or wrong. The views we hold have no\nsubstance in themselves for any change of the circumstances upon which the views\nwere based will prove them unsubstantiated. While we don't like to be misled\nby others we do not want to be troubled by our own wrong views. Wrong views\nproduce frustration and bring pain and suffering upon those around us. In fact\nall the sufferings are caused by our own ignorance. Our views or perceptions of\nany event or our existence in this world mold our attitudes, behaviours and\nexperiences. Regardless of the correctness of our views, they create deep pain\nas long as we cling to them. So, it is essential to cultivate the right view.\nIf we can associate ourselves with the following principles, we will live a full\nand wholesome life. In order to be able to see things in a correct manner, one\nmust not forget the four basic and universal principles which constitute correct\nBuddhist views:\n1) All living beings are subject to experience pain and dissatisfaction\n2) Everything is impermanent\n3) Everything is empty of inherent existence\n4) Nirvana (Going beyond suffering) is peace\nIt is important to understand sufferings and difficulties of living since they\nare part of your every day life. If you can fully understand the meaning of\npain, you will not reject it. The best way to overcome pain is by accepting it.\nThe non-acceptance of pain makes you to believe that you are the only one who is\nhaving a hard time and cannot have concern over other people. Skillful means of\nhandling sufferings gives birth to compassion but struggle against it\nintensifies sufferings. The pain of non-acceptance is far more detrimental\nthan the actual pain itself. It may sound unfair to have only pain and\nsuffering when every effort of your life is made to not to have pain. It is\nnatural for everybody to expect happiness, but it is unobtainable by merely\navoiding pain. The destruction of pain can be fully realized when you overcome\nthe fear of pain. The purpose of life remains confused until you overcame the\nfear of pain. The reason why people find difficult to accept pain is, just\nbecause they think it is bad and so they shouldn't have it. If there is going\nto be pain whether you do this or do something else or do neither, the very\npurpose of any action, is to accept its consequences. Being responsible for\nwhat you do and being able to accept its consequences makes a harmonious and\nproductive life. Do not think that you did something wrong when you were\nundergoing some unexpected difficulties. What would have happened if you\ndidn't do it at all? You would have had a problem of a different kind. Do not\nconsider yourself to be unsuitable to whatever you are doing when difficulties\npersist, but remember the saying: No pain no gain. Try to cultivate a positive\nview of pain and its benefits. Do not reject pain for it is there for a reason.\nYour seriousness and sincerity of engaging to do something is being tested when\nyou face difficulties which derives from your own effort and you are not going\nto blame your effort. The meaning and purpose of the difficulties seldom become\nclear until you learn to accept it. Rejection of pain and fear of it give you\nreal trouble and you will not find freedom. This view that the pain is\nunavoidable and it is a fact of life, is one of the most crucial element in\nbeing able to maintain the right view even in extreme conflicting conditions.\nIf you fail to accept things that are at hand, you will become unable to control\nyour thoughts and speech, and will commit unskillful actions which you will\nregret later. Even if you meditate every morning, you must not forget this\nprinciple that suffering is very nature of existence. Sustaining this view\nprepares you to cope with the problems and can remain at ease. Learn to smile\nin times of trouble to prove changeability of the trouble and let go of\nattachment to happiness. Even if you found what you were looking for, it does\nnot last long, so be prepared to let go. Even if you can make it seem last\nlonger due to attachment, you will not be happy by holding onto a thing that\nwill inevitably part you anyway.\nSuffering will not go away unless you honestly accept that parting is the\nultimate outcome of all meetings. Basic acceptance that pain is the nature of\nlife enables you to lighten your mental worry and anxiety by reflecting on the\nimpermanence of all things. You were born alone and will die alone. You will\nalso have to learn to stop blaming others and be responsible of your experiences\nsince they are result of your own making. If you have a good recollection of\npast after so many years, why don't you try to remember some good and happy\nexperiences derived from such meetings and then see whether it is going to be\nthe same experiences of the past that you were so upset about. If you do this in\nrelation to sufferings, you will find that you yourself are creating the\nsufferings based on your inability to let go of the past without having any of\nthe circumstances under which the past suffering arose. So do not trace the\npast, unless you wanted to go that way. You will not be aware of the best\nmoment of here and now if you are anticipating future. Even if you have obtained\nsomething pleasant without facing some pain, examine how long would it last.\nAppreciate everything when it occurs before it vanishes and do not expect things\nto stay unchanged as you want them to be. The acceptence of the law of\nimpermanence will enable you to free from clinging and it provides a swift and\nsmooth parting into freedom. You do not have to make deliberate attempts to\nchange things but accept the changes that are occurring in and around you\neffortlessly and respect this course of nature's law. Do not try to stagnate\nyour growth by holding onto things that are no longer part of you. You cannot\nhave control over other people's actions to make you happy if you have\ndifficulty controlling your own. Set yourself free from clinging, bitterness\nand unforgiveness as soon as the parting takes place, and do not wait to occur\nanything that is not yet due. Although it may not be obvious, parting is not\nonly inevitable but it is extremely necessary as much as the meeting. Learn to\nsee the movement and change of things when they occur and do not assume what\nshould or should't happen to it. Do not be hard on yourself, take care of\nyourself. Do not appreciate only when good things that come to you but also\nwhen they go away from you so that you remain receptive. You will also set him\nfree if you would let him go. Observe the fleeting nature of your own thoughts\nand attitudes which projects things on to changeable objects and yet you are\ntrying to make them stand still. Do not have doubts of the result of an action\nif you are doing it right. Even if you did something wrong, why should you be\nupset if you can understand that it is not happening now and will not happen\nagain. If you have helped somebody in the past, do not think when and how they\nshould repay you since he or she may be busy helping someone else. If friends\nhave become what they were not, check what the foes will become if you don't\nhold them to be so. When trees grow taller to provide you shade, energy and\ncoolness, examine what are you giving to the world as you grow older. When\nthe busy hours of a worker's day turns into nothing more than a sleepy night,\nlet him sleep soundly for it may be the only thing he can enjoy for himself and\nso that he can be ready for another hard day. When chopping woods, do not hold\nan axe tight unless you do not want to use it again. Do not try too hard in\nthe beginning, for you may loose interest in your goals. Do not speed for a\nshort distance as in a race to exhaust yourself but walk slowly and steadily to\nenergize yourself wherever you might be going. Just talking to myself. L.C.\n-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nend of file","title":"Window","type":"page"}