The first sermon that the Buddha gave upon his awakening was the teaching on the Four Noble Truths- the truth of suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path to eliminate suffering.
The path to awakening starts with acknowledging our pain and dissatisfaction.
Truth seems elusive these days. Everyone has their own version of the truth and there seems to be little accountability for upholding that which is true. What is truth and why is it significant?
Truth is that which is authentic and non-deceptive. To be a seeker of truth means that one pursues that which is authentic and to remember what it is that is important in life.
The truth of suffering wakes us up to what is important. The truth of suffering is a call to attention, a wake up call. By acknowledging the truth of suffering, we can discover a truth that we can live with and recall that which is meaningful. The outer drama of our suffering can awaken us from the sleep of ignorance, discovering our purpose and recalling what it is that is important and meaningful in our life.
Our symptoms, looking back, can reveal what it is that we have to do.
By denying or rejecting the truth of our own suffering, we close ourselves off to insight into our own condition. Rather than fixing our situation, we require and strive for everything else to be fixed. We fall prey to the preoccupations of our small self, trapped in a world of self-indulgence and a repetitive cycle of lies about who we are or who we pretend to be.
The opposite of living your inner truths isn't living falsely, it is living a lie. We deceive ourselves.
To awaken from the path of self-deception, first we must acknowledge the truth of our own suffering.
Clarify your practice. Let your practice clarify you.
Showing posts with label deception. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deception. Show all posts
Friday, May 18, 2018
Monday, August 17, 2015
Confusion.
འཁྲུལ་པ་
Tibetan: trulpa
English: confusion, deception, misperception, distortion
Confusion is a false way of seeing the world. It is misapprehending a situation, deceiving ourselves about what is really happening. Confusion creates a lot of problems for us because it affects our actions and what we stand for. If our view is distorted, our actions are likewise misaligned and we experience more anger, more frustration and more fear. Confusion polarizes us and our world.
Confusion is really difficult to deal with because the confused person thinks they have knowledge. A distorted view of reality makes no difference if it is the reality you experience and all the stories you tell yourself confirm that reality.
Confusion has its own logic, its own arguments and its own justification.
So how do we uproot it?
The first step is to understand that we all have a lens through which we see the world. I have my own lens, you have yours. When we realize that there is some shared basis between those two worlds that we can talk about and discuss, then there is some possibility that I can undermine my own confusion.
Knowing the relativity of our own lens opens us up to the truth. It opens us up to empathy and genuine understanding. With empathy and genuine understanding we can reduce the distortion of our own lens and see the world more clearly.
We cannot change the minds of others. We can only show them another lens and start to ask questions.
Tibetan: trulpa
English: confusion, deception, misperception, distortion
Confusion is a false way of seeing the world. It is misapprehending a situation, deceiving ourselves about what is really happening. Confusion creates a lot of problems for us because it affects our actions and what we stand for. If our view is distorted, our actions are likewise misaligned and we experience more anger, more frustration and more fear. Confusion polarizes us and our world.
Confusion is really difficult to deal with because the confused person thinks they have knowledge. A distorted view of reality makes no difference if it is the reality you experience and all the stories you tell yourself confirm that reality.
Confusion has its own logic, its own arguments and its own justification.
So how do we uproot it?
The first step is to understand that we all have a lens through which we see the world. I have my own lens, you have yours. When we realize that there is some shared basis between those two worlds that we can talk about and discuss, then there is some possibility that I can undermine my own confusion.
Knowing the relativity of our own lens opens us up to the truth. It opens us up to empathy and genuine understanding. With empathy and genuine understanding we can reduce the distortion of our own lens and see the world more clearly.
We cannot change the minds of others. We can only show them another lens and start to ask questions.
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