Hey Pup, what's your view?

"Hey Pup."

"Hey Dog."

"Listen, Pup, I've been wondering why you don't play with any pugs?"

"No one in my pack plays with pugs."

"Why not?"

"Because, everyone knows that if you play with pugs you are likely to get hurt and that they can even ruin your whole pack."

"What?  That's not true, I've played with pugs my whole life and I've never had a problem.  Actually one of my best friends is a pug."

"Well you better be careful.  My pack refuses to acknowledge all the barking about how great pugs are these days.  My great granddog's pack nearly broke apart after they found out one of the new dogs had played with a pug.  It was only after he admitted that he wrong and promised to never do it again that the pack stayed together."

"Pup, I've seen you play with mutts and pit bulls, even jump into a river with a golden, but one pug comes around and you get all tied up in knots and refuse to play.  Don't you think you're just tormenting yourself worrying about these pugs."

"No, you don't joke around with pugs.  We just don't do it."

"Is there a chance that you are generalizing, that maybe there were certain situations that happened in the past and it just happened to be a pug.  Maybe it was the dog park or the type of game that was being played."

"What's your point?  Why are you attacking me and my pack just because we don't like pugs."

"I'm not attacking you, Pup.  I just want to know your view.  It seems to me that your view really affects your day to day reality and not necessarily in a good way.  The way you perceive pugs not only affects your actions, but you won't even play with other dogs if there is a pug around.  I'm not attacking you, Pup, I just think your view is a source of bondage for you."

"I appreciate your concern, Dog.  I do.  But this is the way its always been for my pack, we don't know any different and who wants to take a chance when there are all these others dogs we can play with anyways.  It's actually pretty easy to avoid pugs if you keep your eye out for them."

"That's the thing, Pup, your mind is preoccupied with pugs and you don't even recognize it.  All these other dogs play with pugs all the time and they have never had a problem.  There is so much of the dog park that you don't see because there might be a pug around.  This is all about fear and protecting yourself from pain, yet the fear itself torments you and you experience emotional pain and anxiety anyways."

"So what do you want me to do, just leave my pack behind and everyone I love to go play with some pugs.  I'm not going to do it Dog."

"I'm not asking you to leave your pack behind, maybe just get to know a pug and see what they are like.  Honestly, most of them are really nice and friendly just like all the other dogs here."

"My pack won't like this, I might get kicked out for even associating with a pug.  I can't believe I am even talking to you about this right now."

"I tell you what, just think about it.  You don't need to change today or even tomorrow.  Just watch from a distance, think about your view and how it affects your actions.  Does your view promote your happiness or does it promote suffering?  Does it promote the health and happiness of your pack and all the other dogs here or does it cause more division and judgement?  Just think about it Pup, that's all I ask."

"Alright, Dog, I'll think about it.  But don't tell anyone, I don't want to be known as the heretic."

"Your not a heretic for thinking about what is truly beneficial for your life and your pack, Pup, you might even strengthen your faith and do what is really important for them and all the other dogs here."

"Thanks Dog, I appreciate that."

Fallen.

Caught up by fixation, I constantly find myself struggling and fall into negative mental states.

Tripped up by selfishness, I get easily angered and find my surroundings to be a battlefield in which I continually fall victim. 

Ensnared by a narrow mind, I make everything complicated even when it doesn't have to be, falling into a tumultuous cycle which I can't seem to escape. 

Leaping for gain, I missed the mark of contentment and have fallen to dissatisfaction.

Setting out for purpose, I have fallen to fulfilling my own selfish aims.

Intending to do what is right, I fell victim to fear and decided not to do anything.

Waiting, I fell under the spell of thinking I had more time...

I've fallen.  Sometimes standing doesn't even seem possible, so I sit.  

Signs of accomplishment.

Sometimes it can be hard to know where you stand.  You might find yourself looking for signs that you are headed in the right direction.  Here are a few:

A sign that your mind has turned towards the Dharma is that everything- all good and bad circumstances, all your hopes and fears- becomes the ground of your practice.

A sign that you have loosened some of your fixation and grasping is that your body and emotions will be less painful and your interactions with the world around you will be more peaceful.

A sign that you have loosened the tight knot of self-grasping is that you will naturally adopt a gentle, humble and kind demeanor.  You will rejoice in generosity and virtuous acts.

A sign that you are more open-minded is that you will stop creating problems for yourself because of your complicated position.  A narrow mind is easily caught up by the sway of negative thoughts and emotions. 

Where do you stand?

Purpose.

What's the point of a lighthouse if there are no boats?

A boat might come.

Groundless.

Nothing is the same as it was before. 

That's difficult to accept.  It leaves us feeling vulnerable, exposed, confused.  It can make us angry, want to fight back and lash out.

We can fight ourselves for years, trying to get back the world we knew and loved.  But we should know that we are the creator of that burden, that our lives our complicated by our own complicated mind. 

It is difficult to accept that things have changed, but once we do it is easier to move forward, to start living in this new world and to start creating the world of tomorrow.