I realize I have been speaking of many different ways in which I expect myself to behave in order to be a dharmic human being. But it is very important for me to emphasize that none of these is the real point of the work I am doing.
There is an ancient way of expressing this truth. If on a dark night I point the moon out to you and tell you that the moon is what you are seeing, if you misunderstand me you might believe that the finger was the moon.
What the Buddha offered was the end of suffering, nothing else. The end of suffering--Nirvana--is the moon. Everything else, the lovingkindness, the wise speech, the precepts, meditation, the eightfold path, all of these are just fingers pointing at the moon. As long as you don't lose sight of the moon, the nature of the finger is pretty much irrelevant.
I write this because the burden of the dharma can begin to feel heavy. It need not be. This is a path we are walking and as long as we are headed in the right direction, keeping our eyes on the moon, we cannot go far wrong. And none of us are perfect at any of this. It is also not a useful witness to be self-critical if you feel you can't master one of these. On the other hand, it is quite easy to slip into a mindset that says that because we cannot be perfect we need not try. This is looking away from the moon and taking another path entirely. There is a Buddhist principle which is translated as "reproach", though that may be a rather loaded word for Westerners like us. I like to think of it as a constant witness or perhaps a conscience. We know when what we do causes harm and we can feel that creating this harm can't be a part of the path that leads to peace. It's really not much more complicated than that.
Play nice.
There is an ancient way of expressing this truth. If on a dark night I point the moon out to you and tell you that the moon is what you are seeing, if you misunderstand me you might believe that the finger was the moon.What the Buddha offered was the end of suffering, nothing else. The end of suffering--Nirvana--is the moon. Everything else, the lovingkindness, the wise speech, the precepts, meditation, the eightfold path, all of these are just fingers pointing at the moon. As long as you don't lose sight of the moon, the nature of the finger is pretty much irrelevant.
I write this because the burden of the dharma can begin to feel heavy. It need not be. This is a path we are walking and as long as we are headed in the right direction, keeping our eyes on the moon, we cannot go far wrong. And none of us are perfect at any of this. It is also not a useful witness to be self-critical if you feel you can't master one of these. On the other hand, it is quite easy to slip into a mindset that says that because we cannot be perfect we need not try. This is looking away from the moon and taking another path entirely. There is a Buddhist principle which is translated as "reproach", though that may be a rather loaded word for Westerners like us. I like to think of it as a constant witness or perhaps a conscience. We know when what we do causes harm and we can feel that creating this harm can't be a part of the path that leads to peace. It's really not much more complicated than that.
Play nice.
Knowing that trying is enough, without having to be perfect, lifts a huge weight from the seeker.
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