A Perverted Perception.
The Antidote.
It’s time to study how you see the world. It’s time because the world as it is, struggles with the challenge to hold together. Dharma, that which holds everything together, is currently fractured like a glass dome that is cracked and appears to be shattering. Not everyone knows this…it appears the great majority are in a false bliss of ignorance.
Where do you see yourself?
We need to be able to see the world held together - in other words to see the Dharma that is holding everything together. We need some semblance of a cosmic law that maintains social order.
Here is a short, short list of the disorder given by anonymous bystanders. These are topics offered as social disorder.
What do you see as the uprooting of social disorder?
Unquestioning belief that germs make us sick.
High reliance on medical pharmaceuticals for better health.
Access to illicit and addictive drugs.
Loss of police enforcement.
Poverty.
Inflation creating a food crisis.
Housing crisis.
Unending conflict and war.
Unregulated border wall.
Belief in life as a mechanistic machine.
Loss of belief in God.
Unable to have common, courteous conversations.
Reliance on social media and online contact with others.
Stress.
Now, we need to ask - “Is it even posssible to restore a cosmic law that has maintained social order?”
Yes and well, NO. Let’s leave the NO and go straight to what we can restore with our mind, body and two hands.
We could start with kneading dough. Tightening loose screws. Making the bed.
Or following what the big shot hotelier Conrad Hilton said,
“Put the shower curtain inside the tub when you take a shower.”
Very clear admonition and simple to accomplish.
Hang up your clothes. Stop at stop signs, red lights and cross walks. Pay with cash. Visit a friend, family. Look after a pet. Pay your debts. Obey the traffic signs, especially the speed limits.
All of the above is mundane, earthly, worldly. Don’t leave this out. But as you might guess - it’s not enough. The bigger and more difficult action is to take a backward step from the mundane, earthly world and seek the unborn, undying, immeasurable being known by many names.
The discipline of the mundane world will not suffer from an earnest, devoted step towards your true nature. Our perverted perspectives, however, will.
Perverted Perspectives
Our perverted perspectives inhibit our ability to take that backward step. We need to know the four basic perverted perspectives. False, distorted and misrepresentation of this worldly existence causes suffering. Suffering occurs when we ignore how we actually see the world. Check for yourself whether you see the four basic distorted perspectives.
Here they are:
Seeing and believing all the impermanent phenomena as permanent.
Things that lead to dissatisfaction as blissful.
Taints & defilements as pure.
Seeing illusions as absolute & real.
Some help in understanding.
We think relationships are permanent, especially in the beginning.
We think this time we will not be disappointed.
We think just a little poison will not cause harm.
We think our dreams, wishes, hopes, expectations are absolute & real.
Enough for now.
If you are interested in receiving practice reminders,
or The Fundamental Point, please subscribe.
www.asinglethread.net - www.zatma.org
