Effect and cause 2

If we accept that the external reality is a projection from mind...

-- it might be hard to accept, but it is the reality --

we can deduce that the content in the mind of individuals varies from the extremely good to the extremely bad.

If we compare this objective perspective with a subjective perspective we see a mixed picture.

Some of the social bad is experienced as individually good, some of the social good is experienced as individually bad, Some of the social bad is experienced as individually bad, and some of the social good is experienced as individually good. 

So there is no complete union between society and individual. Nevertheless, there could be an exchange of ideas between society and individual. But is it possible?

Mind projections have a tendency to support themselves. If we see the world as hostile, the signs of hostility will show that we are right. If we see the world as friendly, we will find this attitude supported by observation and facts.

One theory is that if society acts with sternness, the individuals will see that there is no alternative than to adjust. 

But from mind point of view, sternness would be counter productive. Sternness would support the negative tendencies already existing in mind, and thus make negativity stronger.

Society is a meeting place for projections of all kinds, from the good to the bad, so there is a lot of spontaneous negativity around.

Goodness in content is better than sternness in form as attitude of society. This is also the general principle. Most citizens are socialized by doing what they want - in study, work and family life. 

Form and content 2

Form is emptiness and emptiness is form. So it says in the Heart sutra. What does it mean?
Form is empty of form, but not of content. To be empty of form means that the form is not absolute. One particular content can have different forms.
Emptiness is form means that emptiness must be emptiness of something - of something that can have form. There is emptiness of emptiness, but not emptiness of nothing.
"Nothing" - the not existing - has no form and no emptiness.
To be aware that form is emptiness is to be aware that form can deceive. This person looking poor can be rich, an this one looking rich can be poor.
But if this person acts in an evil way, that is evil. That is no deception. So if we think that this person acting evil might be good, we are wrong. This person looking bad might be good, however.
In this world there are bad actions and bad forms. If we fight bad form by bad action, we do the wrong. Sometimes good form needs effort. That is not wrong if the individual has made a choice and accepted it. But it is wrong if the individual is just forced to do something, even if the result is good form. Form is emptiness, and thus a particular form is not very much to strive for.
The good is in itself formless, but it expresses itself in form, for example as a nice home. We can try to get the good by manifesting its form, for example a nice home. It might succeed, but it might also fail. The form of the good without the content of goodness is just a cold lifeless mask.
Form is important, but content is more important. In the society it is not that obvious, as form is the most important for certain individuals and in certain contexts. If society was more distinct in pointing out the good content, the individuals would be more happy and the form would be nicer also.

Label power 2

Labels are the framework within which we think and feel, so we need nice labels. Like love and trust. Will we always be deceived and fooled if we have nice labels? 

In the analysis of how mind works, labels are a third category. The first category is feelings and the second is thoughts.

Compared to feelings and thoughts labels might seem to be insignificant and almost invisible. Feelings can be grand, thoughts can occupy our mind days and nights. But labels just flash by.

But in the beginning was the word.

And the law system for example is concerned with finding the right label. When someone dies, which label is appropriate: suicide, accident, murder or something else? And the people around, which label is appropriate: innocent, witness, murderer? 

Everything must be sorted under a label or else it is impossible to understand. 

Reality is in constant change so if we have static labels they will become obsolete automatically. 

Good labels have a very strong power, as every teacher knows. The student relating to a good label can achieve great things. The one burdened by a bad label has an internal resistance.

There is a tension between realism and good will. To manifest anything is difficult, and we can not always do it even if we want to.

 

Walking 2

What is the difference between a walk and a pilgrimage? 

Is it what we reach or what we are?

A traditional pilgrimage is to a holy place of some sort. These places are special. You do not find them on your ordinary itinerary. 

Why are these places special? They might be a certain quality there, a certain atmosphere.

If we see external reality as a projection, the visit to a holy place is a projection of the holy in the person. It is an important projection of something quite rare. The holiness is maybe not prominent in all of us.

If we know it is a projection, we can project it on anything. Also on the trivial things in our ordinary life.

When it comes to material things it is obvious we have to get then from the material reality. So we might assume we have to get spiritual things from the outside as well. 

And the spiritual environment we live in is very important. It is invading us so we have to deal with it. On the holy place we might feel we are among friends.

Normally we can not choose projections just after will. The persons we meet "are" attractive or frightening. That means that they are activating different projections, positive or negative. It is a fact that these projections take place. For us as individuals it is annoying that this happens out of our own control. We might fall in love with the wrong person and start to hate our benefactor.

While waking our mind processes the knowledge and experiences it has. It is partly an automatic process and partly aware. If we supervise the processes in mind we can see which are based on knowledge, which are based on good will and which are based on bad will.

These processes have an immediate effect and along term effect.

The immediate effect is our present experience. Are we fine or sad?

The long term effect is a result of learning. While our thoughts run around as it seems on their own, we are learning the things they are occupied with. If we think about anger or negative actions, we are learning this negativity. It will return later in a stronger form. We will that feel these reactions are caused by external factors, bur in reality they are the content in our own mind surfacing and being projected.

The difference 2

The legendary Tibetan poet and yogi Milarepa had a very dramatic life. He was trained as black magician and destroyed his home village before he started to study the compassion and wisdom of Buddhism. After many years of extreme hardship he reached clarity of mind. 

So he himself had experienced the two ways to understand reality, the conventional and the absolute.

The conventional way of understanding reality does not necessarily lead to black magic, but it certainly leads to suffering. The reality will never fit into the categories we believe in and expect to be fulfilled.

Long ago life was quite static for most people - living in one village all the life - so understanding reality as static was almost right.

In the modern world however, all of us are in constant contact with change. Even the remote mountains have satellite television, GPS, Google, blogging and DVD movies. Climate change, swine flu and financial crisis are global.

In this modern world formed by decisions made by humans it gets more and more appropriate to see the absolute aspect of reality and not only the relative.

Milarepa was an example of the lotus principle: purity growing from dirt. From the dirt of black magic, the purity of the saintly poet emerged.