Today's view from my favorite lunch spot. Perfect day to ride a bike.
"We should know that the only way we can make something ... extraordinary happen is to acknowledge the fact that what different types of beings see ... is different, and we should reflect on that fact. What does it mean to see things the way another being sees them? It means to forget the self, to let go of our own perspective. This can be very hard to do, especially when we feel very strongly about our particular point of view. We need to see that the world is large and diverse and that there are many different ways of seeing. To be skillful in working with other people, we need to be able to perceive things the way others perceive them.
...
"If you don’t have the mind of inquiry, the mind to probe the depths of your own consciousness and the nature of the universe, you’ll waste your time, you’ll waste your life. 'What is it you’re calling mountains, rivers and the earth?' Indeed, indeed. It’s that. It’s me. It’s neither. It’s both. If it’s not any of those, what is it?
"How will you protect mountains, rivers and the great earth if you don’t know what they are? How will you save yourself if you don’t know who you are? Who or what are you saving? Who are the sentient beings that we chant about in the Four Bodhisattva Vows? What does it mean to save? With that question, in that state of consciousness, the whole of reality can flash through your mind in an instant. What are you left with? 'Xiushan thereupon attained enlightenment.' The final line of the commentary raises the question, 'But say, what did he realize?'"
Seeing Through the Eyes of Another
Daido Loori
(Online Dharma Discourse)
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