Seeing Clearly
Cadillac Mountain, Maine USA
Sometimes, depending upon the nature of the circumstance, we may not be able to see to the end of the day or maybe even the next hour. At other times, usually when things are going better for us we think we can see far into the future, even though in reality we can not see any further than the present moment.
We can of course even choose to live our lives as if in a fog, never looking beyond the experiences we have had, never seeking to become Buddhas. We can stumble along blinded by a sense that nothing matters and there is no thing that can be done which will make things better, or even why we should improve.
“You, our Leader, left us alone because you knew this. You did not persuade us to seek the enlightenment of the Buddha.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter IV)
It is not possible for any person to make another change, it isn’t possible for anyone to do the work of another, it isn’t possible to cause the changes to occur in someone else. It simply has to be something that wells up from within.
“They could not see their own faults. They could not observe all the precepts. They were reluctant to heal their own wounds.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter II)
Once we do see, though, or once we get a glimpse of a future different, or a possibility other than what we are currently experiencing, then it is difficult to ignore, though certainly not impossible.
“They do not seek the Buddha who has great power. They do not seek the Way to eliminate sufferings. They are deeply attached to wrong views. They are trying to stop suffering by suffering.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter II)
Part of our Buddhist practice is accumulating moments of awareness, which gradually reveal a clearer vision of the possibility of a future that is different from our present. We gradually make changes in our lives, which create new outcomes, and new experiences, which in turn offer us different options for change.
As our life begins to improve, even if only gradually, we come out of the fog of delusion, we are no longer attached to living and acting from with the lower realms. When we no longer act from within the lower realms our circumstances begin to change little by little. The only thing required is steady consistent effort. These efforts also form the basis of faith that there is indeed a longer road ahead, one that does not lead to endless suffering.
“The world of that Buddha will be the purest. Anyone will be happy to see it.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter VI)
