It's All In The View
I am now on my way back from a meditation retreat. I heard this story from one of the people at the retreat and thought I would share it. (Note though that I am not quoting this teacher but am paraphrasing what I understood him to say.)
Recently he, I'll call him John, and some other students as well as the Buddhist Lama were traveling around the southwest in a caravan of vans giving talks at various cities.
At one point, after travelling through the hot desert for several hours, people in the vans were getting cranky, were thirsty and hungry and needed to stretch their legs. John says they came upon a derelict gas station. It was in the middle of nowhere, looked like it was about to be condemned, and was not especially inviting. Inside, they asked for soft drinks and got lukewarm drinks that cost $4 a piece. The attendant was surly and unkempt. They paid more than $5 a gallon for gas. John said he felt appalled and upset that the
y were being taken advantage of.
Later that evening, the Lama was giving his talk at a local college. He started his talk with telling about the caravan trip they had just completed. He talked about how beautiful the desert was and how wonderful it was being able to travel this way. He then said that right in the middle of the desert, a palace appeared, rising up out of the vast desert. Inside the palace everything the group wanted was given to them, just for asking. Gas was available, drinks and restrooms, and a wonderful person who ran the place. Because she was there, they were able to finish their trip in comfort. And so on.
My friend, John, was shocked. He couldn't believe that the Lama had experienced the same event that he had. Later he asked the Lama about it, confronting him with his own terrible experience of the place. He asked the Lama how could he say those things about such an awful place? The Lama replied, "I was there." Basically, the Lama's experience was very different from what most of the others experienced, even though it was the same event.
This is what is called: "seeing everything on the highest plane." Can we change our perceptions to be more positive? Can we see the truth behind the facade, that everything is beautiful, just because it can happen? In the example above, the Lama was able to see how great it was that the place even existed at all, just when it was needed, that someone had the fortitude and foresight to live out in the middle of the desert just to serve others and to make a living at the same time. What a wonder!
What can we learn from this story? I know I often experience things negatively and make judgments, even without all the facts. I wish to live in the world as my teacher does, seeing things on the highest plane. I wish to be grateful that others provide food, and clothing, and clean rooms, services, products and everything else I need to live in the modern world. It takes practice to find the good and to see things positively.
Recently he, I'll call him John, and some other students as well as the Buddhist Lama were traveling around the southwest in a caravan of vans giving talks at various cities.
At one point, after travelling through the hot desert for several hours, people in the vans were getting cranky, were thirsty and hungry and needed to stretch their legs. John says they came upon a derelict gas station. It was in the middle of nowhere, looked like it was about to be condemned, and was not especially inviting. Inside, they asked for soft drinks and got lukewarm drinks that cost $4 a piece. The attendant was surly and unkempt. They paid more than $5 a gallon for gas. John said he felt appalled and upset that the
y were being taken advantage of.Later that evening, the Lama was giving his talk at a local college. He started his talk with telling about the caravan trip they had just completed. He talked about how beautiful the desert was and how wonderful it was being able to travel this way. He then said that right in the middle of the desert, a palace appeared, rising up out of the vast desert. Inside the palace everything the group wanted was given to them, just for asking. Gas was available, drinks and restrooms, and a wonderful person who ran the place. Because she was there, they were able to finish their trip in comfort. And so on.
My friend, John, was shocked. He couldn't believe that the Lama had experienced the same event that he had. Later he asked the Lama about it, confronting him with his own terrible experience of the place. He asked the Lama how could he say those things about such an awful place? The Lama replied, "I was there." Basically, the Lama's experience was very different from what most of the others experienced, even though it was the same event.
This is what is called: "seeing everything on the highest plane." Can we change our perceptions to be more positive? Can we see the truth behind the facade, that everything is beautiful, just because it can happen? In the example above, the Lama was able to see how great it was that the place even existed at all, just when it was needed, that someone had the fortitude and foresight to live out in the middle of the desert just to serve others and to make a living at the same time. What a wonder!
What can we learn from this story? I know I often experience things negatively and make judgments, even without all the facts. I wish to live in the world as my teacher does, seeing things on the highest plane. I wish to be grateful that others provide food, and clothing, and clean rooms, services, products and everything else I need to live in the modern world. It takes practice to find the good and to see things positively.
Labels: buddhism, clarity, perception, vision
posted by lifeunfolds.com @ 11:22 PM
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