Much of Buddhist philosophy depends on perception. We have the same world in front of us -- replete with dukkha ("unsatisfactoriness"), radical impermanence, and no-self (impersonality). However, we do not all attain enlightenment by directly seeing the Four Noble Truths.Seeing these truths would lead to the breakthrough in insight resulting in enlightenment, nirvana, and complete freedom from all suffering.
How we see things is dependent not only on them but on us. Reality is just as it is. Yet, few see it. The problem is partly in the looking, partly in the looker, and somewhat in the objects being observed.
- Things need to be observed mindfully (without thinking or judging, but simply observing) dispassionately, and with sustained attention.
- The looker's virtue (ethics, sila, morality) -- not necessarily one's past, but one's present state of mind -- needs to be cleansed.
- The most efficacious thing to observe is perhaps the breath, but there are also other beneficial objects (such as the elements, body parts, kasinas, and various contemplative objects such as the Dharma, Buddha, Sangha, devas, or even in some cases death).
How could this be? People awake (and dogs asleep) are sunk in delusion (ensnared by lust and trapped by anger/fear). And these objects and this way of looking has the ability to jar one awake. Here are two examples of the problem ordinary living beings face.
- Glasses not only help you see better, sometimes they affect how other people see you: Unscientific pretty girl test
The sleepwalking dogBizkit's dream starts with a leg twitch and escalates into a high-speed chase: Viral video sensation
- Gandhi glasses auction stirs anger
- Eckhart Tolle on perceiving things as they are
Bizkit, the Sleepwalking Dog
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