The teachings of the Buddha are not difficult to understand, I think. Actually, it is because we all do think that makes it easy to learn and accept the facts of life as presented in the dharma. What is difficult, however, is the practice of what we have learned and accepted.
Isn’t that true with a lot of the lessons we are taught during our lifetimes? We become attached to what we already know and are not necessarily open to ideas that don’t match what we already have accepted as factual. Many of us much of the time are listening for confirmation of what we already think is truth, not for some “new” idea that may make us feel insecure because it is different from the truth we’ve been living with.
What is difficult is change. To accept that everything is always in a state of change is easy to understand, but using that truth to help us accept what we cannot change is not easy at all. That’s because we form habits, with which we become comfortable and we don’t want to change them. Our habits cause us to keep trying to solve our problems and meet our challenges in the same manner. And even when we find that we need to change our path, that those ways are not working, we still have difficulty in changing the course. That’s not only true with each of us individually, but it’s true with society as a whole . . . and governments. Ring a bell?
Here’s a poem I ran across while surfing the Internet. In fact, it can be found all over the Web and in several books, including Sogyal Rinpoche’s Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. It reflects in a very simple way this idea of changing courses. It’s called “Autobiography in Five Chapters,” and is credited to the late Portia Nelson, a cabaret singer, songwriter, actress and author who was one of the most beloved New York nightclub performers of the 1950’s:
Chapter I, I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk I fall in. I am lost … I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes me forever to find a way out.
Chapter II, I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place but, it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter III, I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in … it’s a habit. My eyes are open I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
Chapter IV, I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
Chapter V, I walk down another street.
Tags: dharma