Peter Hunter, Excerpt #2: Right View
Excerpt #2: Right View
“Most
people look to something outside themselves in order to be happy,” Rob said. “How
many times have you heard someone say that they’ll be happy when they get
enough money or when they get a girlfriend or boyfriend? How many of those
people are actually happy when they get what they want?”
Peter
considered that while he started drumming an absent-minded rhythm on the mats.
“See,
the world of our senses, of physical things, is impermanent,” Sensei continued.
“It’s constantly changing, so it can’t bring us lasting joy. True, lasting
satisfaction has to come from somewhere else.”
“Okay,
I’ll buy that,” Peter agreed, bobbing his head to the rhythm of his drumming.
Sensei
reached out and placed a hand on Peter’s to stop his movement.
“Now,
the way of Buddhism,” he lectured, “is called the eightfold path. Today, we’re
just going to discuss the first of the eight steps, which is called Right View,
sometimes called Right Understanding. It means getting the right view of the
world, an outlook, a belief system.”
“Like
religion or something?” Peter asked warily.
“It
could be,” Sensei Rob said. “It’s more how you believe the world works. What’s
the purpose of life? But first, there are many belief systems: Buddhism,
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Why do you think it matters that you find the
right one?”
“I
don’t think it does,” Peter responded plainly.
“Why
not?”
“Let’s
say your favorite color is green and mine is blue. It’s not like one of us is
right. I don’t have to go to war to force you to choose blue.”
“That’s
a great view.” Sensei thought a moment. “But let’s say that because I like the
color green, and I have more money, that clothing stores start selling only
green shirts. Suddenly, there are no shirts in your favorite color.”
“So
what? I’d just wear green. And what idiot shirt maker would only make clothes
in one color?”
“It’s
just an analogy.”
“But
it’s a weak analogy.”
“It
was your analogy!” Rob reminded him.
Peter
thought a second. “Well, it wasn’t weak when I said it.”
Sensei
shook his head. “Alright, let’s try another one. Let’s say you believe cows are
sacred animals.”
“But
I don’t.”
“But
the rest of America slaughters cows for food.”
“Wait,
do you think cows are sacred?”
“Beliefs
determine actions! Okay?” Sensei Rob said quickly. Then he took a calming
breath. “What you believe drives the choices you make. If a person thinks money
is the most important thing, he’ll make choices to make money even if it hurts
someone. And if a person believes people are the most important thing, he’ll
make choices to help people even if he loses money. Beliefs shape our actions
and our actions shape the world. Get it?”
Peter
shifted, leaning back on his hands. “Okay. But you could’ve just said that to
begin with.”
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