Via Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation

 

The Way Out Is In

How to be Free From Views in a Polarized World

Photo: A still from the film Walk With Me from SpeakIt Films. Each day, we read headlines about political violence, war, racism, and disputes between neighbors that boil over. Often, the problem can be traced to a difference of opinion, a misunderstanding, or wrong perceptions. What begins as a thought can quickly escalate into words and actions that harm not only those involved, but can sweep up entire communities and even nations. Thay taught that cultivating Right View, or insight, is key to maintaining our happiness and the happiness of those around us. “Touching reality deeply—knowing what is going on inside and outside of ourselves—is the way to liberate ourselves from the suffering that is caused by wrong perceptions,” Thay writes in The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation. “Right View is not an ideology, a system, or even a path. It is the insight we have into the reality of life, a living insight that fills us with understanding, peace, and love." In Episode 36 of The Way Out Is In, podcast hosts Brother Phap Huu and Jo Confino explore Right View, which is part of the Buddha’s teachings on the Noble Eightfold Path. “As humans, we have so many views, and because of our views, and because we live with certain views, we trap ourselves in a lifestyle, in a way of being, that can offer suffering or offer happiness,” Brother Phap Huu says. “So the first wing of meditation is learning to stop. And the second wing is to learn to look deeply. “If we don’t ever have a chance to reflect on our own way of how we see life, how we see our sources of joy, our sources of happiness, then we will never have a chance to broaden and be open to our own awakening. So practicing Zen, practicing Buddhism, is learning to be more open and more free of views because it can be such an obstacle to happiness, as well as an obstacle to peace.”

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