Even if you see a dog, the question remains: “But is it really a dog?” The fact that you see a dog doesn’t necessarily mean that the being is actually a dog.
As long as the mind is not purified, it perceives all beings as ordinary. Our perception of beings as pure or impure is entirely a matter of our own mind. It is a creation of our mind and depends completely on how pure or impure the mind itself is.
We can never say with certainty that the beings before us are truly ordinary, simply based on how we perceive them. They could be buddhas. Even a very ugly, frightening, or terrifying creature could be a buddha.
It’s necessary to cultivate as strong a sense of compassion as possible. The stronger the compassion you feel—even for a single being—the faster you attain enlightenment.
When attachment or anger arises in you, your feelings have nothing to do with the object that triggers them. You feel attachment or anger toward something that is purely a creation of your own mind—a mental image projected by your mind.
Your view of things is a product of your own mind, just as the perception of the same object by different beings depends on the varying qualities of their minds. There is nothing that is created by the object itself; there is nothing in the object that exists independently, without reliance on the mind. In other words, nothing exists independently. Everything is just a mental image. All the objects you see are also created by your mind. The way you perceive them depends on the qualities of your mind.
You cannot say for sure who is a buddha and who is not. When you see a beggar or an animal, you cannot confidently claim to know who they truly are based solely on your perception. Saying “I see a dog” or “I see an ordinary being” is not logical proof that what is in front of you is truly a dog or an ordinary being.
As long as our mind is not purified of karmic obscurations, even if all the buddhas appeared before us, we would still not be able to see them in their true form. Instead of buddhas, we would see nothing more than ordinary people with all their flaws—or perhaps even animals. #Religion, #Beliefs, #beliefsystems
Even if you see a dog, the question remains, but is it really a dog?
The fact that you see a dog doesn't necessarily mean that the being is actually a dog.
As long as the mind is not purified, it perceives all beings as ordinary.
Our perception of beings as pure or impure is entirely a matter of our own mind.
It is a creation of our mind and depends completely on how pure or impure the mind itself is.
We can never say with certainty that the beings before us are truly ordinary,
simply based on how we perceive them.
They could be Buddhas.
Even a very ugly, frightening or terrifying creature could be a Buddha.
It's necessary to cultivate as strong a sense of compassion as possible.
The stronger the compassion you feel, even for a single being, the faster you attain enlightenment.
When attachment or anger arises in you, your feelings have nothing to do with the object that triggers them.
You feel attachment or anger toward something that is purely a creation of your own mind,
a mental image projected by your mind.
Your view of things is a product of your own mind,
just as the perception of the same object by different beings
depends on the varying qualities of their minds.
There is nothing that is created by the object itself.
There is nothing in the object that exists independently without reliance on the mind.
In other words, nothing exists independently.
Everything is just a mental image.
All the objects you see are also created by your mind.
The way you perceive them depends on the qualities of your mind.
You cannot say for sure who is a Buddha and who is not.
When you see a beggar or an animal, you cannot confidently claim to know
who they truly are based solely on your perception.
Saying I see a dog or I see an ordinary being is not logical proof
that what is in front of you is truly a dog or an ordinary being.
As long as our mind is not purified of karmic obscurations,
even if all the Buddhas appeared before us,
we would still not be able to see them in their true form.
Instead of Buddhas, we would see nothing more than ordinary people
with all their flaws or perhaps even animals.
You cannot be certain that the person or animal you encounter
is not a Buddha or Bodhisattva.
The fact that you see them as ordinary beings with flaws
does not prove that they truly are ordinary.
It can be said with absolute certainty that in daily life
we constantly encounter Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Dakinis,
especially in sacred places.
When we visit such places, countless Dakinis and Dakinis are present,
but that doesn't mean we are able to recognize them.
Whether we're in cities or on pilgrimage,
we do indeed meet holy beings,
but we're not always able to see them for who they truly are.
We cling tightly to our ordinary perception and trust it completely.
And because we are so habituated to ordinary perception,
this habit prevents us from recognizing a holy being.
Even if we see special signs,
it is still difficult for us to believe that we are in the presence of a Buddha,
to feel true reverence and to act in accordance with the teachings.
We do not follow them or turn to them with requests.
We most definitely encounter Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dakinis and Dakinis.
And it is only our coarse, ordinary perception of reality
and our conviction in the truth of our view
that prevents us from seeing that we are in the presence of Buddhas,
Bodhisattvas, Dakas and Dakinis.
Since our mind is impure,
our perception of a person as an ordinary being
does not prove that they truly are one.
Therefore, since anyone we meet could be a Buddha, Bodhisattva, Daka or Dakini,
we must show respect to every person we encounter.
We must be mindful not to express anger or disrespect toward them
as this could become the cause of heavy negative karma.
Believing that they could all be holy beings,
we should treat them with respect and serve them.
Such behavior generates great merit.
By applying this logic in our daily life, we gain immense benefit.
We attain both worldly prosperity and countless spiritual merits.
Most importantly, we avoid generating negative karma
which obstructs our realization and is the cause of Samsara,
especially rebirth in the lower realms.
Everything that triggers anger or attachment in your daily life is a perception.
The objects toward which your negative emotions are directed
arise from your own karma.
They are creations, projections of your karma.
The perception of something as repulsive or undesirable
or as something that arouses attachment is conditioned by karmic imprints.
The perception of something as desirable is also karmically imprinted.
This means your feelings have nothing to do with the object that seems to cause them,
nothing that is outside of you.
What we usually believe to be true has nothing to do with reality.
When attachment, anger or any other disturbing emotion arises,
we usually do not see them as creations of our own mind.
Instead, we see them as caused by the qualities of an external object.
We believe that the way an object of attachment or anger
appears to us depends on its own properties or on external causes.
We do not realize that this is merely a projection
of our own mind conditioned by karmic imprints.
Let me offer you three points for contemplation.
First, the fact that you currently see someone as a friend,
an enemy or an object of attachment is the result of a momentary mental construct.
The mind simply creates an image of the object or assigns it a label,
believes in that label and then this image or label appears to you.
Once you have categorized the object, it appears to you in exactly that way.
That's how you see it.
So, your perception of the object at any given moment
is tied to your current mental conceptions of that object.
It is something created by your momentary state of mind.
Second, the way a friend, enemy or object of attachment appears to you is the result of karma.
The source of this perception is karmic imprints and thus it is created by your own mind.
Again, this perception has nothing to do with the object itself.
Now, the third point.
Friends, enemies, objects of desire, harm, help and other phenomena
that appear to us as truly existent do not exist on their own.
They are projections of negative imprints left on the continuum of your mind by ignorance.
This is the third point.
Nothing arises from the object itself, although in our everyday life we think otherwise.
In fact, it's just the opposite.
These three points explain why your perception of an object is a creation of your own mind.
It is very important to engage in this kind of meditation,
to reflect on these truths and to apply them in daily life,
especially in moments when disturbing emotions are likely to arise.
This analysis shows that every disturbing emotion is a mistaken perception of the object
because the object as it appears to us under the influence of that emotion simply doesn't exist.
When it comes to ignorance, it's essential to understand that nothing exists independently.
Any phenomenon exists only as a label imputed by the mind upon a valid basis for that label.
Since there is a valid basis, the phenomenon is nothing more than a designation made by the mind.
Therefore, nothing exists by itself.
Not a single phenomenon exists independently.
All are completely empty.
This is the true nature of reality.
All things that arise before us one after another, which we believe to exist independently and not,
they are all fake.
There's not even a single atom of true existence in them.
Such analysis proves that the ignorance-based perception of phenomena as inherently existent
is completely mistaken.
It shows that ignorance is a deluded state of mind.
The same is true for anger, attachment, and other afflictions.
All are mistaken concepts.
When a person believes in something that doesn't actually exist,
that is called a delusion.
So all afflictions are delusions.
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