In Eight Steps to Happiness Geshe-la says "'Self' and 'other' are relative terms, rather like 'this mountain' and 'that mountain ... 'This' and 'that' therefore depend upon our point of reference. This is also true of self and other. By climbing down the mountain of self, it is possible to ascend the mountain of other, and thereby cherish others as much as we presently cherish ourself."

Friday, February 22, 2013

Self-Cherishing as a Spy

Self-cherishing is like a spy in that we think it's working for us, when actually it's working for our worst enemy.
A spy is extremely deceptive, taking on an assumed identity.
Or a double-agent. As is a common plot in thrillers, there is suspicion that there's a mole within a spy agency, and the hero has to determine the truth. We are that hero. It's hard to detect a spy unless you do a lot of investigating, with "intelligence" (wisdom). Once you discover a spy, you want to root it out.

As Geshe-la says about self-grasping in Meaningful to Behold, in the section Delusions Bring Infinite Suffering:
If there is a group of people and one amongst them is subversive, when the other members realize who he is and what he is up to, they will waste no time in expelling him. Similarly, if we recognize the root delusion of self-grasping for that it is - our most dangerous enemy - we shall make every possible effort to eradicate it from our mind. It is not right to be complacent with such an enemy in our midst.
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)