We Look and We’re Influenced

It all depends on what we look at, and the way in which we look at it. The world can seem full of hellish demons, or full of pure spiritual beings. Whatever takes our attention has an influence on us.

That’s what happened when we saw our reflection in the mind and mistook it for our self. The absolute (our pure awareness) related to an image and created a duality – a relative 😀 …my best friend!

Hellish demons know how to influence – and so do pure spiritual beings. This is determined by how open or closed minded we are. We need to understand the middle way; the unity of the two truths of relative and absolute reality.

If we become caught up in either extremes, we start judging and spiralling down to the dull hell realms. The absolute is the very nature of the hellish demons – the buddha in the mud. The hellish demons are just a psychological idea and have no reality. They have merely forgotten what they are, and so have we. We are both aspects – spiritual and demonic – being kicked around like a football (and getting very bruised)!

Whatever we read or hear, whatever we digest, can either be satisfying – a relief – or give us indigestion; the collywobbles!

This is why we have to be very careful, very aware, very mindful, to only take in that which inspires us, that which we can comprehend and that which makes sense to meditate upon.

We need constant wisdom inspirations.
This is what compassion and devotion are all about.
That is what Vajrayana is all about.

PS We should be aware of what is going on in the physical and psychological realms of samsara but we need to know from which vehicle we are viewing this; in the lower vehicles, samsara is something to be disgusted about, whereas at the higher levels, it’s seen to have no reality. This can be difficult to comprehend because it’s important understand our own temperament at this moment in time. Some need a literal practice and for others, an expedient practice is sufficient: some use a vajra and bell to remind them of means and wisdom and others don’t; there’s no right and wrong.