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Right Intentions, the second step on the Buddha’s Eight-Fold Path, tells us to turn these attitudes about winning and achieving upside down and inside out. It suggests to the spiritual seeker that it is in our own highest interest to be less selfish. When our energies are taken up with thoughts of “me” or “mine,” we are honoring neither our human dignity nor our innate Buddha-nature. The Dharma urges seekers to develop an unselfish view of the world because the reality is that we are all interconnected; our fates are intertwined. It takes an entire community to raise a Buddha.

Visualizing Your World as

a Buddha Field

A meditation instruction that really suits today’s world is built on a traditional tantric transformation and self-visualization. The meditation is designed to help you transport your ordinary self and ordinary world into the dimension of Buddha-body, in a Buddha palace, in Buddha Fields; where your thoughts are Buddha’s thoughts, your world is Buddha’s world, and you see a Buddha in everyone you meet. As a supremely enlightened being, the Buddha had a realistic, unselfish, and compassionate view of the world. You too can participate in such a world. Try the following:

When Sitting, sit like a Buddha. Be Buddha.

When Standing, stand like a Buddha. Be Buddha.

When Walking, walk like a Buddha. Be Buddha.

When Thinking, think like a Buddha. Let Buddha think through you.

When Breathing, breathe like a Buddha. Let Buddha breathe through you.

Let Buddha live through you. Be Buddha. Enjoy the natural great perfection. You are far more Buddha-like than you think.

SEEING THE BUDDHA IN ALL:

THE PRACTICE OF PURE PERCEPTION

You are not the only unawakened Buddha or amnesiac saint on the block. Seeing others as Buddhas is taught in Vajrayana practices as the cultivation of pure perception or sacred outlook. Pure perception is about inner vision.

As an example, all you pet lovers might want to think about a dog that you know. The mailman may see that dog as an unholy terror; an allergic relative may see it as a dirty dust ball; a child may see it as a best friend; its owner may see it as an angelic blessing and an oasis of unconditional loyalty and win/win mutuality in his life. The Dharma teaches us that all beings have Buddha-nature, including that dog. Can you look at that dog and perceive its Buddha-nature? Can you look in the eyes of someone you love and see Buddha-nature? Can you look at someone you fear or someone who has been unkind to you and see Buddha-nature?

The question is how far can any of us extend ourselves toward including one and all in our unconditional loving hearts? Can we love and respect even those whose actions or personalities we don’t happen to like? How far can we genuinely extend ourselves to include all in our wishes, thoughts, prayers, and hearts? Can we forgive others and forgive ourselves too? Seeing the Buddha in all is a challenge, but it’s also a mirror for clearly seeing into your own heart and soul. This sacred outlook and penetrating spiritual gaze could prove extraordinarily revealing.

ILL WILL:

A CHALLENGE TO PURE PERCEPTION

Margaret and Paul have been divorced for almost a year, but they are both still furious. Neither can leave anger behind; neither can let go of recriminations and unhappy memories; both are still trying to “get” each other where it hurts. Some nights, lying in bed, Margaret can’t stop ruminating about the many ways she believes Paul betrayed her; she gets so upset, she doesn’t know what to do with her resentment and even wonders about revenge. When Paul wakes up thinking about some of the things Margaret said, he thinks about all the things he could say that would really hurt her amd make her sorry.

It’s been centuries since the Buddha listed for his disciples the five primary challenges they were likely to meet on a spiritual path. Isn’t it extraordinary that we are still facing the same obstacles and hindrances? One of the primary