Awakening the Buddha Within _ Eight Steps to Enlightenment - Lama Surya Das [91]
MAKING RIGHT ACTION A PRIORITY
The Buddha’s entire life was powered by a strong sense of mission. Immmediately after his enlightenment, he saw in his mind’s eye the whole of humanity—people milling and lost, desperately in need of help and guidance.
—HUSTON SMITH
The Buddha said that he taught about one thing, and one thing only: “Suffering and the end of suffering.” From the time he first became aware of life’s difficulties and left his father’s royal palace, he committed himself to helping others in both the temporary and ultimate sense. Having achieved enlightenment, he didn’t just sit there in nirvanic peace—although he certainly could have. Instead, he selflessly devoted his life to going wherever he was asked and teaching whenever he was asked, while setting a standard for impeccable behavior. His own karma purified and fulfilled, he devoted his life to helping others liberate themselves through their own spiritual efforts. In Tibetan, the word for karma is “leh,” literally defined as action. The Dalai Lama once wrote “The true religious person … accepts the truth that he or she is responsible for the pleasurable and unpleasurable feelings he experiences, these being the fruits of his own karma [actions].”
Without even considering the possibility of karma that you may have created centuries ago, think about the “past life” that you were leading five or ten years ago. Think about how your actions back then created the life you now have. Each of us is on a personal and unique journey, filled with its own complexity and wonder; on these journeys, we will consistently be presented with a wide range of opportunities, large and small, for Right Action. All of these represent different stages or seasons of spiritual evolution. Do you have the same issues, joys, and difficulties today that you did five years ago; or have you changed, and has your life changed accordingly?
For a few years now, I’ve had an “Ask the Lama” column on the Internet. Most of the questions I receive are from men and women and teens who are trying to bring the spirit of bodhicitta into their actions as they struggle with moral dilemmas and personal choices:
“I would like to leave my husband who belittles me and my interest in spiritual and psychological growth but I’m afraid that will hurt our child. What is the right thing to do?”
“My old dog is in a great deal of pain, can no longer walk, and won’t live more than a few days. Is euthanasia, which will ease his misery, the right or wrong choice?”
“I have to make a choice and promote one of two equally qualified people. No matter what I do, someone will be hurt. I want to do what’s right—but what’s right?”
Questions like these remind us that right and wrong aren’t always simple and clear cut. We live in a complex society filled with complex problems, and sometimes the right thing to do is not immediately apparent. One of the things that I most value about Buddha Dharma is that it is practical and path-oriented; the emphasis is on process. We learn to have trust in the process and in the virtuous life; thus we have little fear or anxiety about the future, trusting that if we are virtuous and do the right thing, the future will take care of itself.
Buddhist ethics inform us that what is “right” is behavior that is helpful rather than harmful, that is conducive to liberation and freedom. Although we may judge certain “deeds” as undesirable or unskillful, we don’t judge the “doer” as negative or undesirable. The Dharma does not tell us what to do; instead it opens the way to understanding by revealing how things work. The traditional ideals for accumulating good karma and living an impeccable life through Right Action are expressed in simple concepts, but there is far more to them than meets the eye.
CHERISH LIFE, DON’T KILL
Spiritual