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General
Buddhism |
Delusions
OTHER DELUSIONS
PAGE CONTENTSPride is defined as an exaggerated positive evaluation of oneself, often based on a devaluation of others. It results in a kind of attachment to oneself and aversion to others.
TRANSFORM: inferiority feelings, fears for attack=shield, isolationAllan Wallace:
WITH: observation, analysis, equanimity, courage and tong-len.
ASK: Who caused my: education, intelligence, beautiful body, money? Does someone with self-confidence need to be proud?
INTO: self-confidence, honesty with yourself & others, fearlessness, gratitude, friendship, equanimity.
"Tibetans look at a person who holds himself above others, believing he is better than others and knows more, and they say that person is like someone sitting on a mountain top: it is cold there, it is hard, and nothing will grow. But if the person puts himself in a lower position, then that person is like a fertile field."
Or, as Gary Zukav writes in The Seat of the Soul:
"An authentically empowered person is humble. This does not mean the false humility of one who stoops to be with those who are below him or her. It is the inclusiveness of one who responds to the beauty of each soul. ... It is the harmlessness of one who treasures, honours and reveres life in all its forms."
His Holiness the 7th Dalai Lama in 'Songs of spiritual change' (translated by Glenn Mullin):
"What is like a smelly fart,
that, although invisible is obvious?
One's own faults, that are precisely
As obvious as the effort made to hide them."
Ignorance is not only not knowing, but includes not wanting to know. In Buddhism,
the deeper level of ignorance refers to a lack of wisdom
or insight into the nature of reality.
TRANSFORM: avoiding responsibility for one's own life, lack of self-confidence
WITH: study, going to teachings, critical analysis, reflection, meditation
INTO: wisdom, feeling of responsibility and confidence
Defined as: deluded indecisive wavering - being in two minds about reality; usually leading to negative actions. Examples are, once one has decided to be a Buddhist, doubting karma, rebirth etc. In fact, one should be clear about these fundamental aspects prior to becoming a Buddhist.
TRANSFORM: lack of self-confidence or ignorance
WITH: study, critical analysis, reflection, enthusiasm, meditation.
INTO: conviction.
Jealousy is wanting an object for oneself which belongs to others.
TRANSFORM: greed, selfishness, blocked communication
WITH: equanimity, rejoicing, compassion and love
INTO: sharing in happiness, open heartedness
Defined in Buddhism as indulging in self-pity and closed heartedness! A harsh condemnation, but worth thinking of.
TRANSFORM: selfishness, negative thinking, fear, lack of self-confidence
WITH: rejoicing, actively helping others, equanimity, purification meditations, clarity of mind, love, compassion, tong-len.
INTO: positive, altruistic thinking, open-heartedness, concern for others
Defined as: being attached to temporary pleasure, not wanting to do virtue or only little; opposite to diligence.
Sogyäl Rinpoche in 'Death and Dying':
His Holiness the 7th Dalai Lama (From 'Songs of spiritual change'):"Naturally there are different species of laziness: Eastern and Western. The Eastern style is like the one practised in India. It consists of hanging out all day in the sun, doing nothing, avoiding any kind of work or useful activity, drinking cups of tea, listening to Hindi film music blaring on the radio, and gossiping with friends. Western laziness is quite different. It consists of cramming our lives with compulsive activity, so there is no time at all to confront the real issues. This form of laziness lies in our failure to choose worthwhile applications for our energy."
"Do not deceive yourself with laziness,
which thinks to practice tomorrow or the next day,
Or you will die praying for help.
Quickly, quickly help yourself
and take the essence of truth."
Some personal notes on this emotionally devastating act. I have been lucky
enough to never being a victim of sexual abuse, but was confronted with it
in a very unusual situation; I'll tell the story a little bit later.
Strictly spoken, when a victim of sexual abuse feels guilty, it is the result
of incorrect reasoning, as the attacker is responsible. So on that ordinary
level, guilt is a mistaken view.
A very hard to swallow approach is realising the laws of karma.
These actually say, that everything which I experience is ultimately caused
by my own past actions. Why does this seem so logical for a simple act like
stealing causes being robbed, and so difficult to accept with sexual abuse?
I personally believe that the negative emotions that come up by being in such
a hopeless situation are so strong that they leave too little space for looking
at it rationally and somewhat more objectively. Believe it or not, it seems
proven beyond doubt that people who were victim of sexual abuse in their early
life often turn into sexual abusers later in life.
A story which happened while I worked in a meditation centre. During an intensive 11-day in-house meditation course, a young woman was raped at knife-point during the breakfast break, just outside the centre; everyone was stunned. As a nurse, she had been involved with quite a number of cases of sexual abuse, but never before experienced it herself. She was not a Buddhist (yet), but was quite fascinated by the teachings on karma and compassion. In a remarkable show of courage, she decided to go to the Indian police, and tell the entire group of the course in detail what had happened. For herself, she decided to regard the entire event as a test case to see if these teachings on karma, compassion and meditation could be of benefit to her in this situation.
A couple of days later, several women left the course. I discovered later that these women had been sexually abused earlier in life, and simply could not cope with the positive approach of this one woman who decided to even try and feel compassion for the abuser. At that moment, it was painfully obvious to me that the people who mostly needed these methods, could not even face a different type of approach to their frustrations. By walking out, they simply shut another door to transforming their problems. Out of frustration, they felt upset and even angry about the woman who tried a positive approach. What happened to the attacked woman? I saw her again one year later, seriously involved in Buddhism, eager to do another course, and without any frustrations about the abuse she had undergone...
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Last updated: January 26, 2001
