Fooled by the Senses

My husband was in Victoria, British Columbia for a few days early June. During his visit he got to step inside a naval simulator. Basically, to step inside a concrete hall which looks like the inside of a control deck of a ship. It has a 360 degree glass window. Outside of the window, in the front you can see the front of the ship. A few meters away surrounding the entire hall is a white wall on which the scenarios unfold. For example, in one scenario you can see the horizon and in another some other ships, or in another you can only see the rough water for miles on end, or you can see the harbour or land or whatever the scenario the officers choose.

My husband said the most interesting phenomena of all was how he, including the rest of the people, was reacting to the movements as if it were really happening. He said despite him knowing very well, that he was standing on a concrete floor, in a simulation room, going through a simulation, he had no control over his reactions. He said he was grabbing for balance and that he was loosing his footing when the sea was getting rough. He was both amazed and amused by the experiences. While I did not have the good fortune to experience this, when I was told about it, I was happy to let my imagination run wild.

It was then that I realised how deceptive our sense really are. Yet, we depend on our senses to get by in this world from moment to moment, literally. Then if that is the case, how easily can we be fooled by our senses? Think about it! All the world and its experiences that we see, hear, taste, touch, smell are based on our senses seeing (eyes), hearing (ears), smelling(noes), touching (skin) and taste (tongue). Now, we readily take the input we receive from these sense to be correct, accurate and to be true, don't we?! Isn't that why my husband,was swaying and trying to grab hold on to whatever he could thinking he might take a fall, despite the fact that he was standing on unmoving concrete?! His senses, that he live by, get by on a day to day basis, tricked him. How else do his senses trick him?

Putting these two things together made me question, how sure should we be of our sensory inputs? Well the real question was how wary should I be of my sensory inputs? It also reminded me of something the Buddha taught a disciple of his, just before the disciple died.

During the time of the Buddha, there was a young boy (details really escape my mind) who ran behind the Buddha asking for some teachings. The Buddha was on his alms rounds. Now the Buddha usually does not want to be disturbed during this time. But the Buddha was able to see, using his super-normal powers, that this young boy was going to die soon but that he also had the karmic causes strong enough to understand the Dhamma. So the Buddha stopped to teach. Apparently the Buddha gave the shortest teaching possible. The Buddha said to this young boy, "Take what you see as just the seen; take what you hear as just the heard" and the Buddha went on his way. Apparently, this was enough to awaken the mind of this young boy to the Dhamma.

I believe what the Buddha said can be found in what my husband experienced in that simulation room.

Think about it this way. We live our lives, we do things because we react to our sensory inputs. When someone smiles, we smile back. If someone scold us, we cry, we get depressed or scold back. When we feel hot, we take a shower or switch on the AC. Whatever it maybe, all of our actions are determined by our sensory inputs. After all a dead person doesn't react or respond do they? Why because their senses have stopped taking inputs. But for us because our sense are alive and because they take inputs, we are forever reacting to them. We are being swept away by our senses on a moment to moment basis. We are wired and we are brought up to react this way.

When the Buddha said, "Know what you see as only the seen", he said to be aware of this phenomena. He said this in regards to all of the senses. He said that we should be aware that it's only the senses taking inputs and that there is no need for us to react. For example, the eye is doing the seeing and that is it! There is no other story to be told. Isn't that amazing! I mean how truly liberating is that. Usually what we do is, when the eye sees, we think "Oh I am seeing", then we say more stories, "Oh I am seeing that woman making this horrible face at me, how dare she?".....and the saga continues. Along with that the length of Samsara lengthens as well.

The Buddha told us not to be fooled by our senses. For when we are fooled by our senses, like most of us are most of the time, we tend to REACT instead of RESPOND. The beauty in what the Buddha taught lies in realising that there is no need to REACT but there is all the need to RESPOND because that is all the choice each one of us have. In how each one of us RESPOND lies the liberation of each one of us. For example, in my responding or reacting lies my liberation or suffering not yours or someone elses and vice versa.

Humility

I make it a point to have regular conversations with my meditation teacher, Bhante Saranapala. He has been my teacher for many years now. He has not only been a teacher but a great friend and an exemplary figure. I have learnt much from his formal and informal teachings.

One such informal occasion took place on the phone about two weeks ago. Of course he resides in the Mississauga temple. So I ring him up perhaps once a month or so. This time round, I had written an editorial for the newsletter and I had wanted his approval for it. Since I did not hear back from him, I thought I'd give him a ring. By the time I rang him up, he had already sent me a reply but as he always does, he took the time to talk to me. He praised me for what I had written in the editorial and said that he enjoys reading what I write because they are very insightful. Then came the surprise....he said that he learns from the things that I write.

I was so very pleased to hear that. My teacher learning from me! Hearing that from him meant a lot. Of course I was walking a few feet above ground level when it hit me. In what he said was something was of so value to me for my own growth. I almost missed that in my egotistical euphoria. It was Humility!

Think about it. As I said...he is my teacher, a learned monk, a Highly learned monk, venerated by many in society....him saying that he learns things from me.......me....just a nobody really compared to him. He didn't have to say that. In fact he doesn't have to say anything. He doesn't even have to admire and appreciate what I write and it's contents or whatever. He could very well say like so many others do and like I have heard so many others including myself say, "Oh I did the same" or "Yes I know". But instead he choose to do and say something quite the opposite.

It was after my ego calmed down that I picked up on something which he obviously did not intend to teach. But sometimes teaching is best done when someone lives the teachings. This was such an occasion. I was so inspired. Of course it gave material for me write another blog but it also made me realise how much I needed to cultivate the quality of "Humility" within me. In fact don't we all?

Think about it. Everything we do, we do to make ourselves look good, to seek approval, to make ourselves worthy...but in it all is the desire, the need to justify and satisfy the ego. When I write my blogs, I constantly remind myself as to why I write my blogs. It's not to get as many people to read them...no that's not the purpose...if it were the purpose then my blogs will serve no purpose other than to support and build up of my own ego. But my blogs are written so that I may gather my own learnings from life so that it's like a compilation of teachings for me...and if and when it's time for others to benefit from it perhaps I may share at large. But that is all.

But like this how much we engage in ego building activities. Be it buying a car, having a house, going on holiday and talking about it or posting numerous pictures on facebook...it's all part of making out a niche for my little ego. But to let it shrink, to make it's importance a little less is a difficult thing for all of us. In fact no one for even a minute would even consider this. Considering this would be next to craziness (although real craziness lies in feeding the ego more and more!)

When Bhante appreciated me, said that he learns something from me, he put his ego aside. He put aside his identification with his titles "Bhante Saranapala, Theravada Priest of over 25 years, PhD teacher, Meditation Teacher, Pali Scholar, Buddhist Scholar etc", he also put aside his identification and value he has placed with all the years of his experiences as a priest and a meditator. That is not an easy thing to do.

Look at yourselves. How easy is it for you to listen to a child? How easy is it for us as adults to listen and take the advice of a child, even if it makes sense?! Forget about listening to a child. How easy is it for us to listen to a different point of view from another human being of the same age group. My point is that it's not easy for us to put aside what we know and what we think of ourselves to be and the worth we attach to it and the worth that has been attached to it by others around us. It takes a lot of training and self-discipline. But unless we learn to do so, at least some of the time, we become hollow, we become mean, self-righteous and worst of all we fail to learn and grow, we become fossilised.

But it's inspiring to see humility when it happens. Especially to see it coming from someone who does not need to give it. I think it shows true spiritual maturity of a person. Thank you Bhante for teaching me another inspiring lesson!