This is #4 in a series … about seeing things as they are. I pause in the series to note why I think seeing things as they are is a cornerstone practice:
Wisdom, imo, is based on our ability to see things as they are.
Wisdom is time and place bound. And, of course, my “view” is always partial. This is the nature of a situated being. We see as much as we can…. and know our vision is always limited. Yes, i know we speak about wisdom teachings in Buddhism…. and they suggest, perhaps, the existence of a wisdom that is not time and place bound. Let’s be clear… we are still here… making sense of our lives in a reality that is time and place bound.
I feel that ‘seeing things as they are’ is one of, if not, the, main point of practice. While we often lapse into “seeing things as we want them to be” or “seeing things as they should be”…. I think discerning the difference between “things as they are” versus “things as I think they ought to be” is helpful. Discernment is the difference between adding your messy self to a situation versus subtracting your messy self from a situation (hint, the latter is usually best).
Some might interpret wisdom = seeing things as they are = passive acceptance of the status quo. That equation is not Buddhism, its liberalism. Nothing could be further from the truth. Are you impatient for change? You cannot change anything if you cannot see a thing accurately. Also, even if you have accomplished the way now doesn’t mean you know the way forward.
