Perceiving is one thing;

the issue is what we do next.

The five senses, or first five consciousnesses, are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. They enable us to accurately know what is being viewed, heard, smelled, etc. For awakened beings, these five senses coupled with innate wisdom enable them to interact correctly with their environment and everything and everyone in it. Then they stop there.

But we unawakened beings careen blithely into the sixth consciousness. This is the discriminatory mind, let’s say, the mind of black or white, different or like me.

From here, things get worse as we instantly lurch into the seventh consciousness, which attaches. This is the push-pull mind that attaches to ideas of I dislike or I like, etc.

Awakened beings stop at the point where they perceive and interact correctly. For them, there is no discriminating or attaching. Sadly, we’re not there yet. And so, we discriminate and attach, and can end up causing terrible suffering. For ourselves in the future. And even worse, for others now.

Negative thoughts—

so many opportunities for a Dharma lesson!

As soon as you notice such a thought, it is an opportunity for a mini Dharma talk. Let’s say you’re angry. 

Lesson: Anger makes me cranky, not happy. It only plants seeds for more anger in my future. Current enmities stem from past enmities. If I add fuel to this fire, they will be even worse in the future.

Ask yourself where it is coming from. Might the anger be stemming from jealousy? If so, that’s another Dharma lesson. 

Lesson: He has the right conditions for what he did. I don’t. So what might his conditions be, and how do I create them? 

Or, maybe the negative thought arose from fear. Fear of you or someone you care about losing something. Yet another opportunity! 

Lesson: Whatever happens to me and whatever I have are determined by my previous karmas. No one can take from me what I have destined for myself. Both good and bad. As soon as we detect a negative thought, we flush out its source.

Applying the appropriate Buddhist principle, we give ourselves a Dharma talk. In this way, we replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

I got it! . . .

We don’t know what others are thinking,

so rather than assume something negative,

let’s imagine something good.

When observing others’ behavior, it can be tempting to assign various motives to them, especially when we find their behavior questionable or even objectionable. But we shouldn’t judge others. Period.

And why are we even trying to figure out other peoples’ wandering thoughts? Isn’t this just indulging in our own wandering thoughts?

And why, when we’re imagining other’s thoughts, do we so often paint those thoughts as negative? Might it be that those negative thoughts are more a reflection of what’s in our own mind, rather than someone else’s? After all, we’re the ones who imagined the thoughts.

The next time we’re tempted to write the script for what another person is thinking, how about giving the person the benefit of the doubt. Let’s imagine something good! We’ll be happier, and so will others when we act toward them from our good thoughts.

What we take for someone’s unwillingness to help . . .