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.

We have a responsibility to act on our own

and not wait for instructions on what to do.

While it can be tempting to leave everything up to someone else, especially someone who is knowledgeable and whom we respect, we still remain responsible for our own behavior. And it is our responsibility to do what is right even when initially we feel unsure just what right is.

As long as we remain part of this world, it is our responsibility to be informed. To understand the phenomena that we interact with. And then apply the ethical principles that we have learned to decide whether or not to do something. And, if yes, then how best to proceed.

This is why we study and examine those principles—to be able to use fundamental truths (for example, do no harm) in new situations. But if we remain uninformed, we will remain oblivious to the harm we perpetrate. So we cannot wait for someone to hand us instructions for every situation we encounter.

We need to educate ourselves and determine how best to act.

Lacking understanding in our practice,

we’re just going through the motions.

One evening, a man was watching his wife prepare an eggplant for their dinner. Watching her cut off the end of the eggplant and then throw it away, he asked her why she did so. She replied it was the way her mother had always fixed eggplant.

His curiosity growing, he suggested that they call her mother to find out the reason. When they called her mother, she replied that it was the way her mother had always fixed eggplant.

Growing increasingly perplexed, the husband suggested that they call Grandma in an attempt to figure out the reason behind what has apparently become a family tradition. When they asked, Grandma replied that the reason was simple—not having a large enough pan, she cut off the end of the eggplant to make it fit.

If we want to truly benefit from our practice, we need to understand the principles—and reasons—behind what we do. Otherwise, we might just be going through the motions.

In the eyes of an awakened being, we are all seen as . . .