Right View Lab: It's an extremely difficult practice, but let's give it a try 

Hello everyone.

Welcome to the gateway to Buddhism 101 for all. We have a strong aspiration to reach out to those who need help. That's one reason we hold online events. The passcode is written at the bottom of this passage.

In regards to how we view life, it's beneficial to remind ourselves that our minds are like an iceberg. There's some of it poking through above the water level, and there's a vast amount of it below which is unseen. Let me give an example of how a young couple moves into an apartment building. Each Saturday the wife would shout to her husband, "Look at our neighbors laundry hanging over there. It looks so dirty! They must be using the wrong detergent!" This went on each week for quite some time. Then one Saturday, the wife woke up and said, "Today they look beautiful and clean." Then the husband said, "I woke up early this morning and cleaned the window."

One day a princess in the legendary Dragon Palace under the sea held up a jewel and told all the fishes, “I will give a prize to anyone who can tell me what color this is.” Each of them named a different color: the black porgy said it was black, the bluefish said it was blue, and the white-fish said it was silver. Then they asked the princess, “Which one is right?” She replied, “The jewel has no color of its own. It is transparent, and simply reflects each of your colors.”
Similarly, we are unable to see anything except through the prism of thought and emotion. When it comes to examining ourselves in particular, it is impossible to take off the tinted glasses of partiality and self seeking. Egoism clouds our vision.

In general all of us have poor memories and are forgetful. If we are aware of this, we can write ourselves a note or become better organized and that way we can avoid spending an extra 150 hours a year just looking for lost items.
One of Buddha's disciples, Cudapanthaka once asked the Buddha why he was born so stupid. Buddha's answer to him was telling him to cheer up and know that being aware of his foolishness is next to being enlightened. After dusting and cleaning in the monastery for 20 years, he had become an arhat and attained a high stage of enlightenment.

It is not always easy to know one's own shortcomings or unknowingness. Many are suffering because of their own misunderstanding. If I always think I'm right, this mindset can damage my relationships. Holding resentments and being overly proud can do the same thing. Because of these 'dragons' some people can find it difficult to ask for help. Some can be merciless to others if we think they are in the wrong. This shows how our minds are complex like an iceberg and that we might not have access to all the information we need, or may be influenced by our own biases and may be unaware of their grip on our perceptions. Having these illusions of always being right and our pride in not asking for help or holding resentments towards others can cause many problems in the world. Maintaining a right view means to be aware of our misperceptions as much as possible. Overall, we only know the tip of the iceberg.

By listening to Buddhism, we can understand ourselves better. It's also beneficial to be able to apologize when we need to and not always try to maintain the upper hand. Having humility is just as important.

We can deepen our understanding of Dharma by belonging to a sangha and listening to Buddha's wisdom. These are the three gems to value in this world; the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. When we work on ourselves with each other we are better able to choose good conditions and practice wisdom. Also, the more we practice, the more we are able to act in ways that bring harmony and compassion into our lives and our world.

We're able to continue bringing these Dharma sessions for you thanks to the generosity of those of you who support us. Let me take a moment to express our gratitude now. If you too are able to support our cause, you can offer your donations on PayPal or Venmo to Bita Enayati at bitae22@hotmail.com.

Thank you for your support and encouragement in helping us continue to bring quality teachings to you, day in, day out. It's not the amount that matters but your desire to be part of a cause greater than ourselves.
If you're interested in learning Buddhism but have a schedule conflict, please write to me for a one on one session. Thank you very much for reading this till the end. The passcode is 426646.

Bita and Yuichi Asakura