How Our Minds Shape The World We See

A man approached a zen master who lived in a small village. The man asked the master, “I’m thinking of moving here. What is this village like?” The zen master asked, “What was your old village like?” The man said, “It was awful. People were rude and unkind. I hated it there.” The zen master said, “Well, this village is very much the same. You shouldn’t move here.”

A second man approached the master and also asked, “I’m thinking of moving here. What is this village like?” The zen master said, “What was your old village like?” The man said, “It was a wonderful village. Everyone is happy and kind. I was also happy there.” The zen master said, “This village is very much the same. You should move here.”

A dear friend sent me this quote a few days ago, “We don’t see things as they are. We see things as WE are.” Meeting the world with division and anger, we will find division and anger. Meeting the world with the warmth of genuine compassion, curiosity, and openness, we find compassion and acceptance. Zen meditation practice helps us to see in what ways we cut ourselves off from this openness and acceptance. Turning the light onto our minds, we see our anger, desire, and ignorance and we see how we hold onto the pettiness of our small I and in seeing it, we cease to believe in it so strongly. We then come to a place of receptivity to each moment, each person, each event. Our village becomes a happy, kind, wonderful place to live.