Understanding the heart Prejudice

Look at things as they manifest themselves, not by our moods or experiences.

We get into the habit of looking at any object or situation that is happening in reality with experience that has been accumulated in the past. It may be that some old experiences adapt somewhat to the current situation, so it is easy to trust and take pride in our keen intelligence without exploring or examining carefully. Observing carefully and fairly, we see that many times we have predicted wrong and made very unfortunate slips in action. Because everything in the universe is constantly moving. Sometimes it changes the internal content, but sometimes it also changes the external appearance. It could be better or worse, not forever.

But because we get caught up in the force of life, we often don't have much willingness to look up at any object with a new mind. Using old experience seems to get better and quickly solve the problem. Partly because the human instinct for self-defense has not been completely tamed, partly because it is provoked by social competition. So when we find out what affects our rights, we have an immediate protective reaction, with mentalities such as anger, judgment, suspicion, tyranny, discrimination without calmly observing and understanding the facts. Because we are not in the habit of detaching old experience when observing reality, we often fall into misperception and suffering.

If we have been deceived or betrayed in the past, that wound will be deeply etched in our hearts. So now we want to put our feelings on new people, we suddenly feel very confused and afraid. It's a fault of the psychological mechanism, because the person we're dealing with is completely different from our ex. But we don't have the strength to overcome our instincts for self-defense. We have tried many times to see this person as they are manifesting, many times reminding ourselves that this person is not the former. In the end, I still failed. Of course, the wound is hard to forget. But instead of giving each other just enough opportunity to get to know and trust each other better, we become suspicious of deception or betrayal along the way. That barrier wall is prejudice.

Prejudice is merely an attitude of clinging to old experience to impose on reality, so there is good bias and bad prejudice. Understandably, we often wear pink glasses and black glasses when looking at people, looking at life. If we ever know that the other person is very cute through contact or relying on information from others, then when we meet them, we will have sympathy and devotion to them immediately without having to observe or explore anything more. I'm wearing rose-colored glasses so I see them saying what's good, doing anything is great. Now that media and advertising have a very strong impact on the human mind, it only takes a few articles to praise a certain character to immediately develop sympathy. Later on in contact, it's easy to skip basic observation and caution. If we know that the other person is a bad guy, although that information is not guaranteed to be accurate, we still want to wear black glasses first to make sure. No matter how hard the other person tries, we either don't keep an eye on it, or get defensive and find every excuse not to accept. This attitude gradually builds a habit, making us no longer remember that we are wearing black glasses. Since then, everywhere we look, we see a dark color, no one is cute and kind anymore. It is then that we lose the clear eye that the creator has given to each person. Without that eye, our vision would narrow. We will turn ourselves into melancholy, cold, and stuck.

The more modern people are, the more dependent they are on electronic technology. Perhaps that's why people's lives are becoming more and more superficial and rigid. What is stored in the brain is not easy to retrieve. It is a shy and backward lifestyle, not having the courage to open up to update new information from the other person. Of course, there are experiences that are useful. It helps us solve adaptation problems quickly without having to explore. Especially since society now has so many sophisticated tactics that it is not easy for us to recognize the real fake, the more we have to use the experience successfully. But no matter how effective that precaution is, it leaves us with the habit of easily being suspicious of others. Moreover, old experience, no matter how good, cannot fully express reality. Therefore, the ancients used to say, "See how to do so"—to see things as they manifest themselves, not by their moods or experiences. Looking at each other with those eyes will feel more comfortable and close.

Let us not forget that the nature of all things is impermanent, therefore man is also impermanent and experience is also impermanent. Although the other person used to have many clumsy mistakes, now they may have changed a lot. Let us give them a chance to live with their new selves before us and let us give ourselves a chance to live with a new mind before them. The most difficult is for relatives living next door. Because we often don't wholeheartedly observe objects that we think we already know very well. Just as a mother always sees her child as foolish, so the interest and desire are always based on old experience. Unknowingly, the mother has limited her child's chances of maturity. And the wife always thinks that she already understands her husband, just at a glance to know immediately, so there is no need to listen and observe more. The wife does not know that doing so isolates her husband's creative inspiration and will to transform. Living with people who do not know how to acknowledge our changes, do not see the dreams or difficulties stuck in us to support and share, how tasteless life is. Perhaps that's why every time we meet a new person, we want to maintain the moment of observing each other with the original pure feeling.

Therefore, every day we should try to practice sitting down very quietly to purify our newly accumulated experience. If the experience does not foster the capacity for understanding and love, we should not allow it to take up too much mental space. Take a close look and exclude them. Experiences that exist only as a random unconscious habit that we have stored, let's analyze it and let go slowly. Every time we interact with any object, we should look at our attitude to see if we wear sympathetic pink glasses or antipathetic black glasses. If so, find a way to stop that contact soon and return to correct your mentality. Just like when rain falls and the ground is not covered by nylon sheets or any other objects, rainwater can penetrate deep into the ground to nourish plant roots or seeds. With such a mindful lifestyle, we will always have the opportunity to raise awareness, broaden our horizons, and not let it be hardened or eroded for the sake of petty selfish interests.

When an old idea dies to make way for a new idea to be born, it is rebirth—our new life. The old one is familiar but poor; The new one is not pleasant right away, but it helps us to have an open view and closer to life. So what are we waiting for without killing old ideas or experiences that are just to protect the ego's feelings? In this way, we will create an infinitely large space – a meeting place for souls full of understanding and love.

See with transparent eyes
Unencumbered with old
experience Open your heart to more understanding
Like the earth meets the rain.

Support us