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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 33
Right Intention
By Dr Rick Hanson
Rick Hanson is a psychologist, senior Introduction
fellow of the Greater Good Science Of course, the first question regarding intention is, for what?
Center at UC Berkeley, and New York
Times bestselling author. His books All the great wisdom traditions of the world, and all the great
have been published in 29 languages moral philosophers, have grappled with this question. What
and include Neurodharma, Resilient, should we want?
Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s
Brain, Just One Thing: Developing a There are many ways to approach this question. Some try to
Buddha Brain One Simple Practice answer it in terms of discerning the will or desires of their sense
of a Divine influence, of God. Others through resort to certain
at a Time, and Mother Nurture. His
ideals or abstractions. And others through reliance on some kind
free newsletters have over 180,000
of authority, such as a priestly class or a scripture.
subscribers, and he offers a variety
of online programs. An expert In the case of the Buddha – and also some moral philosophers
on positive neuroplasticity, he’s – he approached this question pragmatically, in terms of what
lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and leads to more or less suffering, to more or less benefit or harm
Harvard, taught in meditation centers to oneself and others. Intentions are good if they lead to good
worldwide, and his work has been results, and bad if they lead to bad results.
featured on the BBC, CBS, NPR, and
other major media. This approach has numerous advantages. It is down to earth. It
draws upon our own observation of what happens, rather than
relying upon the viewpoints of others. It provides a ready test
for the worth of an intention: what did it lead to, what actually
happened? And it keeps turning us back to ourselves, toward how
we can be ever more skillful.
The best available record of the actual teachings of the Buddha
– what is called the Pāli Canon after the language in which they
were first written – is chock full of encouragement and practical
guidance for many kinds of intentions leading to good results.
