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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 19

secure place in heaven, dissolution
into an eternal world-soul (or
Atman, according to the Vedanta
philosophy of Hinduism), and the
termination of suffering by suicide
would all be examples of “wrong
release,” which are all built upon
prior views. The opposite is true
of what the Buddha sees as right
views. Our ideas about life are like
seeds and are fed by practice. If they
are right, all the other elements of
our practice will nourish them into
wisdom: “Just as when a sugarcane
seed, a rice grain, or a grape seed
is placed in moist soil, whatever
that translates to something like surely undermine us in all aspects
nutriment it takes from the soil
“completed, perfected, fulfilled”— of our practice. For example, if we
and the water, all conduces to its
similar to summa in Latin, as in believe strongly in the existence of
sweetness, tastiness, and unalloyed
the word “consummated.” Ditthi eternal individual souls, how deeply
delectability.”
encompasses one’s “view” or will we be able to understand
“vision”—the perspective we take impermanence and see it in all
One of the most appealing aspects
on something, as well as the way we aspects of our experience? Or if
of Buddhism for a contemporary
perceive. As “perspective,” ditthi is we hold convictions about our
person is that the Buddha never
similar to the English word theory, own racial or ethnic superiority
asks us to have blind faith.
which comes from a Greek word, so fervent as to justify war to
Mindfulness requires disciplined
theaw, meaning “behold.” The word further the interests of our group,
mental effort and detailed empirical
theater has the same root. Thus, how receptive will we truly be to
inquiry; we are always being asked
our “theory of life” is our ditthi, teachings about lovingkindness or
to understand. In the great sutta on
the perspective from which we compassion to all sentient beings?
samma ditthi (Majjhima Nikaya 9),
make sense of things, the “view”
the Buddha includes under “right
that guides our daily decisions and Related: The Buddha Talks to a
view” a condensed overview of
judgments. Brahmin Supremacist
the chain of cause and effect that
leads to suffering; at each point
We all have ditthis, even though The Buddha points out many times
in the chain he emphasizes that
most of us are not fully conscious that we need to reflect on what
the student has to “understand”
of the views we hold until we think, because thoughts lead
or “discern.” It is not enough to be
some situation prompts us to to actions. For instance, in a sutta
told. We have to see for ourselves—
express them. Often our views called “The Seed” in the Anguttara
through meditation and through
are unexamined opinions or Nikaya (10.104), he reminds us
experience, which includes the act
assumptions that we have inherited that wrong views lead to wrong
of thinking—how exactly one thing
from other people or from our decisions, and wrong decisions lead
leads to another. For example, in
culture. After we become aware to wrong speech and action, and so
understanding karma, or the laws
of these views we can choose to on, until we reach “wrong release.”
of actions and their consequences,
hold them as true, modify, or reject By “wrong release” the Buddha is
we have to understand not only
them. If the views we cling to are referring to the ends put forth by
what karma is but also what the
confused or misguided, they will other religions or philosophies: a