The "Right View" - What is Yours?

Hi guys!

I've been a lurker for over 10 years (with very few posts to show for it), and figured I would start a thread discussing one of my favorite philosophical ideas that I never see discussed - this is the Buddhist idea of "Right View".

The basic idea here, is that every human has a "View" (you could think of it as a "Worldview", but it goes deeper in Buddhism). You build a scaffold of the world you think you see to help arrange the symbols you process in your day-to-day life (these "symbols" are the ideas, concepts, objects, physics, religious ideas - anything you can possibly think of). As you encounter more symbols/containers, you drop them into the scaffold you created to keep it organized. This process is automatic and happens without your conscious input (although it's possible to direct once it's been noticed).

The Buddhist idea of "Right View" is a view that accurately describes reality and all that comes with it - this is why a Buddha can supposedly see unconditioned reality (though I personally don't believe that a Buddah would have knowledge of something like particle physics unless they studied it). In order to have "Right View", your view must describe every phenomena a human can encounter without contradicting itself anywhere. This is very hard to develop, and must explain things like Physics, Emptiness, OOBEs, Psychedelics, and everything else in a human life without contradiction. It is your job as a human to develop your View until it matches reality in all situations for all people  - this will allow you to examine any situation without delusion, and can help you to avoid conflict. It's currently impossible to have 100% of the information about the world, so it would be wise to leave some spots blank and admit when you don't have all the information for certain situations. Wrong View is any view that equates thoughts for actual reality, since thoughts are imperfect models of reality that you should not get attached to (you should simply use them as tools to get things done).

Since I'm curious to see what each person's view may be, I'll start by explaining some parts of my own view. I started by looking at the Buddhist tool called  "The Two Truths Doctrine". This idea/tool explains that Reality can be experienced in 2 different (general) ways - Ultimate Reality, and Relative Reality - Relative Reality can be further broken down into Relative Objective Reality and Relative Subjective Reality (Objective = the scientific method, Relative = your mind's operating system). Some of you are probably already aware of what Ultimate Reality is in the Buddhist system - Ultimate Reality could be thought of as what is left when no people are around to think about reality (basically a singularity). It is easy to get all the pieces to fit if you spend some time meditating on this idea and make sure you're not afraid to ditch ideas that don't match reality (always be honest with yourself). I also notice that people often ask about proper meditation process, so I'll end with that (since meditation has been the foundation of my View).

There are MANY different types of meditation - three of the main ones are:

Calm Abiding Meditation (Samatha) - this is where you focus on an object to enter concentration (breath, heartbeat, visual image, etc...).

Special Insight Meditation (Vipassana) - this is where you basically focus on thinking to develop focused thoughts that can understand reality better.

Single-Pointed Meditation (Jhana) - this is a combination of Calm Abiding and Special Insight Meditation and is the Ultimate goal in Buddhism.

The goal is to first develop Calm Abiding, and then start adding Special Insight bit by bit until it all comes together into Single-Pointedness. This can be broken down as follows:

First you achieve Calm Abiding (peaceful sitting and mind firmly concentrated on it's object).

Next you develop Mental Pliability (a pleasant heaviness in the mind with conscious center moving up in your forehead).

Then comes the Physical Pliability (a pleasurable body buzz/vibration that eventually paralyses/numbs your whole body).

Followed by Special Insight (a state where you can think while still maintaining concentration on your object)

Finally you will achieve Single-Pointedness (congrats - you have achieved the first Jhana!).

You can go deeper from here (look at the Jhana descriptions in Buddhist literature).

Calm Abiding alone is not able to destroy the fetters of the mind - it will just temporarily allow you to be free (your fetters return once you come back from Calm Abiding). The legend of Udrak and how he got angry at the rats for eating his hair after returning from years-long Calm Abiding is a good example of this. This is why you need both Special Insight and Calm Abiding - the Calm Abiding concentrates the mind's processing power, which allows Special Insight thoughts to have much more power than usual (which lets you destroy the delusions/fetters of the mind). Once you have achieved Single-Pointedness, everything starts moving very quickly on your path, and much becomes clear. It's at this stage that you can explore OOBEs, or any other phenomena you choose without impediment. It is my opinion (developed through meditation) that OOBEs are simply the direct experience of a thought - these places you go in an OOBE trip are actually what thoughts really look like (you are only hearing the voices of these entities in your head when you think in your day-to-day life). The Buddha found a method of exploring thoughts with Meditation mixed with OOBEs. In the "Anguttara-nikaya" - the Buddha said:
"Monks, before my awakening, when being a Bodhisattva, I was not completely enlightened, I conceived meditational manifestations but did not see meditational forms. Monks, it occurred to me, 'If I were to conceive meditational manifestations and to see meditational forms, knowledge and vision would be better purified in me'."

He was basically going as deep as possible into a "Non-Affirming Negative" state using Jhana Meditation (emptiness perceiving emptiness) instead of an "Affirming Negative" (looking at emptiness as an object), and then he went into an OOBE state to actually see his thoughts to make sure that his mind was actually in a Non-Affirming Negative (the only way to perceive subtle thoughts accurately).

That's all I have for now, but I would enjoy reading some descriptions of your own Views! I don't want any fighting or arguing in this thread about who's View is right or wrong - please don't be so attached! The concept of Ultimate Reality helps me stay grounded and realize that no ideas are actual reality. I find that a good way to avoid getting so serious about being right!

a reply to: philosopheroftruth

Are you asking a question or describing your idea of Buddhism to us? Sorry that probably sounded mean... I feel refreshed to see a thread relating to Buddhism though!

Anywho, my thoughts on right view are pretty simple. Desire inevitably leads to pain. Don't assume. Don't expect. Don't take offense. Experience life as it is, through yourself. After all, one cannot experience the world, one can only experience oneself.

Just as the brain communicates with the body to move harmoniously as one unit, the soul connects with the universe to be together in harmony. The universe can be violent, peaceful, ironic, boring, exciting, just as planet Earth, just as our own bodies.

I'm still working on it, too.

There is one primary task before you can understand the world.

You have not covered that primary task.

The first step on the path to enlightenment is to understand your self

Without this ... you cannot progress.

P

I've spent some time over the years studying various religious philosophies.
I appreciate the Zen concept of "isness."
No judgement as to whether a thing is good or bad.
Sometimes it just is.
Deal with what is to the best of one's intelligence.
Avoid allowing emotions and passions to cause one to react in the wrong way.
Cause no harm.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Have compassion for all.
Use violence only when necessary.

a reply to: sine.nomine

Both! My view is directly linked to my philosophical ideas (including Buddhist philosophy)! It's interesting how every person will have a slightly different scaffold depending on what they have experienced, and I felt adding my view (and how I worked on it) would be helpful for anyone who does things in a different way (so they might be able to understand my View better - not to tell them how to make their own).

I went through a rough time where I lost my mind a bit ago, so my view needed to explain the crazy in a way that kept me grounded (chasing spirits led me to delusion).

My world view...The world is a composite system of integrated individual minds. It seeks to integrate you and me into its slave market. We have to exist in the world without letting it dissolve our individuality. Much easier said than done.

a reply to: pheonix358

Ultimate Reality covers that question in my view - I'd like to hear how you explain it in your own View though!

originally posted by: pheonix358
There is one primary task before you can understand the world.

You have not covered that primary task.

The first step on the path to enlightenment is to understand your self

Without this ... you cannot progress.

P

Gotta respond so this is seen twice!
As someone who thinks they can solve the worlds problem yet can't keep his room clean I agree.

a reply to: skunkape23

I love the Zen system! Equnamity is a good goal, and I believe that it can probably being peace in a quicker way than my own View. I just have too much fun asking questions.

So in my View - I don't try to live in Ultimate Reality because I have too much fun thinking and it's hard to get things done while there. I should try to integrate it more often in my daily life though (I guess in a form of Non-Abiding Meditation to reduce stress).

a reply to: philosopheroftruth

I could tell you were working out something. And don't worry, we all lose our minds sometimes (at least the trustworthy ones among us).

The right view of Buddhism is strange when you think about it, a paradox. Zen in nature, I suppose. And that is to say you should forget every concept of "you" and "them", yet experience "them" as "you". I see it as a relation-building exercise with all you experience.

My views are food goes in this end, comes out this other end.

The rest is conjecture.

a reply to: BELIEVERpriest

This is interesting and different! Do you mean literally, or metaphorically? I could see your View being an interesting interpretation of mind, so I am interested!

a reply to: Lysergic

Good way to avoid delusion! Assuming to much while creating your view can lead to unnecessary attachment, so leaving blanks is very helpful! I get around this by understanding that my thoughts are tools only - a way to get things done, but not the way things really are.

My definition of View includes the things like what the solar system looks like, where your car is, how certain foods taste - the entire composite of what you think is and is not (so assuming nothing puts you closer to Ultimate Reality than me, using my View).

a reply to: philosopheroftruth

I mean spiritually. The collective system of the world seeks to take our individuality by appealing to our desire to control each other. We justify our desires with what some interpret as good, and others as evil, but it's all the same. We (collectively and individually) are our worst enemy. The harder we try to fight the world, the more integrated we become. It's like sinking in quicksand.

originally posted by: philosopheroftruth
a reply to: pheonix358

Ultimate Reality covers that question in my view - I'd like to hear how you explain it in your own View though!

We crawl before we walk before we run.

A baby that can't yet crawl, cannot walk, cannot run.

Understanding self is the first step.

The Ultimate Reality occurs only after you leave this earthly body.

The vast majority of Westerners want to leap tall buildings before they can crawl.

All Eastern Arts that migrate to the Western World are only shadows of their former glory.

As a very interesting example.

Bruce Lee came to the West. He taught martial arts but left out break falls ... why ... because only the enemy will fall down. That is Western Conceit and it prevents most from learning progress.

The only way to start at the end of Buddhism is to die.

P

a reply to: sine.nomine

I was working on something, but there is no longer a need! Ask questions if you want, as that is the only way to make sure we are using the same symbols (and not misinterpreting/assuming).

It is a paradox, but not really. Ultimate Reality is empty of inherent existence, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't also try to improve what we have here, now, using the most effective tools/ideas. I like Buddhist ideas (specifically the concept of a Non-Affirming negative), but I wouldn't say I'm Buddhist. Mahayana gets close, but there are some relics stuck in there that don't agree with my reality...

a reply to: pheonix358

I think we agree here but are using similar symbols in different ways. Non-Affirming Negative, correct?

a reply to: BELIEVERpriest

Sweet - I like where this is going, but I am still unsure of the specifics! This is the point of the thread - to share your View without expecting to be torn apart by others (In love seeing how others structure their world).

Would the following interpritation be close?:
Each of our own (different) Views would be our individual spirituality? And the religious dogma and forced culture of humanity is trying to force their own View on us for control? I don't know if I'm understanding correctly, but I'm having fun!