July 24 : Big View

It is important to have a big view and to think big. That was Lama Yeshe’s way of doing things. Not just to think big this life, but to think big beyond this life.

We are not just this body and identity that we have in this life. There is a continuity of consciousness that has been going on since the beginningless past and will continue infinitely into the future, although there is not a solid me associated with that consciousness. Still, even though there is no solid person, cause-andeffect functions and the actions that are done in one life influence what is to be experienced in the next life and many future lives after that. Similarly, what we experience in this life is due to actions we have created in the past. The more we can have this enlarged view of the continuity of consciousness and the functioning of cause-and-effect — yet realising there is no solid person — the more attentive and relaxed the mind becomes. The more we can see things in this way, the more we will appreciate the functioning of cause-and-effect, and we will appreciate the lack of any concrete person.

As you go through the day, try to hold that view as much as you can. Especially try to remember that who you think you are, is basically a hallucination created by the mind. Therefore, there is not much sense in getting attached to this big “I” we have created that we think it is the centre of the universe. Better just to let go of that view of “I” and instead, open to this ever-flowing interconnectedness.

“365 Gems of Wisdom” e-book is out now!