In the Eightfold Noble Path, the first aspect the Buddha spoke about was right view. Sometimes we think that the right view is the view of emptiness and that it comes later in the path. That is true, the right view does include the view of emptiness and the realisation of emptiness does come later in the path, but here when the Buddha taught the right view as the first noble truth, it means having the Buddhist worldview. In other words, it means having the view of karma, rebirth, continuity of mind, and seeing our lives from that viewpoint. Usually, our ordinary worldview includes just this life, and we think, “Here I am, I’m real, and there’s only this life.”

With that kind of worldview, it becomes very difficult to practise the Dharma because our motivation comes out all wrong. It comes out as wanting just the happiness of this life. When we have a worldview that includes multiple rebirths and karma and understanding that where we are born is influenced by the actions we create, then our whole perspective on life changes. How we see ourselves changes. What we see as the purpose of our life changes. This kind of worldview can lead to an understanding of dukkha — unsatisfactoriness — and the cause of suffering, which leads to the last two Noble Truths, true cessation, and true path. Having this initial worldview is quite important to having the right intention and the right perspective for practice. It is good to spend a lot of time meditating on these topics that support this worldview, to retrain our mind so that we look at our life experiences from that perspective.

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