Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A television advertisement — “For that most important person in the world: you” — becomes Ven Jampa Gendun’s entry point into the Buddhist critique of self-cherishing in this 47-minute session from his Three Principal Aspects of the Path series. He opens with mindfulness of breathing, using the image of training a puppy with a newspaper to describe non-judgmental attention, then unpacks what “taking refuge” means in daily friction — missed bus seats, arguments, unpaid bills. The main focus is bodhicitta and the method of equalizing and exchanging self with others. He examines self-cherishing as a fundamental epistemological error, illustrates habitual partiality through a doctor choosing among equally sick patients and a row of beggars, and introduces the giving-and-taking visualization as a practical method for opening the heart.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 03 3 PA 1989 10 21.mp3
UUID: ffe317fc-f1cb-43da-8d2b-d5b7781fd689
Teacher: Ven Jampa Gendun
Collection: Three Principal Aspects of the Path 1988-1990 (Ven Jampa Gendun)
Date: 1989-10-21
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.7 minutes
Words: ~5,923
So we begin with the mindfulness of breathing meditation. I think most of you are familiar with it. And we’re just going to develop the factors of mindfulness and awareness using as the object of meditation, focusing on the breath, the various bodily tactile sensations which arise which are associated with the breathing process. And you’re gently, patiently bringing the mind like a puppy back to the newspaper when you’re paper training it, again and again, without any thought of hopefully without any thought of this competitiveness, this ambitious quality that we usually bring to all our activities or most of our activities since we’re trying to use this as a means to step outside of the world of the fantasy of ego. So this is the beginning on the long journey.
With each little breath we can step out a little more into the actual reality of the situation, just getting in touch with the way things actually are without any judgmental quality. As, you know, I’ve mentioned in the past in quoting from Lama Yeshe, the founder of Buddha House. We’re very much obsessed. You know, when we talk about controlling the mind, as I mentioned, I think last week, what we mean is the ability to not have to react. Controlling the mind is the ability of not having to react.
And by react, that is to say, neither having to indulge or to repress any type of emotion, any type of thought, any type of feeling which might arise in the mind. Normally we have compulsive patterns which constantly overpowers. We have no choice in the matter. So we can begin to develop a choice, begin to allow the various states of mind which arise, feelings, thoughts, to simply do that. Arise just like a cloud moving through the sky and just let it drift on.
We don’t have to react. We don’t have to be completely bound by all these conditioned patterns that exist within us. And this in this way, we begin to relax. We aren’t quite so obsessed anymore. By obsessed, another interpretation is this continual judging quality that we bring to every situation, to everything that we come in contact with.
If you ask a person their opinion on almost any subject, they’ll give you their thought on it. They’ll say, This is good or this is bad. It’s this compulsive judging quality which leads us to a lot of conflict, which leads us to a lot of self imposed inner turmoil. We simply cannot let things be. We have to be taking constantly a position.
Ego is constantly manufacturing a reference point. It’s type of style. This is, you know, if you had a long list of characteristics, you know, do you like what? I don’t know. Do you like yellow walls or do you like green walls?
Do you like cotton curtains or do you like silk curtains? And you could develop a long list and they put x x here and x there, and yes, no, yes, no. And you would get a a personality profile of that person, their particular style. And this is what we’re constantly doing. We’re constantly reinforcing our particular personality profile by constantly judging, giving forming opinions.
And in this way, we never allow our mind to come to peace. We’re constantly having to reestablish who we are. Constantly having to to interpret things whatever situations arise in relating with people, in terms of this fixated personality profile that we cling to this identity that we have, that we want to secure. And so we can begin to cut through this this quality of ego’s games simply by not taking a position, not manufacturing new reference points, simply allowing things to be, ultimately allowing the mind to exist within its natural state of awareness. So we try that.
To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, I go for refuge and time enlightened through the merit I create by practicing the Dharma. May I attain Buddha for the sake of all beings. To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. I go for refuge until I am enlightened through the merit I create by practicing the Dharma. May I attain Buddhahood for the sake of all beings.
To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, I go for refuge until I am enlightened. Through the merit I create by practicing the Dharma, may I attain Buddhahood for the sake of all beings. It must be extremely difficult. Sometimes, as I’ve mentioned in the path, in many ways, I lead a rather atypical type of life, my lifestyle. Rather sheltered existence in many ways, I think, compared to, you know, the people who have to go out and work a forty hour a week job or have to go to school each day, interact with many different types of people.
My kind my world is kind of very narrow in many ways. So I have to keep reminding myself of that when, you know, when I when I say something, I have to try to broaden my perspective a little bit. And so, you know, talking about, for example, of going for refuge. Now, what does that can what can that mean on a very practical everyday level, you know, for for most of you, what does that mean? You know, we talk about going for refuge to the Buddha.
Going for refuge to your own wisdom, to your own clarity, the sanity within your own mind, the qualities of of love and compassion and inexhaustible energy, and you’re trying to benefit others in some way. And the Dharma, the methods, the teachings, or that is to say anything which has the ability to raise your love of your consciousness from desire to openness, from attachment to generosity, from anger to compassion, from hatred to love, from confusion to some type of wisdom, and anything which is able to raise the level of your understanding, your attitude, transform your mind. And the spiritual community and those like minded individuals who have made a commitment, have made a decision voluntarily to towards growth, towards some type of real method for finding the what they’re actually looking for. They sort of clarified their goals and committed themselves to it. And so they find, you know, support from one another, see each other as examples, teach one another, inspire one another.
But, you know, in a practical everyday life, which confronts us the the difficult situations. You know, maybe somebody takes the seat on the bus that you were just about to sit down. Maybe you break you break up with a boyfriend or maybe you have an argument with your wife or maybe you don’t have enough money to pay the bills. What does it mean to take refuge in such, you know, very practical situations? Or is it just is this kind of refuge a mere fact?
Does it you know, the the idea of refuge is something which protects you, protects you from the undesired and somehow promotes those values which you hold as most important in your life. You know, each of us have our our various refuges. Each of us have our methods for attaining the happinesses that we’re seeking. You know, each of us have our our particular conception of those types of happinesses You know, what it means. You know, I’ve mentioned this before.
You know, some people eat meat to find happiness. Some people become vegetarians to find happiness. And some people give up sex to find happiness. Some people have as much sex as possible to find happiness. Some people are nurses, doctors, teachers, students.
You know, we all have our conception of what happiness is, what constitutes happiness for ourselves individually, and what it is that’s going to bring it about. So these are, you know, each of our individual references. Each of the each of these are our individual directions which we take, our refuges, our protection. Now within the Buddhist tradition, what do we mean in a very practical sense? When we say, I know I go for refuge.
Now it can’t be simply a matter of words. But it seems to be, it must be a way initially of reorientating ourselves. You know, if we see that our mind is a confused state, that we’re angry, that we’re upset, taking refuge in the simple fact that the source of that problem is your own attitude, your own mind. You know, this this insight, this little bit of wisdom, is probably very basic to a Buddhist refuge. You know, quit blaming other people, situations.
Quit, remaining a victim to either external forces to your society, to your family, or to your past history. And determine that the source of your problem is your own present attitude. It becomes a refuge in that there’s a possible solution to the problem. Without this basic context, this basic insight, I’ve seen that it is our happiness and all our suffering derives from our mind. Then there’s no way out.
There’s no solution. It’s that we’re always going to be bound in a process, cyclic process of frustrations and disappointments, dissatisfactions. Well you have to check up that for yourself. So this would be, you know, in these difficult situations which arise in the everyday course of your life. As soon as you become, the mind becomes upset, become aware that it’s upset and understand that the causes are basically a misconception, a misunderstanding of the situation as it exists, that a lack of clarity.
And maybe this in itself can diminish the problem, the confused state, the agitation associated with the problem. So, and then choose, this is like a choice, whether simply to enact, you know, all the old reoccurring compulsive neurotic patterns, conditioning, or to try to develop insight to try to make to bring, know, your your own innate sanity to bear on the situation. To instead of reacting with hostility, to try in some way to see the situation as a possibility to develop some compassion perhaps. Unless we somehow can bring this idea of refuge of transforming the mind into our everyday activities, then the task is almost insurmountable. Because, you know, the time we possibly spend in actual sitting meditation is very small.
And even then, probably a great deal was spent in mental wandering, fantasies, memories, or whatnot. So somehow we have to, you know, if we’re sincere about the process of growth and transforming the mind, have to make, take advantage of the various daily situations and somehow make those a source of refuge, make those a possibilities of growth. Seeing problems, seeing difficulties not as obstacles to our happiness, but as sources of insight, sources of learning about our mind, seeing how our mind is operating. It’s because we don’t know how our mind is operating is that we end up not being able to operate our mind very well. You know, basically, we’re talking a great deal about awareness, maintaining awareness, and choosing, you know, making very small choices.
And we probably have very few great choices to be made in our lives. Earth shaking choices which are going to change our destiny to some profound significance. These these come along very rarely. But in everyday life there are infinite number of small possibilities presenting themselves. And if we make some consistent choice, you know, as Don Juan says, making the consistent choice of a path with heart makes the makes a warrior different than the ordinary person.
It is this consistent choice of a path with heart, this consistent choice of growth, a consistent choice of using your wisdom, consistent choice of using your compassion, which will bring about real growth, real transformation, which in fact is, you know, your real refuge. It’s actually what we mean by going for refuge. It’s not a merely an idealistic or romantic notion, but it’s an actual method by a direction we can take in our everyday life, which will foster growth, the positive states which are going to bring us to our ultimate happiness and begin to really solve our problems. We’ve been talking about the second of the three principal aspects of the path. The first is developing this determination to be free.
The second is opening our hearts to others and seeing deeply into the nature of reality. So, the second, opening our hearts to others. bodhicitta, an awakening heart. We’ve talked about two methods, two traditions, the sevenfold cause and effect instruction and the equalizing and exchanging self with others. And we’re discussing the second.
We finished the discussion of the first sevenfold cause and effect instruction. And we’re discuss discussing the second tradition that is equalizing and exchange self to others as a method, as a as a means, you know, as a dharma, a way of raising our consciousness, opening our hearts to others. So again, you know, first we equalize ourselves with others. Essentially, this means developing a mind which seeks the happiness of others and the separation of others from their suffering to the same degree that we work for our own happiness and to separate ourselves from our suffering. You know, to the same degree, equalizing ourselves with others.
So the if on this foundation, you know, it’s like we’re evening off the ground. We’re developing an unbiased, even minded attitude toward others rather than our present mind which is completely bound up with partiality, biasness, having aversion, attachment, and for the majority of individuals indifference. So on this even foundation, this impartial foundation of the mind, we’re going to build this edifice of an awakening heart. So on this foundation we begin to examine the disadvantages of self-cherishing and the advantages of cherishing others. This is this process of equalizing and exchanging ourselves for others.
First we begin with the equalizing ourselves with others, examine the disadvantages of self-cherishing, the advantages of cherishing others, the actual exchange of self for others, the visualization technique of giving and taking. And these five processes has its effect of opening the heart, of developing an awakening heart, bodhicitta. This is essentially is, you know, the altruistic aspiration to achieve highest enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings equally. Basically, we’re talking about an effective way of interacting with other people, very practically speaking. That we begin to want to develop ourselves in order to help others.
We see the limits of our present capacity. It becomes more and more pronounced the more we want to help others. And this motivates us. This is like the energy of a rocket which propels us to develop ourselves. It’s the method to develop the necessary wisdom by which we can really be of significant benefit to others.
It’s not to say that we can’t be of help to others now. In fact, should, we have to do whatever we can. But all the while knowing that our present capacity is limited. And that the more and more we’re able to develop this capacity, our potential, the more readily we’re going to help others in more ways, in more situations, at more times. We’re going to simply be more effective in our interacting with people, more skillful.
So upon this even minded foundation of equalizing and exchanging self with others, we examine the disadvantages of self-cherishing and the advantages of cherishing others. That, you know, we are very much involved in a basic epistemological error, what I call epistemological error. Epistemology simply means to know the way we know. A big word for something very simple perhaps. We’re making an error in the way we understand something.
Basically in Buddhism we’re making two basic errors. One is called self grasping, the other is called self-cherishing. Based upon these two errors, misunderstandings, that’s all they are, all our problems, all our suffering, all our frustrations, disappointments, miseries arise. And we cause misery, suffering, frustrations to others. So we have to begin to work through these, to begin to correct these basic misconceptions, basic crooked ways of understanding the situation we’re in.
So this premise, one of the premises of our basic premises that we take completely for granted upon which we base our entire social conduct, the way we relate with others. You know, it’s like our guiding principle in life, the way in which we relate with others, is this mistaken fact of self-cherishing. That this egocentric approach to our lives, that me first attitude, this constant I, I, I, my happiness, my wants, over and above others is the way to find our happiness. There was a I saw a television ad last night. I think it was a National Mutual Insurance Company.
And it was talking about getting this superannuation fund. At the end it said, For that most important person in the world, and then you. Is completely reinforcing this mistaken notion that we have. Our whole society is going that direction for the most important person in the world, you. This is going to bring you happiness.
This is from the point of view of Buddhism at least and probably from the point of view of most spiritual practices. This is crooked thinking. This is completely inverted to the actual situation. But it’s so ingrained, we’re so conditioned that we never even bring it into question. The Buddha is always saying, Let’s question everything.
He’s always pointing, Let’s look at this, let’s look at this. And this is one of the things we have to look at again and again and again. There are the two basic epistemological errors which we’re involved in, but there are other secondary misconceptions that we’re completely wrapped up in. They’re so ingrained that we don’t even know that we’re involved in them. Even when we begin to have some insight that it’s pointed out to us, for example self grasping the notion of a permanent, concrete, independently existing, unitary self, substantially existent self, that in fact that it doesn’t exist.
We can say, you know, first it has to be pointed out to us. You say, oh, I never thought about that. But you’ve been basing your entire life as if it were that way. And even once it’s pointed out to you, to begin to actually integrate a mere intellectual idea into your emotional life is extremely difficult because we’re completely conditioned in the adverse direction. All our actions are taking us in the other direction.
We continually grasp as if there were a solid concrete ego. Most of our patterns are based upon that, that we act out every day of our life. Anytime you get angry, anytime desire arises, attachment arises, you know that ego is operating, that you’re grasping for a self existent, unitary, independently existing self. At that moment, you can know that. There’s not much you can know about it.
So even though these things are pointed out, which is something significant in itself, it’s difficult to begin to break them down, to cut through them. But we have to begin. So one of the basic premises which we unconsciously take completely for granted is that the most important person in the world is me. And based upon this, we enact out all the various activities involved in self-cherishing. And so we’re going to examine this.
This is first equalizing self with others, looking at the disadvantages of self-cherishing, the advantages of cherishing others. And in fact, maybe there’s a new approach which we could be using to our everyday life, which in the end might lead to a more authentic way of being, a more satisfying, more fulfilling, more meaningful life. We may actually be happier people. It seems to be the case. The people who I have come in contact with, people who have been sincerely practicing, evolving, trying to grow, seem to be going this direction, that is, concerning themselves more and more with others, exchanging their self-cherishing for the cherishing of others, and they seem to be more happy people.
So maybe there’s something to it. Maybe we’re wrong. It’s difficult to actually believe you’re wrong when there’s something very that basic. Know, when they talk about, for example, self grasping, ego grasping, it’s as if the ego doesn’t exist the way I feel it to exist, then nothing is true. Nothing exists.
That’s force at which our mind is operating with these ingrained patterns. If this isn’t true, then nothing is true. If my ego doesn’t exist solidly, concretely, then nothing exists at all. Likewise, it begins to take a while just to begin to bring you to question, create even the slightest doubt that perhaps my approach to life is somehow irrational. It’s not working.
That maybe there’s another way. Even this doubt, you know, it’s said with respect to ego grasping, the mere doubt that things are empty of true existence shakes the very foundation of cyclic existence. Just the mere doubt, not the actual realization of emptiness. But just the mere doubt, maybe things aren’t quite the way they appear. That mere doubt has a tremendous impact on transforming quality to the mind.
So, you know, if we can just begin to question, maybe my approach isn’t very skillful. And really feel some real doubt and openness, like opening the possibility of change. That’s a very significant step in developing ourselves and opening our heart to others. So we examine that on the foundation of equalizing ourselves with others, examining the disadvantages of self-cherishing, the advantages of cherishing others. We then make use of an imaginative technique of exchanging ourselves for others.
Just like when Sonia takes the seat and I go sit down there, we begin to exchange our self-cherishing for the cherishing of others. A shift in attitude, shift in perspective, through the technique of the imagination. Then we go on with a visualization technique called giving and taking. Essentially, we begin to regenerate, we imagine, visualize a person before us. We generate some type of compassion.
That is the thought to separate this person from their suffering. We visually take on their suffering in the form of black smoke, take it in on top of our own self-cherishing and give away our happiness. We generate love, wishing them happiness and give away our happiness and pursue their happiness. Whatever they need, whatever they want, whatever will make them happy we give them in this visualization technique. Whatever makes them happy.
So this process is the way to begin to open our hearts to others. Essentially, you know, we’re talking about a more meaningful, more authentic, effective interaction with others. It’s like when we talk about opening our hearts with others, It’s like developing a soft spot in your heart. Softening this tough this tough ego leather of our hearts. We develop this soft spot, a sensitizing, becoming more sensitive.
Develop a more tender heart, more gentleness, a feeling of connectedness with others, a feeling of not only connectedness, but a concern and a warmth for others. This is in the qualities that we can develop from this method. And finally, we develop what is called an awakening heart. We need to develop, become a happy, healthy, sane, loving human being so we can help others to do the same in a very realistic way. We can begin to discover that we are actually very loving people.
And we allow ourselves to be loving in all the various situations which arise. As I was saying, taking refuge, the various situations that arise, the various difficult problems which confront us every day of our lives. With the awakening heart, all these various situations become simply a means of strengthening our awakening heart. We take refuge in our awakening heart. We take refuge in an essential loving quality that we all possess.
We have a loving quality that we are trying to activate. Also some loving sanity. There’s like some self existing warmth. Beginning to discover. You know, we have a very as I mentioned, I’ve mentioned most of these things over and over again, but I guess they’re worth repeating.
We have a very negative, limited image of ourselves in general for various reasons. You know, we aren’t you know, generates very self pity self pitying kind of a lowly image of ourselves. We cling to this. We grasp to this. You know, this is our personality profile, And we’re constantly reacting in these various compulsive patterns in keeping with this personality profile in order to secure ourselves, this idea of a solid concrete image self.
But the problem is that we lose sight of most of our beautiful qualities. For example, our self existent warmth, our self existent love that we all have. So if we can become aware, then we can begin to allow ourselves to become aware of these sparks of real, for example, wisdom, but not only wisdom but love and compassion which we manifest, express almost every day of our lives, but we filter, we overlook them. They don’t quite fit in with our present self image of who we are. This is very much in keeping with the notion of tantra.
These moments, sparks of enlightenment occurring every day of our lives. Idea that enlightenment isn’t somewhere over the ocean, somewhere in the mountains somewhere, but it’s here every day of our lives. Little sparks of enlightenment, but also cultivating this process of equalizing and exchanging yourself with others. Actually allowing these sparks to flare up, at least in your meditative practice, becoming aware that they’re actually there, becoming mindful that they’re there and looking for them in the course of your everyday life. Taking refuge in that fact.
So this discovery that we have, we have a loving spark, a loving spark within us, is more than just a temporary high. It involves a commitment. As I’ve said, a commitment to developing ourselves, commitment to further training, and ultimately seeking enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It becomes our desire to attain enlightenment, to benefit others. So the fundamental way and this is like the reoccurring theme, especially the great vehicle Buddhism, is simply the fact that the fundamental way to find happiness is to more and more and more and more concern yourself more and more and more with the happiness of others.
You know, all the various eighty four thousand bundles of Dharma that the Buddha taught, all the four tenet schools of philosophic systems which he taught, all the one hundred and eight volumes, the two hundred and eight volumes of commentaries, setting those all aside. If there was only one teaching that the great vehicle could make, I would say it would be simply that. If you want to be happy, then concern yourself with the happiness of others. All the intricacies of the logic and the philosophy aside, in a very practical, fundamental, direct method to find happiness in this life is to concern yourself with the happiness of others. In the lesser vehicle, We begin.
The lesser vehicle is not something which is to be thought of as a pejorative, something which is we’re putting down somebody else. We have to pass through the lesser vehicle, the various practices of the lesser vehicle. In the lesser vehicle, we begin by becoming concerned about ourselves. We develop some compassion for ourselves, something which many people don’t have, a gentle concern for ourselves. And the fact that we begin to consider our probable future.
We begin to project, you know, if I don’t grow, if I don’t change, what can I expect in the future? Can I expect anything more than I’ve had up to now? Maybe even worse. But why should things get better unless I create the causes for betterness? I’m very much stuck in some cyclic patterns, know, fixated on some unskillful ways of relating with myself and others in these various situations.
And if unless I change those, what can I expect in the future? I can’t expect anything more than it’s happened up to now. So I have to change, I have to grow. We developed this determination. So you would begin to befriend ourselves, make friends with ourselves.
And we begin to develop or employ some kind of gentle discipline to begin to cut through our ego games, to begin to break up these patterns. So, you know, the great vehicle simply carries this or extends this to its logical conclusion, this quality of being concerned. Through the trainings of ethics, concentration and wisdom, we begin to sense the isolation that we feel and these feelings of self sufficient, this kind of smug self sufficiency, isolation, smug self sufficiency, I can take care of myself, is an illusion. So, in our heart, which has begun to open to ourselves, begins to open up to others. And we begin to feel an essential connectedness and sameness about us.
That we’re very much our existence is very much bound up with others. We exist in relationship to others. And more than that, others are essentially in the same position that we’re in. They’re not different than ourselves, though we try, though we devalue them, we try to objectify them and to make them into something less than ourselves. So we’re talking about equalizing ourselves with others Equalizing ourselves as others as the foundation for this practice of exchanging self with others.
And last week we talked about this equalizing process from the conventional point of view. There were two points of view which we can equalize ourselves with others. One is the conventional point of view and the other is the ultimate point of view. And we covered the conventional point of view. Within the conventional point of view, there were two parts.
There is from the side of others and from our own side. So from the side of others, the essential insight to be gained is that others are exactly like ourselves. You know, no difference. They want to be happy. They don’t want to suffer.
No difference whatsoever. You know, we can talk about this. You hear these words intellectually, and you say, Oh, that’s right. Yes, I agree. But to feel this, to actually integrate this into your emotional life to such an extent where you this is the way you begin to relate with others, is another story altogether.
This is the way it is with most of what is being said of most of the teachings. There’s the doctrine and then there’s the insight. And they you know, we can understand emptiness rationally, reasonably quite easily. To integrate it into our life is another problem. To mix it with our mind, to understand the the fact that others are exactly like ourselves.
They want to be happy. They don’t want to suffer. Intellectually isn’t too difficult, but to actually integrate that is quite difficult. It goes against our essential way that we relate with others. The needs and the wants of others are basically like exactly like our own our own wants and our own needs.
You know, we have these needs and wants might take on a variety of superficial differences and superficial appearances. But essentially, they’re the same. All beings want happiness. They don’t want to suffer. Just like myself.
No difference whatsoever. In the important practice, what would you call it? An offering practice called offering to the spiritual master. There’s a verse which says, There is no difference between ourselves and others. None of us wish even the slightest of sufferings nor is ever content with the happiness we have.
Realizing this, we seek your blessings that we may enhance the bliss and joy of others. So, you know, this is as I said, sitting in your meditation practice is necessary. But more than that, have to make use of our everyday experiences. And we have to begin to validate this idea again and again various ways in our everyday life, in our everyday experiences, in our everyday dealings with others, watching them, and being aware that this is in fact the case. You know, up from the smallest insect to the most, you know, to a genius, most intelligent, sensitive types of human beings.
They all want happiness. They don’t want to suffer. They want to be separated from suffering. So this insight, when we begin to actually integrate this understanding into our emotional life, it begins to break down our habitual tendency to devalue others, to make them into to simply objectify them. You know, make them into unfeeling things out there, you know, which are at our disposal.
And it’s quite necessary in you know, due to the complications of our social existence that unthinkingly, a person who builds a bomb has to devalue, has to objectify. Know, who works in a munitions factory, for example, armaments. He has to not see the end product as destruction of life. They talk about statistics. This bomb will destroy this many people in this amount of time in this certain area.
And then outside of this area, so many people will die and so many people. And in talking about these individuals, they do not see them as necessary to maintain sanity for most of these people, I would think, devalue them, to take away their humanity, to make them into objects as mere statistics. I think just to maintain some semblance of sanity in their life. But this goes on to a certain degree every day with all of us. You know, we use the imagery of a doctor coming into a ward where there are a number of sick people.
They’re all equally ill. They’re all in equal need of the doctor’s attention. But who is it that we’re instinctively going to give the most care to, that we’re going to treat first? Check up for yourself. Who would it be?
The person who smiles, the beautiful woman, the handsome man, the rich man, the one who says thank you? In one way or another, we’re naturally going to instinctively tend to one. We’re going to have some kind of partiality, some biasness in the way we relate with them, Even though they’re completely equal from their side and needing our attention and needing care, they’re equally sick, they’re equally in pain. They equally want to be happy. And we use another image.
This is quite common in India, for example. You’re walking down the road and there’s a line of beggars. And the beggars, have personalities. They aren’t just faceless images. Some of them are quite courteous.
Some of them are smiling. Some of them are quite obnoxious. Some of them are quite skillfully obnoxious actually. So you know you tend I know this is my own case. The one who says, Please, sir, very courteous, Thank you, smiling.
Your first reaction is to give that person. When somebody is really obnoxious, he is physically ugly, there’s a tendency to shy away. This is a natural, you know, my instinct, the instinctive way I relate with these people. Even though completely equal in need they’re completely in hunger, cold, poor, completely equal in their needs from their side, I still have a biased way of instinctively relating with them.