Choice
Video (its worth the download time. Please read and comment on the blog while the video loads)
Today Hue Gioi showed me a video where a man showed people 2 photographs and said “You can only have 1 of them.” To one group of people he said their decision is final and to the other group he said you can switch photographs 4 days later if you are unsatisfied with your choice. He also then asked them to fill out surveys measuring how happy they were with their choices. It turned out that people who could not switch their photograph (the people who were stuck with their choice) were happier with their decision. They could accept it because they had no choice. However the second group who had the possibility to switch photographs became very unhappy with their choices and wanted to change. But even after that change remained unhappy. When we still feel like we have a choice, a way to get out of it, then we don’t need to accept how things are.
Thay once said that the difference between the way Westerners treat the rules and the way Asians treat the rules are different. He said Westerners are more in the consumer culture mind and we want to throw things out immediately if they don’t seem useful for us. This is why the divorce rate is so high. But in Asian, because the people didn’t have much, they had to make due with what they have and try to change their minds to accommodate the situation. So for Asians, they accept the rules and try to understand the rules in their own way so it makes sense. They accept things are the way they are and try to find their peace with this.
This can actually come down to a statement about contentment. Does contentment come from getting what we want or from letting go of wanting and accepting how things are? Does our meditation improve the more we try to get certain states and attainments or does it become frustrating and feel hopeless? How many of us have tried to just sit and enjoy the feeling of the breath without trying to make more of it?
Thich Nhat Hanh says, “With every step a lotus blooms”. With each action we take with presence and awareness, not wanting something else from the moment but accepting it as is, we can arrive at our practice and at the heart of peace.
By Hue Chuyen
Bill, its great to see you out there giving back to people. You’re an inspriation to me and anyone else whos had the pleasure of knowing you. I often think about you and what your doing, and it gives me Hope. I’ve come to find that Hope is the greatest gift anyone could offer and that many of my peers today are without it. As Faith is a vehicle of Hope, your self-less actions pave the way for many to be redeemed by your examples by offering what you can of yourself. You are greatly missed by myself and countless others, but your spirit continues to inspire in your absence.
Sincerely,
Matt Hennessey