ARE YOU BEHAVING IRRATIONALLY?
BUDDHISTS SAY THERE ARE TWO REALITIES,
THE DECEPTIVE AND THE ULTIMATE.
WE SPEND MOST OF OUR DAYS DEEPLY SUNK IN DECEPTIVE REALITY.
Deceptive reality is the ME FIRST version of reality. Our 21st-century culture actually tells us that we're irrational if we don't put ourselves first. Do you want to make money? Well, you'd be irrational to give it away. You should hoard every dollar, pile your money up, and keep other people away from it. Do you want love and attention? Well, you should confront people who aren't treating you properly and demand their time and focus, throwing a tantrum if necessary. Do you want to succeed in business? Obviously, the best thing to do is make sure others fail, kick them aside as viciously as possible, and constantly toot your own horn!
You'd be irrational, our culture tells us, if you didn't hoard your money, scream loudly for the attention you're due from loved ones, or kick competitors in the teeth before they get ahead of you.
But Buddhism suggests a different approach. Maybe it would be better for all concerned if we could do the difficult work necessary to live in ultimate reality, and squash the ME FIRST mentality of deceptive reality. Maybe we could consider putting other people first all the time. Better for us, better for other people, better for the world in general.
But how do we learn how to do this? And why would we want to? Maybe it's reversed. Maybe you'd be irrational if you actually tried to put yourself first all the time--not the other way around. Maybe the conventional advice of the 21st century is wrong.
The fourth Panchen Lama, Lobsang Chukyi Gyaltsen, who lived 1570-1662, wrote a long, hilarious debate between two antagonists about this very subject. Geshe Michael Roach has been sharing it with us over the years, in English translation.
Lama Chukyi wrote the debate with two characters, the Angel (on the side of ultimate reality) and the Devil (on the side of deceptive reality). Geshe Michael plays both parts, causing frequent laughter among the audience as we go. Because sometimes, when we look at our unquestioning certainty that we need to put ourselves first in order to get ahead, it's pretty funny. The Devil is devilishly convincing when he earnestly and consistently defends the ME FIRST premise. You might be surprised at how subtle, how plausible, and how deep this conviction is within your own mind. And the Angel gets in some pretty good zingers, doing her darnedest to torpedo our self-cherishing attitudes. She doesn't have an easy path. But she's a fighter.
Come join us to see who wins. [Click here]
