Mundane and noble right view

The Buddha teaches that right view is noble (arya), immaculate, and supermundane.  This is the view of those who have entered the stream to nirvana.  This view is not by any stretch of the imagination, mundane.  To reach this view, which leads the rest of the components of the way, goes against the mundane.  It goes against our mundane habits and desires even our ideas of right and wrong that we take for granted.

Since we don't have this noble right view, we cling, instead, to our mundane right views by which we are constantly deceived.  This means that what we believe to be true is actually false, and what we believe to be completely false turns out to be actually true!  We put our faith in posers who pretend to be wise, rather than the wise.  As a matter of fact, we believe that most of the people we follow to be wise.  

On a psychological level, we allow our moods and negative feelings to be our counselors who lie to us constantly.  Our depression, anger, including our vanity are our counselors.  Also a strong desire for sensual delight is our counselor, perhaps our most evil counselor.  As long as we listen to their advice we never get anywhere.  But we have no intention of firing them!  Such is mundane right view.

Not even our past experiences seem to help us see the need to aim for and to realize noble right view.  In the words of George Bernard Shaw, "We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience."  Still, there is something innate within us that knows we are wrong despite all the excuses that we can muster.   We never listen to it much anymore.  When we were children it seems that we did.  But we outgrew this because the adult mundane world seems to demand of us less than noble behavior and principles.  Truth has no value, learning how to survive in a dog eat dog world does.  This is the animal kingdom of Darwinian fitness which we have elected to follow.

Noble or aryan right view is beyond mankind's world, that is, his psychophysical body and what it perceives.  Why would such a perfect view be found in man or his mundane world?  What's the payoff?  It is only when we surpass ourselves, and looking back, can we see what is proper to do.  One is able to see the forest for the trees, in other words, who also knows what a box is and how to get outside of it.  In this sense the physician has cured himself.

Comments

[Me from Cali]

I keep reading this posted item. It is so important to be constantly aware of.

[Me from Cali]

Great thoughts (teachings) very well put!