When the Seeing Mind Changes, the World Looks Different
The Diamond Sutra speaks of five kinds of eyes: the physical eye, heavenly eye, wisdom eye, Dharma eye, and Buddha eye. This is not simply a way of dividing types of eyes. It can be understood to mean that the depth of seeing changes according to the mind with which we look at the world.
When meeting the same person, one person sees a rival, another sees a friend, and another sees a Dharma companion who studies together. The object has not changed. The mind that sees has changed.
When our minds are full of desire, discrimination, attachment, and clinging, it is difficult to see things as they are. As the saying goes, in a pig's eyes things look like pigs, and in a Buddha's eyes things look like Buddhas. The level of the mind determines the world we see.
Therefore, practitioners must polish the eye that sees. At the least, we should open the eye of wisdom so we can see people and situations more broadly and deeply. Even if our seeing is not complete like the Buddha eye, we must cultivate an eye that is not trapped only in discrimination.
Today, may we examine what kind of eye our mind is using to see the world, and look at people and events with the eye of wisdom.
The same person or situation can appear completely different depending on the mind with which we see. Through the eye of discrimination and attachment, our view narrows; through the eye of wisdom, it widens. Today, please look carefully at what kind of eye you are using to see the world.
