The three standpoints ⏳
We ordinarily perceive reality through subjective biases shaped by our craving and attachments, so help us transform our understanding and deepen our perspective on the world, the Buddha offered three standpoints from which we can appraise the values by which we order our lives. These three standpoints can also represent three moments or steps in an unfolding process of insight. These three moments are:
- gratification
- danger
- escape
Gratification involves the pleasure we experience when we succeed in accomplishing our goals. If we are being mindful, we can see that such pleasure can be far from satisfactory, to the contrary, it holds various drawbacks, or dangers. The most prominent of dangers being the fact that such pleasures are fleeting, short-term, and more unsatisfying in the long run. “Escape” here is not escapism, a word that implies an anxious attempt to avoid facing one’s problems by pretending they don’t exist and losing oneself in distractions. True escape is quite the opposite: Once we see that our goals and values are flawed and beset with hidden dangers, we realize that the way to escape lies in moderation or in letting go of them altogether. This can help us switch our priorities from short-term to delayed gratification.
References
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Bodhi, Bhikkhu. (2005). In the Buddha’s Words Chapter VI. Deepening One’s Perspective on the World (Location 3259). Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications.
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Anguttara Nikaya 3:101 §§1–2; I 258–59
Metadata
Type:🔵 Tags: Philosophy / Psychology Status:☀️