Satisfied Buddhist - Domo Geshe Rinpoche

“If we affirm that something is an illusion by using the Buddhist viewpoint with poor motivation and energizing it with anger, disappointment or jealousy of the good qualities of another, we harm ourselves. A lack of the skills needed that will lead to the intellectual correct view practices a defective process by relying upon defective strategies eventually producing defective results. Each and every faulty method of understanding illusion, as we progress toward the enlightened state, will only become apparent when we reach deeper contemplation levels when they become solidified as obstacles. More sophisticated or subtler levels of contemplations will require discernment of energetic distinctions and will reveal errors (that are not that easy to correct), which are not apparent on casual levels. Rather than prematurely relying on a view of the illusory nature of all phenomena, Buddhism trains us to courageously integrate new strategies that heal us in our ordinary place instead of ...

In buddhist gatherings you will often overhear someone say, “Oh, forget it! Anyway, everything is just an illusion”. They might briefly reflect at some difficulty that they created in the past and affirm now, “Oh, it was all just illusory”. Or like sour grapes, “Oh, who cares anyway!.” I feel some concern to hear this in this way because the illusory might become a handy trashcan, dumping place for a misplaced sense of responsibility. I can appreciate from one point of view the wish to avoid inner stress but on the other hand it demonstrates a lack of practical knowledge. The very dynamic that is a healing of the view that takes the impermanent to be permanent is set aside in order to continue bad behavior and blame it on the mythical “illusory”! When you affirm that something is an illusion with poor motivation or lack of skills that leads to the intellectual correct view, this is practicing a defective process that depends upon defective components and produces defective results. ...