The Eightfold Path: Right View

The next time you think, “If only—” or “It would be better if—,” instead of simply following that thought, make space to recall that this dissatisfaction, this dukkha, is the first seal. It’s what everyone you know feels all the time. Let yourself be knocked off balance by the realization that in this way, you are deeply connected to everyone you’v... See more

The “right” in “right view” makes it sound—to me, at least—as if it involves a kind of seeing that’s special, with eyes that are somehow imbued with wisdom or colored by boundless compassion. But that’s a fantasy of something in the distance, out there. Right view is part of a path, and the path is always beneath our feet, right here. There’s nothi... See more