Applying Buddhist Teachings to Live a Happier Life, Both Online and Offline

(1) Right Views

This step asks us to realize, in essence, what is important in life. What matters to you as an individual? Identify your priorities and remember them when you make decisions or take action.

Having Right Views also asks us to develop a sense of compassion. In our lives, and everything that we do, we must realize that we as individuals do not want to suffer, we want to avoid suffering. The second part of that realization is knowing that others want the same as us, to avoid suffering.

So, one of the ways to be a good person and be good to others is to realize compassion, for ourselves and for everyone else.
Remind you of that other thing, the Golden Rule? Namely, Do unto others as you would have done unto you. This principle is found in all major religions, be a compassionate person, treat yourself and those around you with kindness.

To go one step further with Right Views, incorporate this into the way you judge whether things are right or wrong, good or bad. Remember to question everything on your own level, through your own lens, free of the biases inherent in the world around you. Having Right Views means much more than just living by what others may think is right, it means deciding for yourself, and thinking deeply and critically about what you consider to be acceptable and unacceptable. 

This step can be very difficult, so often in our lives our opinions are being manipulated without our even realizing it. It can be very easy to forget compassion and kindness, and even easier to lose track of our priorities. 

A good exercise for this step would be to write down the things that are important to you and think about how that is reflected in the way you spend your time. Another exercise for Right View is to pay attention to the way you interact with the world, are you kind? Are you pleasant? Do you display compassion? Ask yourself what kind of person you want to be, and practice being that person.

This page has paths: