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There you have it, a duck, or, wait a minute, is it a rabbit?
Yes, it is an illusion used to trick our minds into believing it is a duck, then we see the rabbit and then when we look for it, we see the duck again. We go between the duck and the rabbit. However, the reality of it, the truth of it is that we can only see only the duck or only the rabbit. It is not possible to see both the duck and the rabbit at the same time. It is either a duck or it is a rabbit.
When we consider Buddhist teachings and the illusions of life, it may help to recall the duck/rabbit illusion. After all, I, as one person, just me, can see either a duck or a rabbit with no outside influence by social media, by respected authoritative figures, or, by what others tell me is the correct way to look. If I alone can see either a duck or a rabbit by changing my perspective, why cannot I appreciate another person’s view on how that person sees their reality?
Our Shin Buddhist concept of compassion is not reserved for those who see what we see or believe what we believe. Our Shin Buddhist compassion extends to dogs or monkeys or elephants kept chained in captivity. It extends to those whose world view is not our world view and it extends to those we don’t even like but must respect.
Our compassion evolves to become universal as we walk the Shin Buddhist path. We begin to understand, not as an intellectual exercise, but in reality that if I can see at one moment a duck and the next moment a rabbit, that others may see yet another form we cannot even fathom.
If we continue to chain ourselves to our fixed illusions dukkha will remain our companion. Remembering that even I cannot see both a duck and a rabbit at the same time, may I extend compassion first to myself. Once I understand my own inability to break free of illusions, I can better understand why compassion, along with gratitude offers a path to greater peace.
In gassho
Rev. Anita
Excerpt of drawing in gratitude from: Daniel C. Dennett, From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds (New York, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017), 21.
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