Gigantic Aeroplane…

In a conversation about flying, a pilot told me that psychological screening is becoming mandatory for pilots: where they are screened for their sleep quality, psychological well-being, if they had some fights or agitations in the past and so on. This looks so reasonable and unquestionable to us, especially when we sit inside an aeroplane.

Yet outside the aeroplane, in the society, we can’t easily see the immediate relevance of other’s state of mind to our life. If we look deeply, we see that we are all inside a gigantic aeroplane: every being is a pilot, controlling the course of this massive plane. It is not just the powerful actors on the “top” who solely have the power to steer but also an ant, a blade of grass and a newborn baby — all of us are steering in subtle ways.

This doesn’t mean that we go around saving the entire world and burn ourselves out in the due process. But at the same time, we don’t for a moment, lose awareness to this intricate interconnectedness of our being. There is a difference between indifference and admitting our own limitations.

With the pristine awareness of the interconnectedness quietly radiating our being, we slowly but surely move on path towards bettering ourselves and the lives of all beings, leaving our selfishness behind. This is what is termed as “Bodhicitta” (The Thought of Awakening). Even if we produce such a thought for once, it already quakes our entire being and acts as a powerful inexhaustible source for action and change~

#Reflection