Study Yourself
May 21st, 2008 | Teachings |The actor Gene Hackman once said in an interview that he did not like to watch current movies that he has been in. The reason being that he still pictured himself as a young man and did not like to see the reality of being older. He said “when I see myself up on the screen, it’s that — I see my grandfather there or something, you know? I see — you know, I think of myself as being 21. You do, too, I know. Yes. But then, when you see yourself, it’s a whole different story.”
Many of us have similar thoughts. We see ourselves one way and others see us in a different fashion. Then there is the reality of how we really are. Sometimes it may be the way we look or act. We think one way, other people think another.
We suffer delusions. We look into the mirror at ourselves but we do not see ourselves. I used to think I talked fine but anytime I heard myself on a tape recorder, I could not believe it was me! I would think “who is that person?” I have a soft, whispery voice and many people have a hard time trying to hear me. But to me, I hear myself fine!
Practicing the Way can help us unpeel those layers of delusions so that we can see who we really are. Sometimes we may not like what we uncover but that is fine, yes? We can work on it. That is the whole point of practice. We should not practice to master the study of Buddhism or Taoism. We should practice so that we can master ourselves. That is the whole point.
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