Following your heart

[Prageeth Thoradeniya]

You know how they say "follow your heart" and you will "do what is right?"

I've "followed my heart" and done some very questionable things because my "heart said so". Somethings, I am not proud of (although I learned immense lessons from those experiences).

My mind? Ah he's very good at justifying whatever I do, with very well-organized logic (all that debating I did in school has helped, I suppose).

My body? Full of it's own desires and agendas. Thirsting and craving for this and that.

When your mind, your body and your heart can lead you astray... what can you trust?

How do you know what is "right", other than referring to five precepts or stuff written in old books?

I eagerly anticipate and also would appreciate your honest answers.

[Jerrod Lopes]

You can trust empirical evidence gathered through direct experience. That's the best method I can think of.

Metta,

Jerrod

[Prageeth Thoradeniya]

Sometimes even that seems dodgy. Surely there must be some way to tap into that moral compass we are all supposed to have? :S

[Stuart Corner]

I would say the very last thing that I would want to be doing is to 'follow my heart' … by which I guess you mean: follow any thought that might enter into my head … if I did that I'm pretty certain that my world would be in a much worse state than it currently is …

... my faith is that if I follow the eightfold path, then eventually the clouds of ignorance will lift and that elusive moral compass will be exposed … but this path is a gradual path with gradual results that are apparent in this life – sure there are plenty of mistakes still being made (this is probably one of them!) and lots to learn, but as long as I learn from those mistakes then how can there be regrets? … so yes, I rely on the precepts and all the stuff written in old books and the wonderful example and teachings of those who are ahead of me on the path, and I hold on fast to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha as my raft, in confidence that they can teach me in such a way that I can progress on this path ...

… 'All things are impermanent' … maybe this points to the suggestion that there is nothing – no view - that you can 'trust', because that view will change tomorrow, or circumstances will change and that view will no longer be valid – every moment is unique and if we don't treat each moment with the respect that it deserves, then we run the risk of prejudging these situations and hence we run into prejudice … clinging to the validity of our own mind, body, heart, empirical evidence or any other view as if it might be permanent would be an error, I believe …

...so I guess what I'm saying is that I believe that it is just this noble eightfold path that allows us to tap into that moral compass (Buddha-nature?) that we are all supposed to have.

Stuart
xxx

[Prageeth Thoradeniya]

It seems that you are right. Thank you both for your advice.

[Eamonn McGrath]

I would say the very last thing that I would want to be doing is to 'follow my heart' … by which I guess you mean: follow any thought that might enter into my head … if I did that I'm pretty certain that my world would be in a much worse state than it currently is …

... my faith is that if I follow the eightfold path, then eventually the clouds of ignorance will lift and that elusive moral compass will be exposed … but this path is a gradual path with gradual results that are apparent in this life – sure there are plenty of mistakes still being made (this is probably one of them!) and lots to learn, but as long as I learn from those mistakes then how can there be regrets? … so yes, I rely on the precepts and all the stuff written in old books and the wonderful example and teachings of those who are ahead of me on the path, and I hold on fast to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha as my raft, in confidence that they can teach me in such a way that I can progress on this path ...

… 'All things are impermanent' … maybe this points to the suggestion that there is nothing – no view - that you can 'trust', because that view will change tomorrow, or circumstances will change and that view will no longer be valid – every moment is unique and if we don't treat each moment with the respect that it deserves, then we run the risk of prejudging these situations and hence we run into prejudice … clinging to the validity of our own mind, body, heart, empirical evidence or any other view as if it might be permanent would be an error, I believe …

...so I guess what I'm saying is that I believe that it is just this noble eightfold path that allows us to tap into that moral compass (Buddha-nature?) that we are all supposed to have.

Stuart
xxx

Personally, I think that "follow my heart" is actually more in line with "gut instinct". That is, what do you feel in your core, in your centre, is the right thing to do rather than what your head with all its logic and preconceived notions is telling you. This is what I am trying to do more ......... and more often it seems to be the best way. Follow that feeling (emotional feeling) of your centre, rather than your head.

The rest I agree with Stuart and is well composed and expressed.

Keep smiling.
Eamonn

[Bhante Nandiya]

One meaning of "Following your heart" means to follow your own sense of right and wrong, rather than trying to follow what the world says is right and wrong. Or to put it even more concisely, to trust your own wisdom, rather than always looking to an external authority.

This is obviously an extremely central part of the Buddhist spiritual path, since it's precisely about getting in touch with that "inner wisdom", it's your own wisdom and insight which will awaken you, not anyone else's. But of course everything has it's limits and context, and in particular it's important to know yourself, if you're the kind of person who always looks to others and tries to live the white-picket fence life recommended by the world, then the advice "follow your heart" would be quite appropriate. On the other hand, perhaps not so much so for someone who is hedonistic and follows their own desire and pleasure in favor of worldly norms.

With metta,
Ven. Nandiya.

[Stuart Corner]

I've been reflecting on this thread for some time now and I have also recently read the very interesting Introduction to the translation of the Udana by Thanissaro Bhikkhu which is available in various formats here. One part I would like to quote, although it might seem only slightly relevant is:

"The Romantics—and the American Transcendentalists who followed them—posited a common source of inspiration within the deepest part of each person. According to them, authors and readers throughout time have had access within to the same source of inspiration. To understand which meanings within an ancient text might have value in our day and age, we need only check the text against the original source deep in our own minds. Wherever the author’s expression differs from this inner sense of inspiration, it can simply be rejected as no longer relevant. Whatever resonates with this inner sense of inspiration can be accepted as trustworthy and true.

This approach, however, leaves no room for the possibility that a person like the Buddha could have realized truths about experience that are not already available to the reader. In other words—contrary to a basic principle of the Buddha’s teaching—there was nothing special or singular about the Buddha’s awakening. The only teachings of any value derived from that awakening are those that agree with what the reader already feels deep down inside to be true. There is nothing really new to be learned from the Udāna or from any Buddhist text. The only reason to read them is to confirm what we already know."

I guess my view has been very slightly modified by this thread, in that maybe now I think that if I had a pure mind, then it would be OK to follow it, but while I know that the mind is still unpure it would be an error to do so, and maybe on the whole deferring to an external authority is preferable ... but then again, I guess that just the act of deferring, is in fact a choice either made logically or through some inner wisdom (gut instinct) ... I think maybe I'm more confused now (which is not a bad thing necessarily), but on balance, I guess I would still rather trust what the Buddha taught in the Pali Canon than anything that I'm likely to come up with - I just haven't got a great track record with either my logically made choices or my gut instinct ... whatever way I do it, it always seems to end up in rebirth and dukkha ... of course, I still don't do everything that Buddha advises - I don't even attempt everything that the Buddha advises - my faith just isn't strong enough - I wonder why that it? ... hmmm ...

Stuart
xxx

[Ed Rock]

Dear Stuart, In 1978, I too had an unpure mind, really unpure! I bailed into a Zen monastery just to get away for awhile and stay (free) where nobody would find me. I had to follow their rules to stay there, so I did, but I had little interest in Buddhism or Buddhist practice per se (maybe a tad of curiosity about enlightenment) - I didn’t even know what the word Dhamma meant!
They were not keen for me to read books either; it wasn’t permitted – so I just sat there, ate their delicious vegetarian meals, and sat there and sat there. Eventually, out of shear boredom, I tried their meditation instructions and watched my thoughts rather than get indulged in them. And they eventually calmed down.
After about 6 months of the solitude of silence (no speaking) and many, many hours of “just sitting,” there was a sudden shift in consciousness that I cannot really describe, but what changed my life forever.
Because of this life altering event, I became a life-long Buddhist. I saw that, for me, from my direct experience, I needed no words, no books, no sermons - only a mind that had an opportunity (actually was forced kicking and screaming) to calm down.
I’m not sure if this helps, but I thought I would mention it.
Metta, anagarika eddie

[Stuart Corner]

Well it is certainly very inspirational Eddie, and these inspirational stories from others help me to keep going and deepen my commitment, so thank-you _/\_ ... I'm a lot calmer than when I started this path, and I reckon that I won't be giving this up any time soon, but I have had no seismic shift such as the one that you have described ... so far ...

Stuart
xxx