Gotama was the clan name of the Buddha. I am very inspired by his life and teachings. Some posts here refer to matters related to the mind, meditation or the Dhamma/Dharma and also observations about how it is practiced in America, but this is also a post on some other topics of interest – about our society, on race and other majoritarian tendencies in American Buddhism, on language and languages.

Attempts at seeing the colored glass: All that we see with our mind is colored by our view, just as all that we see with our eyes is tinted by the color of our glasses. There is no choice in the matter for it is impossible to not possess views. But it’s very helpful to be able to see the views behind the thought and everything else perceived as “reality”. Do I know the color of my glasses? Likewise, when I receive something from someone, I need to understand that it was seen through the color of their glasses. Once we see view, there’s the stunning realization that there is choice in what kind of view is held. Right view is the beginning as well as the goal of the practice.