Expert: Joe McSorley - 12/30/2005

Question
Is it possible 'see things as they are' and still - strive for success?  Is success completely futile?
The driving forces of my past life were love and hatred. The pure maya.
The desire to protect my loved ones and to overcome my enemies forced me to study better, work harder and abstain from temptations. I learned to use my rational mind as a weapon. It is just a game, but it is fun.

So, if I follow the directions of dharma, should I stop fighting?  

Answer
Dear Nikto,
  
What is your definition of success?  If to strive for success is futile then to strive for awakening is futile and the lives of the various Buddhas over the centuries have been futile.  I think you need to analyze this in yourself and see what success is.
   It is natural to want to protect your loved ones and this occurs throughout nature.  To protect and survive is a given force of nature but out of perspective it is a burden.  I do not know who you perceive your enemies to be and if you are worried about them when there are none present then you have become your own enemy.  Nature deals with what is, when it is, and does not carry one moment to the next. When confronted with a problem an animal deals with it and when it's over, it's over, and it continues its life in the moment.  To sit and ruminate about enemies or hatred is not to be in the moment and does not enhance your life.
  The rational mind in neither good nor bad, like a knife, it can be used to kill or to live; it's according to what you do with it.  The Eightfold Path speaks about correct understanding and right thinking, this is the rational minds attempt to grasp the root of being.  Eventually the rational mind realizes its own limitations and must be overcome but without it, we could not come to this point.
  To follow the dharma just to follow the dharma is just acting good and not being good.  It might keep you out of trouble, which is good, but it's still outside of you.  To realize the root of your self is to be the dharma and be free of the dharma.  There is no one to fight here.  You can win a hundred fights and then lose one, so where does this fighting get you?  What can ultimately be attained by the games and the fight and why do you choose to do it?  If you win a fight, what have you really won, has anything changed?
You have to answer this for yourself.  Success, failure, the mind, maya and dharma are creations of your own mind and have no substance without your thought.  Without your thought, what are they?  You will find the answer in this if you look deep enough.
  Take care,
         Joe