The Glasses of the Heart: Seeing Life Subjectively or Objectively?

When you wear red glasses, life looks rosy and bright; when you wear black glasses, life looks gray and dreary. But which pair of glasses reflects reality as it truly is? Have you ever wondered why, when facing the same event, one person sees it as right and another sees it as wrong? The answer usually lies in each person's way of seeing, and that way of seeing can be either subjective or objective.

When "Tinted Glasses" Enter the Mind

Being subjective means forming judgments based on personal feelings, biases, prejudices, or pre-existing likes and dislikes. As Thay Thich Chan Quang teaches: "Without any inclination, without pre-existing prejudice, without pre-existing dislike or fondness, there is only our own judgment, something within ourselves. But one judgment is called subjective and another is called objective, depending on whether we can free ourselves from the prejudice or the pre-existing dislike or fondness we carry."

Thay tells a story: when we love someone, even a water caltrop seems round; when we hate someone, even a soapberry seems square. If we already hold a dislike for someone, then hearing them speak a single sentence, we feel they are wrong. Even if they do something right, we still interpret it in a negative light. This is because the glasses called "dislike" are already clinging to our heart.

Being objective means looking at a problem from many angles, understanding it deeply, and avoiding hasty conclusions. Thay gives an example: if you see someone running past your door, do not rush to conclude that they are a thief. Perhaps they are jogging for exercise, or running to save someone, or rushing to help because they saw a house on fire. We need more information before drawing a conclusion. "Hasty conclusions are mistakes born of subjectivity."

"When looking at a problem, we must compare it from many sides. Never draw a conclusion based on a single standard or a single piece of information. Concluding immediately is a mistake."

Applying This in Daily Life

When we hear someone describe another person as greedy, we should recall our own encounters with that person. Look into their eyes, their gestures, their words, and compare. As we grow older, we become more discerning and less easily deceived by outward words.

Subjectivity Easily Creates Karma

When we are subjective, we not only misunderstand others but also create karma for ourselves. Thay explains: "If someone is good, kind, and well-intentioned, yet we interpret everything they do in the worst light, then that mind itself becomes karma." Conversely, if someone is bad but we imagine them to be good, our life will stumble into pitfalls.

"When we love, even a water caltrop seems round; when we hate, even a soapberry seems square. Square is what fits the karmic law."

For this reason, subjective judgment easily leads us into misunderstanding and creating karma. Objectivity, on the other hand, helps us come closer to what is right, closer to truth.

How Judgments Go Wrong

Thay tells the story of the "ten resolutions of the heart," one of which says, "Injustice needs no explanation." He held this saying as a truth. Once, when he was wrongly accused, he remained silent. An educated person asked him: "Why didn't you tell the truth? If you had, my family's faith in the Dharma would have been strengthened." From that moment, Thay realized that this saying is only correct in certain circumstances; it is not an absolute truth. Many teachings of the Buddha or of the patriarchs are the same: they apply within specific contexts, not universally in every situation.

"There are teachings we regard as unchanging truths for our whole lives. Beware, for they may be wrong."

This is why we must always know how to compare and re-examine. This is precisely the humility of wisdom.

The Path Back to Objectivity

How can we come closer to objectivity each time we form a judgment? Thay Chan Quang points to the first method: practicing humility. Humility means trusting our own judgments a little less, because we do not know whether we are right.

"A person who dares to doubt their own thoughts is a person of wisdom, one who dares to question their own mind."

This is not easy, for we tend to cling tightly to our own ideas. The more arrogant we are, the more firmly we cling. A humble person, however, keeps an open mind and examines things slowly. Take the example of Western medicine and traditional medicine: a subjective person decides immediately that Western medicine is better. A humble person asks themselves: is that really true? Then they investigate gradually. In the end, they may discover that both have their strengths. Because they did not cling, they found the truth.

Seeing Life with Eyes Wide Open

Someone once asked: is it easy to achieve complete objectivity? Thay answered: only the noble ones fully attain it. Ordinarily, we are all influenced by subjectivity, but we can practice and move in that direction. Those new to practice carry many prejudices; the more we practice, the more we see our own shortcomings. What matters is that each day, each time we assess something, we ask ourselves: "Am I wearing tinted glasses right now?"

If we know humility and know how to compare many perspectives, then little by little our vision will grow clearer and deeper, and less subjective. And just as Tang Sanzang needed Sun Wukong, Sha Wujing, and Zhu Bajie to cross the passes on his journey to the West, truth also needs many perspectives, needs the protection of wisdom and compassion, so that we do not fall into prejudice.

Do not let your heart be locked inside a pair of tinted glasses. Each time you look at a situation, try removing the glasses and looking again from many sides. You will be surprised by what you see. And from there, you come closer to truth, closer to what is right, in a way that is complete and full of peace.