Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammâ Sambuddhassa!

Don't Turn a Blind Eye  

By Rasika Wijayaratne 

Recently I told a dentist friend about a tooth ache that I had. I told him that it was due to a cavity in one of my teeth and that it had been there for a year. When he enquired as to why I had not done anything about it, I told him that I had hoped it would go away by itself. No prizes for guessing the look on his face!

There can be unpleasant things in our lives like this that we sometimes wish would go away by themselves, thing we hope would somehow fix themselves, while we turn a blind eye to them. It maybe a problem we're going through at school, university or workplace, it maybe a family or friends related problem, or it may be a problem with our own health or lifestyle, as in the example above! But most likely it wont go away unless we take action and do something about it.¹

People are sometimes reluctant to take action to resolve these problems due to various reasons, and unfortunately most are negative ones. Complacency and laziness is one, fear of the unknown outcomes of taking action is another as is that all too familiar "I've been too busy." Sometimes the problem can be so serious that we don't even wont to think about it.² Taking action can seem daunting in the short-term; but what are the consequences of turning a blind eye in the long term? How much harm can come to ourselves, our loved ones or others around us as a result?

Taking action doesn't need to be a negative experience, if it's positive action that we are taking.³ Even if there are negatives in the short-term, if the long term benefits outweigh them we can focus on the long-term gains instead. As long as we're acting within the boundaries of the five precepts (panca-sila), with non-greed (alobha), non-hatred (adosa) and non-delusion (amoha) as the driving forces to help ourselves, our loved ones or others, we can be satisfied with our actions.⁴

What are the first steps that we need to take? We must recognize that there is a problem in the first place. We can't solve something we are not aware of. Then we need to determine if this problem can be solved, and if so how and what steps (planning) need to be taken and what resources we may need (may include time, money, people and good advice). If it is not something that we can resolve by ourselves then we need to look at help from family, trusted friends, understanding teachers, counsellors (this includes Venerables) and so on.

It is important to realise that most problems in our lives wont go away by themselves. Pretending that problems don't exist may be convenient in the short-term, but we need to take into consideration the long term negative consequences of doing so. Once we have identified the problems we can put a plan into action to resolve these problems, perhaps with the help and advice of our friends, loved ones and elders.

Don't turn a blind eye. PLEASE, open your eyes before it's too late.

Notes

1. There are rare occasions when in-action is the best action, but in general this in-action should not result in harm to either ourselves or others. If in doubt seek advice.

2. In these situations it is best to discuss it with someone suitable.

3. Taking action to resolve the problem may give rise to negative emotions (stress, etc), but as long as the underlying motives behind our actions are positive, our actions also become positive ones.

4. Again check with an elder if in doubt.

Related Youth Articles

1. Motives by Rasika Wijayaratne (a commentary)  [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=motives ]

2. Consequences by Rasika Wijayaratne (on being responsible for our actions)  [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=conseq ]

3. Five Precepts by Rasika Wijayaratne (on morality)  [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=pansil ]

4. Delusion by Rasika Wijayaratne [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=moha ]