). This aspect of Nirvana should be used as a lesson about the relatedness of the universe. One cannot exist in the same state that they are currently in if a single aspect is removed from their life. Even when there is no apparent connection, a connection between everything exists.
Perhaps the reason that many people do not see the relatedness of the universe is because people see everything as separate. Hanh explains that even enemies are one in the same. In The Heart of Buddha's Teachings, Hanh retells a story about a person that suffers because of his enemy. After consulting a sage he realizes that he is his enemy. The man was astonished, however couldn't escape the reality that he had his enemy's perceptions and thoughts as well as his voice(Chapter 18). Based on these teachings, people should view the universe and everything within it as an extension of oneself. This is relative to my life because it makes me feel as if I have more control over what happens around me. For example if I am playing pickup basketball and a player on my team does something bad, such as committing a turnover or taking a bad shot, I am able to see the relatedness of that particular play. Perhaps if I had made a better attempt to get open then my teammate would have had more support, thus allowing him to make a good decision. Also when I am studying film for football, I now understand that no successful play, or unsuccessful play is due to a single player, no matter the way it may seem. As a wide receiver my job is to get open so that the quarterback can throw me the ball. However if I do not get open then my quarterback has a lower probability of making a good decision. If people looked at the universe in this way, they would be able to understand that they have more of an impact on the lives of others than they realize.
Another aspect of Nirvana is that all notions are removed. If one wants to experience life fully and see it truthfully, then all ideas and notions must be removed. In fact it is often ideas and preconceived notions that blind us rather than lighting our paths of life. Hanh touches upon this idea by stating, "We have to remove our concept of a rose if we want to touch the real rose"(Hanh Chapter 17). This means that if one wants to see the truth in something, we must first strip our initial misconceptions of it. Our brain loves to make connections between similar objects so that information can be more easily organized within our minds. However this often can make us think that some things are loud, when in reality they can be quite quiet. This aspect of Nirvana has been helpful in my life because it has forced me to understand things as individual pieces. While this may sound counterintuitive based on the previous paragraph, it makes perfect sense because one must first understand the pedals of a rose in order to identify it is a rose. This style of thinking has assisted me in becoming more creative. Recently I have learned that creativity is the essence of genius. Often students are not taught to be creative therefore their genius may be stunted. I've used this thought process to help me not only figure out difficult problems, but also difficult people. Rather than writing someone off as a jerk or crazy, I've tried to delve into the some people's psyche and understand why they act in a certain manner. This has allowed me to deal with people more easily and become more understanding.
Sources
Nhá̂t, Hạnh. The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy & Liberation. New York: Broadway, 1999. Online.
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