Developing equanimity is essential for any person, for
any mind. What's genuinely good for the mind is good for everyone.
Elizabeth Pyjov, Stanford Compassion Cultivation Training teacher,
substituted 'compassion' for Dr. Cuddy's 'admiration.' I added
'respect.'
The encapsulated “I'” is the “I” that perceives
itself to be separate, independent, not interconnected, fixed,
permanent, unchanging and that exists inherently, intrinsically, from
its own side. The encapsulated constrained I is the I in the square,
the small narrow self. When the sense of “I and mine” is very
strong, all other people are “them,” “not I and not mine.”
That is a suffering mind, an ordinary mind. How can an ordinary mind
perceive all other people?
According to Dr. Cuddy, we perceive four types of
people based on two characteristics that are represented on two axes:
warmth (morality, ethics) and functioning (which Cuddy calls 'competence'). Those we
perceive as being high warmth (high morality, high ethics) and high functioning are perceived as
“like me” and we react to such people with respect and
compassion.
Bogdan Wojciszke uses morality for the axis Dr. Cuddy refers to as warmth.
Let's take a look at all four types...
We regard people we perceive as being high functioning
and low warmth (low morality, low ethics) with envy and schadenfreude.
Dr. Cuddy attributes the genocides of Jews and of Tutsis
in Rwanda to the ordinary tendency of the mind to perceive so-called
successful people with envy and schadenfreude. The antidote to envy
is rejoicing in the happiness of others, sympathetic joy, be happy for the joy and success of others.
 |
| WARMTH/MORALITY |
In a neuroscientific study, when people were shown
pictures of homeless people, the pre-frontal cortex, which becomes
activated when we recognize another human being, didn't respond at all.
Consistently, people did not perceive homeless people as human
beings. We also tend to treat single mothers as lesser beings, with
an attitude of contempt and disregard.
 |
| WARMTH/MORALITY |
The types of people shown in the graphs are just
examples (e.g., rich, poor, housewives). For every person, the
specific categories will be different. For instance, instead of
housewives, some might feel pity and sadness towards children, the
elderly, pets, etc.
 |
| WARMTH/MORALITY |
Now let's do the whole round again, but this time we'll
do it with mind training. We are learning to think and use the mind
in a realistic, correct, kind, wise and beneficial way, for ourselves and
others.
The starting point is the exact same starting point. We
start training our minds exactly where we are right now.
We consciously choose to treat others differently. We
begin opening our hearts in stages. Changing a habit requires a lot
of practice. We need to be very patient and forgiving of ourselves
and others. After all, we are all just human.
 |
| WARMTH/MORALITY |
 |
| WARMTH/MORALITY |
 |
| WARMTH/MORALITY |
 |
| WARMTH/MORALITY |
The divisions disappear and we perceive ourselves
exactly as we are – interdependent and interconnected with all
others. My own happiness depends on the happiness of all others.
With the hope and prayer that we will all come to perceive the
light that is within each and every heart, for the benefit of
all beings.
----
Being Your True Nature is the title of a documentary film by Osel Hita and Matteo Passigato
Hebrew version on The Marker Café - mobile devices require Desktop setting. For secure viewing, add 's' to 'http' in web address (URL): https:// (The Marker Café website will be deleted by the end of 2020, early 2021.)
----
Being Your True Nature is the title of a documentary film by Osel Hita and Matteo Passigato
Hebrew version on The Marker Café - mobile devices require Desktop setting. For secure viewing, add 's' to 'http' in web address (URL): https:// (The Marker Café website will be deleted by the end of 2020, early 2021.)
Page updated on 12/23/20
