27. Don’t be swayed by external circumstances; don’t vacillate.

These two slogans go together to remind us that the direct experience of our world starts in the sense perceptions and the mind. It’s the stories we tell ourselves about the direct experience that paint the world in different shades of “like” and “don’t like.” This colors my conceptual perception of the outer circumstances and might lead me to react habitually.

One thing I love about these teachings is how they show up in my daily life. A few years ago my partner and I received a potent teaching related to the slogan “don’t be swayed by external circumstances.” Our teacher was DFKNABS (Dog Formerly Known as Black Stinky), one of the independent dogs who lived around our favorite beach in Greece. One day while we were enjoying the sun and sea, DFKNABS suddenly leapt up and ran along the beach, barking loudly and excitedly at something in the trees behind us. When we went to investigate, we found a deflated balloon shaped like a Tyrannosaurus Rex stuck in a tree. We immediately understood the teaching: How many times in our lives do we bark madly at something, only to discover it is merely a T. Rex balloon? Seeing these things for what they are usually deflates them.