The Emperor’s New Clothes: Have a Free Mind, Like a Child!

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A couple of days ago I posted “The Emperor’s New Clothes” on Facebook, and wrote:
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Everyone knows this story. But do you see the trick of a scammer?
Would you be a kid and say “The Emperor is naked!” or would you say to the kid, “Shhhh!”, or scold the kid, “Don’t see the emperor’s clothes!” or say something like “Shut-up! Don’t you hear what everyone says?!”
If you were the minister, would you say “Those are beautiful clothes,” because people might think you are a “Fool” if you don’t?
It is very precious to hear the voice from deep inside, where there is a little child, with pure eyes.
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I keep thinking about this and want to add some more to connect it to freedom of the spirit.

The Emperor is a symbol of authority, and he’d like to change clothes every day; these clothes also symbolize the news in the media. Every day there’s something new, something sensational, and something to catch everyone’s attention.

This is about the scammers. They are symbolized by mass media corporations, and they create TV programs, newspapers, TV commercials, movies, all kinds of entertainment: these are the authorities’ clothes. And of course, they have sponsors and advertisers who pay them. And this means that what you see on the media is controlled by those sponsors. So, mass media is their puppet and authority is their dress-up doll.

And about people. This story has a happy ending when a child says, “He’s wearing nothing!” and everyone laughs at the naked emperor and the emperor realizes how he was fooled by the scammers and his servants (ministers and courtiers).

But what if people followed as though they were ministers and courtiers? And no one listened to the child? Isn’t that scary?

At this time, the whole world seems confused. People are not sure what to believe, or some are too sure about their idea and blame the other side. We are separated, one from the other.

In Buddhism, there is a concept known as Equality Wisdom. Each person has ten worlds in their heart, from the state of Buddha to the state of Hell. Even the great saints and holy people, like Jesus or Shakyamuni Buddha, had ten worlds in their hearts.

And with Equality Wisdom we see the ten hearts within ourselves equally, we’re not stuck thinking “I have only a good heart” or “I’m so bad”; we accept that we have both a good heart and a bad heart within us.

Each moment we shift from one state to the another, and remain conscious of which state we are in. Then this realization makes us free, because we can see the potential of other possibilities. We see the possibility of being on the other side.

This is freedom of choice. If we stick to thinking “This is right,” “I have to do this,” or “I have to think this way,” then we can’t choose another side — this is not freedom. Freedom of choice is when we can choose from either side, not only one side; this is when you choose with free hands. When you have this free choice, your mind is so clear.

These days there are many people separated by ideas such “Wear a mask or not wear a mask,” “Go Trump or No Trump,” “Black or White,” and so on. It seems like those on both sides of these matters are stuck on the idea in their minds, thinking only “I’m right” and they blame or attack the other side, saying, “You are wrong and I am not.” And at this moment, their minds are so narrow, they can’t see or open up to any other possibilities.

Also, some people are not free because they can’t commit. This is also a disability. For example, a person who acts as a “bystander”: they see both sides and don’t stick to one side, — which seems free — but this kind of person is not able to commit. This person usually looks cool, but on the other hand, can’t feel the excitement and joy of life, and they criticize people. This person doesn’t see the possibilities of jumping in and making a commitment to a situation.

When we have the wisdom of equality, then our minds are so clear — we can hear the voice of wisdom and have pure eyes to see things clearly. This is when we can make choices with a free spirit.