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In religion, to have right faith is most important. Buddhist sutras say, "It takes three kalpas of cultivation to attain Buddhahood. Just the cultivation of right faith takes one kalpa. When there is right faith, we can cultivate right livelihood, and with right livelihood, it is then not so difficult to have right view." Thus, we can appreciate how difficult it is for us to have right view in our practice.
People without right views about the truth often base what they do on their own perceptions, needs, and desires and usually act only considering their own gains and losses. They may commit illegalities, hold devious views, and make mistakes because they lack right views. Since they do not have right views to guide them to the path of reasoning, they blame the heaven and everyone else for their plight, not knowing it is not anyone's fault but their own. When a family member dies, they blame the heaven for not protecting them. They do not understand that death is a natural course and heaven has nothing to do with it. When they are cheated of their money and the value of their stocks plunges, they blame the money god for not working well instead realizing that gains and losses in investments are common.
There is the following story in the Sutra of Parables: There was a woman in the Buddha's time who had two sons. One of them could swim, and the other could not. One day, the son who could not swim drowned in the river, and the woman did not shed a tear. Some time later, the other son also drowned in the river, and the woman wailed loudly on hearing the news. Her neighbors thought it was strange and asked her, "When your first son died, you did not shed a tear. Why is that when your second son died, you cried so painfully?" The woman replied, "The son who died first did not know how to swim, so it was his inability to blame. However, the other son knew how to swim, and he still drowned, isn't it unjustifiable?" The moral of the story is if we have not heard of the Dharma and remain sunken in the six realms of existence, there is not much we can do. However, when we have already heard the Dharma and learned to cultivate ourselves without having right views, we still will suffer the pain of rebirths. This is really unjustifiable. We should, therefore, appreciate the importance of right views.
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We
need to have right views on life, death, impermanence, worries, suffering,
success, failure, and the retribution of both good and evil deeds. Moreover,
we need to have proper knowledge of time and space, a clear understanding
of human relations, and deep appreciation of the causes and conditions
of all matters. He/she can distinguish the types and levels of cause
and effect, know clearly the arising and ceasing of conditions, and
recognize right and wrong, as well as the size, order, and existence
of all things. This is the wisdom of a person with right views.
When
our eyesight fails with age, we need glasses. If we are not sure to
of the length and weight of an object, we need to measure and weigh
it. Therefore, when we are confused, we should let right views lead
us to understanding. In this way, we will naturally be able to rid ourselves
of some unnecessary suffering and troubles.