“Whenever you suffer misfortune or illness, think “This repays my karmic debts from former lifetimes and purifies my negative karma!” No matter what happiness you have, regard it as the kindness of the Three Jewels and arouse the strong yearning of devoted gratitude! When you meet with enmity and hatred, think “This is a good friend helping me to cultivate patience!” Think, “This helper for patience is a messenger sent by the victorious ones!”
“My father is wisdom and my mother is voidness.
My country is the country of Dharma.
I am of no caste and no creed.
I am sustained by perplexity; and I am here to destroy lust, anger and sloth.”
― Guru
The notion of “pure perception” is commonly cited in Vajrayana Buddhist communities, as a mantra almost to avoid engaging in negative speech and perceptions of their guru (especially if he has been accused of misconduct against women!).
However, this is not actually what it means. Philosophically speaking, the idea is that all appearances, thoughts, ideas and so on about people, events, situations come from our mind and sense consciousnesses (like a video camera). So we control how we perceive and label them too, although we generally take them all as appearing independently outside and separate from us). However, someone with a good understanding of emptiness and nature of mind and interdependent arising, will know that how we label and view something, and our motivation is when doing that, comes from our own mind, and makes it what it is.
The complaining mind sees everything as “negative” and thus suffers. A mind of patience, compassion and love will see the “blessing in disguise” no matter what happens, and so will be more positive about an experience or situation.
We tend to project our thoughts onto others and this if often revealed by our speech. For example, if a teacher is bad-mouthing/b**ching about a student or follower to other members of that community, especially if they are not saying that to the person themselves, this would be leading followers in the wrong direction of wrong speech and also breaching Vajrayana precepts.
So the idea of “pure perception” (dag-nang) in Tibetan, is that we have to see the purity/positive/benefit in all appearances, people, events, situations and not go around labelling some good, some bad, or demonising and excluding people (which is jealousy and aversion).
So in a nutshell, it is not only applied to your guru, or people you like, or whom you do not find threatening or challenging or uncomfortable, it is for all (including those you do not like, or perceive as “bad” or “wrong” and so on). Our perceptions are often wrong and based on jealousy, or greed, or ego-clinging, so we need to be careful of labelling people in black or white terms.
That does not mean one should stay in situations that are dangerous to one’s physical safety or mental health etc. For example, as in my case, if a group of people are persistently targeting you for verbal insults, intimidation, bullying, humiliation and even physical harassment, then sometimes one has no other choice but to avoid them (for both your benefit!). Generally, however, we should not avoid or exclude people just because we do not like them in some personal way. In fact, that is the exact thing that Dharma practice is supposed to be leading us all away from, conduct that perpetuates division, conflict, exclusion, lack of communications, misogyny, sexism, bullying etc.
Here are the two new reels (slightly different) I created on this topic, hope it makes sense and helps!
As the previous Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche said: “Negativity and ill-treatment are the roots of the meditation flower. They are the Guru who destroys attachment and craving.”
Music? Life It’s What You Make It by Talk Talk.
May we all be able to practice “pure perception” to all, but if not then at least try to generate GENUINE love, compassion and emptiness that realises identitylessness and interdependence!
Adele Tomlin 6th May 2026.