RIGHT LIVING
Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Intoxication
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Intoxication is unhealthy.
Refraining from intoxication is healthy. (MN 9) What are the
imperfections that defile the mind? Negligence is an imperfection that
defiles the mind. Knowing that negligence is an imperfection that
defiles the mind, a person abandons it. (MN 7) One practices thus:
"Others may become negligent by intoxication, but I will abstain from
the negligence of intoxication." (MN 8)
One of the dangers attached to addiction to intoxicants is increased quarreling. (DN 31)
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Diligence is
one of the mental states most highly valued in Buddhist teachings, and
negligence, its opposite, is one of the greatest dangers. The argument
against intoxication is not the substance itself (alcohol, drugs, and
the like) but the state of negligence it invites. The mind is "defiled"
or poisoned by these dispositions, and they lead to a host of secondary
problems, such as diminishing health and increased quarreling.
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Practice
diligence of mind at every opportunity and in any creative way you can.
This is not a practice of what you put into your body in the way of food
or drink but of how alert, clear, and balanced you can be in your life
every day. So many modern activities involve a sort of mental
intoxication that makes us negligent in various ways. As a practice,
notice what effect different activities have on your mental clarity.
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Tomorrow: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States
One week from today: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings
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