RIGHT ACTION
Reflecting Upon Social Action
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However the seed is
planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing
good deeds; bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the
purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too social
action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61)
A person is content with any clothing they may get, speaks in praise of
such contentment, and does not try to obtain these things in improper or
unsuitable ways. Not getting these things, one does not worry, and
getting them one makes use of them without being greedy, obsessed, or
infatuated, observing such potential dangers and wisely aware of how to
escape them. (AN 4.28)
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Just as we
practiced cultivating contentment in regard to food last month, today we
are invited to work with our relationship to clothing. Discontent is a
persistent cause of social discord, and contentment contributes to
people getting along with one another. If we envy what other people have
or yearn for something we don’t have, the seeds of unhappiness are sown
and watered. Such suffering is unnecessary.
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We are not
being asked here to have disdain for fashion, or taste, and it is not
suggested that what we wear does not matter at all. As with so many
other aspects of our lives, we are being invited here to examine the
relationship we have with ordinary things such as the clothing we wear.
It is healthy and helpful to focus more on what we have than on what we
want and to avoid the pitfalls of becoming greedy, obsessed, or
infatuated.
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Tomorrow: Abstaining from Intoxication
One week from today: Reflecting upon Bodily Action
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