RIGHT LIVING
Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Taking What is Not Given
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Taking what is not given is
unhealthy. Refraining from taking what is not given is healthy. (MN 9)
Abandoning the taking of what is not given, one abstains from taking
what is not given; one does not take by way of theft the wealth and
property of others. (MN 41) One practices thus: “Others may take what is
not given, but I will abstain from taking what is not given.” (MN 8)
On touching a bodily sensation with the body, one does not grasp at its
signs and features. Since if one left the body faculty unguarded,
unwholesome states of covetousness and grief might intrude, one
practices the way of its restraint, guards the body faculty, and
undertakes the restraint of the body faculty. (MN 51)
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The sense of
touch is so basic, so intimate, and so alluring a feature of embodied
existence that we generally cannot help reaching for what feels good and
recoiling from what feels bad. Yet by doing this we are in a way taking
more than is given, as we try to leverage the raw sensations and
manipulate the next moment into something more favorable for us. This
is, in fact, the source of most of our problems.
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Practice
regarding the physical sensations that constantly flow from your body to
your mind with detached curiosity. Some feel good, some feel
bad—interesting! Resist trying to shape the next moment into something
other than what it will naturally become by grasping for more
gratification or pushing away any discomfort. This ability to be with
what is, rather than yearning for something else, eliminates most
suffering.
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Tomorrow: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States
One week from today: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures
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