A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
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 mental
action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61)
When you wish to do an action with the mind, reflect upon that same
mental action thus: “Is this action I wish to do with the mind an
unhealthy bodily action with painful consequences and painful results?”
If, upon reflection, you know that it is, then do not do it; if you know
that it is not, then proceed. (MN 61)
Reflection
We are familiar with the expression Think before you act. Here it is suggested, Think before you think! It
is not as hard as it sounds. The idea is to pay attention to intention,
that function of the mind that decides what to do next or points the
actions of the mind in a particular direction. Is it really a good idea
to go back over what you should have said in that argument last week?
Probably not. Choose a different path.
Daily Practice
By getting in
touch with the workings of your intentions, you gain access to the
rudder of the ship, so to speak. Learn to notice, not only what you are
thinking but also what you are planning. Much of the time we have no
access to this, as things are moving so fast or we are so reactive that
we don’t feel we are in control of ourselves. But there is an executive
function in the mind, and we can learn to notice what it has in mind to
do.
Tomorrow: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures One week from today: Reflecting upon Social Action
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
TRUMAN CAPOTE,
American author died (b. 1924) an American writer whose non-fiction,
stories, novels and plays are recognized literary classics, including
the novella BreakfastAt Tiffany’s (1958) and InColdBlood
(1965), which he labeled a "non-fiction novel" and was co-written by an
uncredited Harper Lee, Capote’s childhood friend. Lee modeled the
character of Dill on Capote, known then as Truman Persons. A recent
memoir by Chicago Tribune reporter, Marja Mills, The Mockingbird Next
Door, quotes childhood friend of Capote’s, Harper Lee calling him “a
psychopath.”
At least 20 films
and TV dramas have been produced from Capote novels, stories and
screenplays. Capote, all of 5 feet 4 inches tall and openly gay in a
time when it was common among artists, but rarely talked about, was well
known for his distinctive, high-pitched voice and odd vocal mannerisms,
his offbeat manner of dress and his fabrications. One of his first
serious lovers was Smith College literature professor Newton Arvin, who
won the National Book Award for his Herman Melville biography.
Capote often
claimed to know intimately people he had in fact never met, such as
Greta Garbo. He professed to have had numerous liaisons with men thought
to be heterosexual, including, he claimed, Errol Flynn. He traveled in
eclectic circles, hobnobbing with authors, critics, business tycoons,
philanthropists, Hollywood and theatrical celebrities, royalty, and
members of high society, both in the U.S. and abroad. Part of his public
persona was a long-standing rivalry with writer Gore Vidal ("Truman
Capote has tried, with some success, to get into a world that I have
tried, with some success, to get out of."). He famously commented on
Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, "[It] isn't writing at all -- it's typing"
Today's Gay Wisdom
2017 -
The wisdom of Truman Capote
All literature is gossip.
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.
Fame is only good for one thing - they will cash your check in a small town.
Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it.
I don't care what anybody says about me as long as it isn't true.
Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.
Love is a chain of love as nature is a chain of life.
Mick Jagger is about as sexy as a pissing toad.
My major regret in life is that my childhood was unnecessarily lonely.
No one will ever
know what 'In Cold Blood' took out of me. It scraped me right down to
the marrow of my bones. It nearly killed me. I think, in a way, it did
kill me.
Sometimes when I think how good my book can be, I can hardly breathe.
The quietness of his tone italicized the malice of his reply.
Well, I'm about as tall as a shotgun, and just as noisy.
|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|
Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
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