Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given

 

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RIGHT LIVING Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Taking What is Not Given 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) One is to practice thus: "Here, regarding things heard by you, in the heard there will be just the heard." When, firmly mindful, one hears a sound, one is not inflamed by lust for sounds; one experiences it with a dispassionate mind and does not remain holding it tightly. (SN 35.95)

Reflection The precept against stealing can be taken figuratively as well as literally. Yes, it means not to take the property of others, but it can also mean not to read more into what is said or take away more than is uttered. A casual comment can be amplified and complexified by the hearer far beyond what was originally intended by the speaker, and doing this is a kind of psychological appropriation that can be viewed as a form of “taking what is not given.” Daily Practice See if you can practice being fully in the present moment, hearing only a sound and not spinning out into a wide pattern of association, interpretation, or projection. As a meditation practice, hearing only a sound requires strong mindfulness and non-attachment. Develop the ability to note what is happening and only what is happening as sense data, without turning it into a story. This is not easy to do, but it can be done. Tomorrow: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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