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.
Thursday, May 30, 2024
Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Mental Action
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: “Would this action I wish to do with the mind lead
to both my own affliction and the affliction of another?” If, upon
reflection, you know that it would, then do not do it; if you know that
it would not, then proceed. (MN 61)
Reflection
It may seem odd
to us that we could be aware of our intention to think thoughts before
actually doing so. Thinking before you speak is one thing, but thinking
before you think? And yet in the Buddhist model of mind and body,
actions of the mind are not so different from actions of body and
speech. We can learn to be aware of them before, during, and after
undertaking all forms of action.
Daily Practice
Identify some
of your thought patterns that are familiar to you: the stories you tell
yourself over and over, the episodes from the past you ruminate over.
Now make the decision not to go there yet again. Some of this
introspection can be helpful, but if it becomes repetitive and
involuntary it can “lead to your own affliction.” There are ways to take
more control over your mental action, and not ruminating is one of
those ways.
Tomorrow: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures One week from today: Reflecting upon Social Action
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