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.
Friday, October 18, 2024
Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures
RIGHT LIVING Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures
Sensual misconduct is
unhealthy. Refraining from sensual misconduct is healthy. (MN 9)
Abandoning sensual misconduct, one abstains from misbehaving among
sensual pleasures. (MN 41) One practices thus: “Others may engage in
sensual misconduct, but I will abstain from sensual misconduct.” (MN 8)
Mental states cognizable by the mind are of two kinds: those to be
cultivated and those not to be cultivated. Such mental states as cause,
in one who cultivates them, unhealthy states to increase and healthy
states to diminish, such mental states are not to be cultivated. But
such mental states as cause, in one who cultivates them, unhealthy
states to diminish and healthy states to increase, such mental states
are to be cultivated. (MN 114)
Reflection
Because of the
basic principle that what you attend to will flourish and what you
neglect will atrophy, the issue of what internal states you cultivate
becomes a matter of great importance. Some patterns of thought encourage
the growth of mental and emotional states that contribute to our
overall well-being, while others have the opposite effect, digging us
deeper into the hole, so to speak. It helps to see and understand this.
Daily Practice
Sensual
pleasures are alluring, and all things being equal, we don’t want to
live such an austere life that we deny ourselves simple pleasures. But
we all know there are dangers here, and our best defense is knowing what
to cultivate and what not to cultivate. Look into this matter directly,
and see for yourself what states of mind are healthy and unhealthy for
you. Then undertake a commitment to cultivate your own health.
Tomorrow: Developing Unarisen Healthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Intoxication
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