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, November 7, 2024
Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Verbal 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 verbal
action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61)
Reflection
We take action
every moment, either with the body or with speech or with the mind.
Verbal action can have big consequences and needs to be wielded
carefully. Every word uttered is a seed planted that will yield fruit
whether we are aware of it or not. Speech as a form of action may not be
a familiar concept, but when we look at it this way we may be inclined
to be more attentive to it and more careful of how we speak.
Daily Practice
Reflect on the
impact of your speech not only by noticing how others react to your
words but also paying attention to how your words affect you. Hear what
you are saying as you say it. Notice whether you are planting good seeds
or bad. There are times for silent meditation, but the habit of
awareness developed in silence can and should be applied to verbal
action, where it becomes a mindfulness practice in its own right.
Tomorrow: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given One week from today: Reflecting upon Mental Action
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