Thursday, July 25, 2024

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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - July 24, 2024 💌

 

Buddha says, as long as you think there is a do-er, you are still caught in the wheel of birth and death. Does that mean that you should sit in bed and not do anything? Well, that’s doing something. In fact, as long as you are in your body you must do things. So that couldn’t be what Buddha meant. No, he meant something much farther out. He meant that you do what you do, but you do not identify with the doing of it. All ‘doing’ is happening as part of the dance of nature…and though your body and mind speed about their business, you remain in your calm center, here, where we all are.

- Ram Dass -

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Mental Action

 


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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 have done an action with the mind, reflect upon that same mental action thus: “Has this action I have done with the mind led to both my own affliction and the affliction of another?” If, upon reflection, you know that it has, then tell someone you trust about it and undertake a commitment not to do it again. If you know it has not, then be content and feel happy about it. (MN 61)
Reflection
Mental action is at least as important and influential as physical and verbal action. Every thought, memory, or image that goes through your mind constitutes a mental act, and it is based on these mental events that other actions are put into play. It is okay to reflect from time to time on what has gone through your mind and inquire whether on the whole it has been healthy or unhealthy. This is a form of mental housekeeping.

Daily Practice
Now and then, step out of merely thinking thoughts and reflect on them. A mirror creates an image of whatever passes before it and reveals what it looks like from another perspective. Learn to do that with your own mind by stepping back and gazing on your thoughts rather than “inhabiting” them, as you normally do. This is one way of understanding the practice of mindfulness—becoming aware of what is happening.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures
One week from today: Reflecting upon Social Action

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