Revoked: Oct 10, 2024

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Via FB

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Verbal Action

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)

When you have done an action with speech, reflect on that same verbal action thus: “Was this action I have done with speech an unhealthy bodily action with painful consequences and painful results?” If, on reflection, you know that it was, then tell someone you trust about it and undertake a commitment not to do it again. If you know it was not, then be content and feel happy about it. (MN 61)

Reflection

Speech is such an important form of action, especially in our modern world of constant communication. It helps to think of speaking words as a form of planting seeds— something we want to do with care and with the hope of good fruits arising in the future. It is helpful to reflect on what seeds you have sown, and it is a blessing to be able to look back on what you have said to someone and feel content and happy about it.

Daily Practice

Reflect on what you have said to others from time to time, especially soon after saying it, and check in on whether your communication has been harmful or helpful. If you feel that something is “off” in some way, do not hesitate to share your concerns with a trusted friend and look for ways to repair the damage. Taking care of our healthy relationships is a form of right action, and attending to our speech is a way of doing this.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given
One week from today: Reflecting upon Mental Action

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Tricycle is a nonprofit and relies on your support to keep its wheels turning.

Donate »

© 2024 Tricycle Foundation
89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Daily Dharma: Attention Is the Start

Support Tricycle with a donation »

Attention Is the Start

Attention is the start of love.

Anne C. Klein, “Ritual as an Opening to Love”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Coming Home to Ourselves
Cortland Dahl in conversation with James Shaheen

In the Vajrayana tradition, meditation is not a path of self-improvement; it’s a path of self-discovery.

Support Tricycle with a donation »

October 10, 2024

No Birth, No Death

Followers of Vietnamese Zen master and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, who call their teacher Thay, dub his birthday “Continuation Day,” honoring the teaching that “birth and death are just notions; they’re not real…When we understand that we can’t be destroyed, we’re liberated from fear.”

In his book, Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm, Thay writes about this concept of continuation, weaving in personal accounts of losing his mother and realizing that she wasn’t actually gone.

"I understood then that the idea of having lost my mother was just that: an idea. It was obvious in that moment that my mother was still alive in me and always would be.

I opened the door and went outside. The entire hillside was bathed in moonlight. Walking slowly in that soft light through the rows of tea plants, I observed that my mother was indeed still with me. My mother was the moonlight caressing me as she had so often done, very gentle, very sweet. Every time my feet touched the earth, I knew my mother was there with me. I knew this body was not mine alone but a living continuation of my mother and father, my grandparents and great-grandparents, and of all my ancestors. These feet I saw as 'my' feet were actually 'our' feet. Together my mother and I were leaving footprints in the damp soil.

From that moment on, the idea that I had lost my mother no longer existed. All I had to do was look at the palm of my hand, or feel the breeze on my face or the earth under my feet, to remember that my mother is always with me, available at any time.

When you lose a loved one, you suffer. But if you know how to look deeply, you have a chance to realize that his or her nature is truly the nature of no-birth, no-death."

This week’s Three Teachings celebrates Thay’s Continuation Day, which is tomorrow, October 11, with his teachings on finding freedom from fear and grief.

Forward today's teachings to a friend »

How to Break Free From Fear By Thich Nhat Hanh

Read more of the excerpt above, which comes from Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm, Thich Nhat Hanh’s practical and personal guide to overcoming fear.

The Heart of the Matter By Thich Nhat Hanh

In the Winter 2009 issue of Tricycle, Thay answered three questions about emotions, the last of which pertained to the fear of losing a loved one. Read his advice for coping with and shifting the perspective on loss.

How to Ease Pain and Generate Joy By Thich Nhat Hanh

In his book No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering, Thay writes about how to skillfully engage with suffering. Read his advice and try a practice for transforming suffering.

Follow Us

Tricycle is a nonprofit and relies on your support to keep its wheels turning.

Donate »