Revoked: Jan 16, 2026

Friday, January 16, 2026

Via Daily Dharma: Stability Is an Illusion

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Stability Is an Illusion

Impermanence means that the appearance of stability we take for granted in everyday life, for practical purposes, is ultimately an illusion, the construction of a mind infused with desire and fear.

C. W. Huntington, “Seeing Things as They Are”

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‘Toward Temple Risshaku’
By Shuri Kido

These two poems, translated by Tomoyuki Endo and Forrest Gander, examine pilgrimage, return, and the “afterdeath.”

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Intoxication

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RIGHT LIVING
Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Intoxication

Intoxication is unhealthy. Refraining from intoxication is healthy. (MN 9) What are the imperfections that defile the mind? Negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind. Knowing that negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind, a person abandons it. (MN 7) One practices thus: "Others may become negligent by intoxication, but I will abstain from the negligence of intoxication." (MN 8)

One of the dangers attached to addiction to intoxicants is increased quarreling. (DN 31)

Reflection

Diligence is one of the mental states most highly valued in Buddhist teachings, and negligence, its opposite, is one of the greatest dangers. The argument against intoxication is not the substance itself (alcohol, drugs, and the like) but the state of negligence it invites. The mind is "defiled" or poisoned by these dispositions, and they lead to a host of secondary problems, such as diminishing health and increased quarreling.

Daily Practice

Practice diligence of mind at every opportunity and in any creative way you can. This is not a practice of what you put into your body in the way of food or drink but of how alert, clear, and balanced you can be in your life every day. So many modern activities involve a sort of mental intoxication that makes us negligent in various ways. As a practice, notice what effect different activities have on your mental clarity.

Tomorrow: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States
One week from today: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings

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