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.
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 bodily
action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61)
When you are doing an action with the body, reflect upon that same
bodily action thus: “Does this action I am doing with the body lead to
both my own affliction and the affliction of another?” If, upon
reflection, you know that it does, then stop doing it; if you know that
it does not, then continue. (MN 61)
Reflection
Mindfulness of
the body involves being fully conscious of your bodily sensations as
they occur in the present moment. Reflecting upon bodily action, as
described here, has to do with being sensitive to the ethical quality of
your actions, which requires tuning in not only to what you are doing
but also to how your current activities affect yourself and others. If
they pass review, then carry on; if not, it is time to alter your
behavior.
Daily Practice
Be aware of the
implications of your actions. Notice the patterns of cause and effect
generated by what you do, particularly in regard to whether they are
causing harm or not. If you realize you are doing something that is not
good for you or something that is hurtful to others in some way, simply
stop doing it. It is good to pause in mid-stride from time to time, to
check on the ethical quality of your actions.
Tomorrow: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings One week from today: Reflecting upon Verbal Action
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
The Good Life An Online Course with John Peacock and Akincano Weber
You may have heard Buddhist
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RICHARD BARNFIELD,
English poet, born (d: 1620); There are, as everyone knows, certain
inseparable teams: Gilbert & Sullivan, Cheech and Chong, bagels and
lox, ham and eggs, Sodom and Gomorrah. In classical mythology, as in
ballet, there are Daphnis and Chloë, the Greek shepherd and his lady
love – Daphnis and Chloë, as inseparable as yin and yang, gin and tonic,
Ron and Nancy.
Not in Richard Barnfield, however. His AffectionateShepherd
(1594) scandalized Renaissance England by describing in florid detail
the love of Daphnis and Ganymede, just a couple of guys, foolin’ around.
What the fuss was all about is difficult to say since, in the absence
of Chloë, Daphnis never exercised his shepherdly option of making it
with his favorite sheep, choosing a boy instead. “If it be a sin to love
a lovely lad,” wrote Barnfield, “Oh, then sin I.” He was not quite
twenty-one when he wrote the poem. His obscure though close relationship
with Shakespeare has long made him interesting to students.
Richard Barnfield
was born in Staffordshire, England. In his youth, he was deeply
influenced by Virgil’s work and the 1591 publication of Sir Philip
Sidney’s AstrophelandStella, which popularized the sonnet sequence. Best known for his poem “As it fell upon a day,” Barnfield is the only Elizabethan male poet apart from Shakespeare—whom he admired—to address love poems to a man.
Little is known
about Barnfield’s life and career, but it is thought that his maternal
aunt raised him and his sister after his mother died during childbirth.
In 1592 he graduated from Brasenose College, Oxford. At the age of
twenty-one he published his first two books, The AffectionateShepherd (1594) and Cynthia
(1595), both addressed to “Ganymede.” Originally published anonymously,
The Affectionate Shepherd expands upon Virgil’s second eclogue, and its
homoerotic themes made Barnfield’s poems controversial for his time.
Today's Gay Wisdom
2018 -
Today's Gay Wisdom
Sonnet 16 By Richard Barnfield
Long have I long’d to see my love again, Still have I wished, but never could obtain it; Rather than all the world (if I might gain it) Would I desire my love’s sweet precious gain. Yet in my soul I see him every day, See him, and see his still stern countenance, But (ah) what is of long continuance, Where majesty and beauty bears the sway? Sometimes, when I imagine that I see him, (As love is full of foolish fantasies) Weening to kiss his lips, as my love’s fees, I feel but air: nothing but air to bee him. Thus with Ixion, kiss I clouds in vain: Thus with Ixion, feel I endless pain.
Sonnet 17
By Richard Barnfield
Cherry-lipped Adonis in his snowy shape, Might not compare with his pure ivory white, On whose faire front a poet’s pen may write, Whose roseate red excels the crimson grape, His love-enticing delicate soft limbs, Are rarely framed to entrap poor gazing eyes: His cheeks, the lily and carnation dyes, With lovely tincture which Apollo’s dims. His lips ripe strawberries in nectar wet, His mouth a Hive, his tongue a honeycomb, Where Muses (like bees) make their mansion. His teeth pure pearl in blushing coral set. Oh how can such a body sin-procuring, Be slow to love, and quick to hate, enduring?
|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|
Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
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False speech is unhealthy.
Refraining from false speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning false speech,
one dwells refraining from false speech, a truth-speaker, one to be
relied on, trustworthy, dependable, not a deceiver of the world. One
does not in full awareness speak falsehood for one’s own ends or for
another’s ends or for some trifling worldly end. (DN 1) One practices
thus: “Others may speak falsely, but I shall abstain from false speech.”
(MN 8)
When one knows covert speech to be true and correct but unbeneficial, one should try not to utter it. (MN 139)
Reflection
The main thing
to look at when deciding if it is appropriate to speak or not is whether
what you are saying is likely to be beneficial. Yes, it is important to
speak the truth, but even when something is true it may not always be
helpful to say it. By beneficial what is meant is, will it help a person
move away from what is unhealthy and point them toward what is healthy?
If so, then by all means speak up; if not, try to keep silent.
Daily Practice
Be careful what
you whisper to others, making sure it is not a subtle form of false
speech. Even if what you are saying is true, the fact that it is spoken
in secret or covertly suggests there may be something about it unsuited
to the light of day. Better to speak only what can be said openly
whenever possible. Just ask yourself as you are about to speak: Is this helpful? Will this contribute in a beneficial way?
Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Bodily Action One week from today: Refraining from Malicious Speech
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
The
straightforward approach to practice is worthy. As the Nike ad says,
“Just do it.” Become still, quiet the mind, sit like the mountain and
sky—stable and undivided in the face of everything that comes up.
