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.
RIGHT LIVING Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Harming Living Beings
Harming living beings is
unhealthy. Refraining from harming living beings is healthy. (MN 9)
Abandoning the harming of living beings, one abstains from harming
living beings; with rod and weapon laid aside, gentle and kindly, one
abides with compassion toward all living beings. (MN 41) One practices
thus: "Others may harm living beings, but I will abstain from harming
living beings." (MN 8)
There is a gift, which is a great gift—pristine, long-standing,
traditional, ancient, unadulterated—that will never be suspect. Here a
noble person gives up the destruction of life and refrains from it. In
doing so, one gives freedom from fear, hostility, and oppression to an
immeasurable number of beings. (AN 8.39)
Reflection
The path factor
of right living is often called right livelihood, and it has to do with
the practical effects of how we work in the world. Right livelihood is
primarily a teaching for laypeople, as monks and nuns engage in no
worldly affairs. Here we will focus on the so-called "ethical precepts,"
the first of which is to take care not to kill or cause injury to other
living beings. This is the central organizing principle of all Buddhist
ethics.
Daily Practice
Ethical
integrity can be seen as a gift that you give to others, the gift of
harmlessness. It is not a set of rules you have to follow but a set of
guidelines to help you calibrate your behavior toward promoting welfare,
both your own and that of others, and avoiding harm. Try to gradually
develop this attitude so that you will be gentle with other creatures as
an act of generosity rather than of forced discipline.
Tomorrow: Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given
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Attaining the Way is not difficult,
Just avoid picking and choosing.
If you have neither aversion nor desire,
You’ll thoroughly understand.
A hair’s breadth difference
Is the gap between heaven and earth.
Our
whole life and all parts of it, every moment of it, and all of
existence is nothing but compassion and love. We don’t need to produce
compassion. We already are compassion.
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 wish to do an action with the body, reflect on that same bodily
action thus: "Would this action I wish to do with the body lead to my
own affliction?" If, on reflection, you know that it would, then do not
do it. If you know that it would not, then proceed. (MN 61)
Reflection
The word for action is kamma in Pali, karma
in Sanskrit, and the quality of our actions is a matter of great
concern in the Buddhist tradition. We act with the body, speech, and
mind, and each of these will be considered in turn. The teaching here is
partly to learn how to pay close attention to what we are doing and
partly to notice the ethical consequences of our actions.
Daily Practice
To reflect on
our actions is to bring conscious awareness to them. Most of what we do
is done unconsciously, so the practice is to become conscious of what we
are doing instead of doing it automatically. Start here with intention.
Pay careful attention to the process of making simple choices, such as
moving your hand or not, and see if you can catch when intention arises.
Also note the ethical quality of your choices: Is a choice healthy or
unhealthy?
Tomorrow: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings One week from today: Reflecting upon Verbal Action
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[The
Buddhist path] is a balance of awareness, insight, and action, working
harmoniously together. In that way our energy is no longer divided or
scattered, but we are fully present in whatever we do. That is what it
means to be a genuine human being.
WORLD AIDS DAY:
dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the
spread of HIV infection. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people,
with an estimated 38.6 million people living with HIV, making it one of
the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent,
improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of
the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 3.1 million (between
2.8 and 3.6 million) lives in 2005 of which, more than half a million
(570,000) were children.
The concept of a
World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of
Health on Programs for AIDS Prevention. Since then, it has been taken up
by governments, international organizations and charities around the
world.
From its
inception until 2004, UNAIDS spearheaded the World AIDS Day campaign,
choosing annual themes in consultation with other global health
organizations. In 2005 this responsibility was turned over to World AIDS
Campaign (WAC), who chose Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise
as the main theme for World AIDS Day observances through 2010, with
more specific sub-taglines chosen annually. This theme is not specific
to World AIDS Day, but is used year-round in WAC's efforts to highlight
HIV/AIDS awareness within the context of other major global events
including the G* Summit. World AIDS Campaign also conducts “in-country”
campaigns throughout the world, like the Student Stop AIDS Campaign, an infection-awareness campaign targeting young people throughout the UK.
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
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increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful
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is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave
standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming
mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson
In this culture, we are rewarded for knowing we know. It’s only when we
come to the despair of seeing that the rational mind just isn’t going to
be enough – it’s only when you see the assumptions you’ve been working
with are not valid that there is the possibility of change. Albert
Einstein said, “A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to
survive and move towards higher levels.” And again, “Man must be able to
develop a higher form of thought if he’s ever going to be able to use
his energy with wisdom."
Whatever you intend,
whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will
become the basis on which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop
meditation on lovingkindness, for when you develop meditation on
lovingkindness, all ill will will be abandoned. (MN 62)
Suppose there were a pond with lovely smooth banks, filled with pure
water that was clear and cool. A person scorched and exhausted by hot
weather, weary, parched, and thirsty would come upon the pond and quench
their thirst and their hot-weather fever. In just the same way a person
encounters the teachings of the Buddha and develops lovingkindness, and
thereby gains internal peace. (MN 40)
Reflection
Intention has
to do with the volitional and emotional states of mind that condition
experience and influence the quality of action. Some mental states are
helpful and healthy, others are harmful and unhealthy. One of the most
beneficial is lovingkindness, which can be developed by generating
friendliness and care toward living beings. Compared with the harshness
of so many of our other experiences, the practice of lovingkindness
feels refreshing and leads to peace.
Daily Practice
Friendliness
and lovingkindness can be practiced at any time. Simply direct the mind
to the thought of a particular person or group of people and allow the
emotional tone of caring for their well-being to arise in your heart or
mind. By thinking of the person steadily, with the help of supporting
phrases and images, you can sustain this kindly quality of mind over
time. It feels refreshing, like a cool pond on a hot day. Try it.
Tomorrow: Refraining from False Speech One week from today: Cultivating Compassion
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