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.
Harsh speech is unhealthy.
Refraining from harsh speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning harsh speech,
one refrains from harsh speech. One speaks words that are gentle,
pleasing to the ear, and affectionate, words that go to the heart, are
courteous, and are agreeable to many. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others
may speak harshly, but I shall abstain from harsh speech.” (MN 8)
When one says, “All those disengaged from the pursuit of
self-mortification have entered upon the right way,” one thus extols
some. But when one says instead, “The disengagement from the pursuit of
self-mortification is a state without suffering, and it is the right
way,” then one is not extolling anyone but simply stating the truth. (MN
139)
Reflection
The principle
we reviewed earlier about criticizing the negative actions of people
rather than criticizing them as people also applies in the positive
direction. It is better to extol, to praise, positive words and deeds
than to extol the person. While the negative comments lead to protective
defensive behaviors, the positive comments could result in an increase
of pride and conceit.
Daily Practice
Praising
someone for being a great person boosts their sense of self, and while
this may be a good thing in the case of the developing egos of
youngsters, it is not something encouraged for Buddhist practitioners.
By all means extol the value and benefit of benevolent words and deeds,
for example, but practice the habit of not feeding people’s view of
self, lest you contribute to their self-aggrandizement. Help people be
humble.
Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Mental Action One week from today: Refraining from Frivolous Speech
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L to R: Terrence McNally, Mayor de Blasio and Tom Kirdahy
2010 -
The late great playwright TERRENCE MCNALLY
wed Tom Kirdahy in Washington D.C. ceremony. During a small ceremony
under a tree blooming with white flowers, Kirdahy read from a scene in
McNally's play "Corpus Christi," in which a Gay, Christ-like figure
named Joshua marries two apostles:
"It is good
when two men love as James and Bartholomew do and we recognize their
union," Kirdahy read. "Love each other in sickness and in health."
Kirdahy, a lawyer
and Broadway producer, choked up as he recalled seeing the play before
meeting the playwright. Actress Tyne Daly, who was then starring in
McNally's "Master Class" at the Kennedy Center festival, served as a
witness at the sunlit wedding and read Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. Actors
John Glover and Malcolm Gets, both starring in "The Lisbon Traviata,"
also looked on.
The Rev. George
Walker of the People's Congregational United Church of Christ presented
them as husbands and signed their marriage certificate.
In 2015, in
celebration of the Supreme Court decision in favor of marriage equality,
the couple renewed their vows at a ceremony officiated by Kirdahy's
former college roommate, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio.
McNally's most recent play, Mothers and Sons opened on Broadway in March, 2014. Kirdahy was the lead producer of the runaway hit It's Only A Play on Broadway and the five-time Tony Nominated Broadway premiere of TheVisit; he most recently presented TheInheritance.
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
"With the
increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful
corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community
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
We can see death as a gift - we don’t usually see it this way, but an
awareness of death changes our lives. Fundamentally, it helps us know
how to love.
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 appreciative joy, for when you develop meditation on
appreciative joy, any discontent will be abandoned. (MN 62)
The proximate cause of appreciative joy is seeing the success of other beings. (Vm 9.95)
Reflection
It comes
naturally to us, for the most part, to feel good about good things
happening to us. But this does not necessarily happen all the time. What
if we could feel good twice as often or more? Why not experience that
same emotion of appreciative joy when other people meet with success or
good fortune? Instead of feeling jealousy or resentment, we can develop
the skill of sharing in the good fortune of others.
Daily Practice
Look around you
for examples of good things happening to other people. It can seem hard
to find because of the negative bias of our news sources, but if you
search a little you can find good news. When you do, allow yourself to
feel gladness and joy for the good fortune of those people. Share in the
appreciation and gratitude. You can only feel appreciative joy when you
see or think about the success of others, so look for it.
Tomorrow: Refraining from Harsh Speech One week from today: Cultivating Equanimity
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RIGHT VIEW Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
What is the cessation of
suffering? It is the remainderless fading away and ceasing, the giving
up, relinquishing, letting go, and rejecting of craving. (MN 9)
When one knows and sees bodily sensations as they actually are, then one
is not attached to bodily sensations. When one abides unattached, one
is not infatuated, and one’s craving is abandoned. One’s bodily and
mental troubles are abandoned, and one experiences bodily and mental
well being. (MN 149)
Reflection
Since craving
is the cause of suffering, the ending of craving will bring about the
end of suffering. This is both a general principle and a dynamic that
happens in every moment of lived experience. We are aware of something
different every moment, and when we either hold on to that object or
push it away, we feel discontent. Observing it with equanimity takes
away the affliction, and everything simply becomes interesting.
Daily Practice
Sensations flow
through your body in a constant stream. Some you like, some you don’t
like. It is natural to feel attached to the ones that feel good and to
resist and resent the ones that don’t, but this itself is the cause of
suffering—attachment and aversion. Practice just observing each
sensation without attachment, without infatuation, and see for yourself
how mindful equanimity results in bodily and mental well being.
Tomorrow: Cultivating Appreciative Joy One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
Recognize
the distinction between what intuitively and spontaneously arises, and
what ego manipulates. When you recognize the difference, you will
wholeheartedly say Yes!
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, “Follow the Trail of ‘Yes’”
RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling
A person goes to the forest
or to the root of a tree or to an empty place and sits down. Having
crossed the legs, one sets the body erect. One establishes the presence
of mindfulness. (MN 10) One is aware: “Ardent, fully aware, mindful, I
am content.” (SN 47.10)
When feeling a painful bodily feeling, one is aware: “Feeling a
painful bodily feeling" … one is just aware, just mindful “there is
feeling.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)
Reflection
Painful bodily
feeling is the most apparent aspect of our experience and is thus the
easiest sensation with which to practice. Pain is not an elusive feeling
tone. While it can be chronic and excruciating, most of the pain we
feel is mild and fleeting. Both pleasure and pain are inevitable aspects
of the human condition, and Buddhist practice does not encourage the
pursuit of pleasure or the avoidance of pain.
Daily Practice
As part of the
practice of mindfulness, you are invited to simply be aware of pain when
it is present. This practice has nothing to do with the natural
response of disliking the pain or wishing it were not there but involves
simply being aware of the sensation with equanimity. Turn toward the
painful sensation, take an interest in its texture, and hold it in mind
without pushing it away. Fully aware of the pain, you can still be
content.
RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the Second Phase of Absorption (2nd Jhāna)
With the stilling of applied and
sustained thought, one enters upon and abides in the second phase of
absorption, which has inner clarity and singleness of mind, without
applied thought and sustained thought, with joy and the pleasure born of
concentration. (MN 4)
Reflection
The teachings around right concentration have to do with four phases of absorption, also known as jhānas.
When the mind rests steadily on a single object of attention—which is
quite difficult to do at first—it gradually disentangles itself from the
various hindrances and becomes unified, peaceful, and stable. With this
comes inner clarity and the dropping away of the internal use of
language.
Daily Practice
You will know when you have entered into absorption of the jhānas
because the state is accompanied at first with a great deal of physical
and mental pleasure. The physical pleasure is described as being
fundamentally different from any sensual gratification, and the mental
pleasure comes naturally when the mind is free of the hindrances (phase
one) and when it becomes concentrated or one-pointed (phase two).
Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and Abiding in the Third Jhāna
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
New Film on Thay's Life & Peace Work Premieres Saturday
A Cloud Never Dies,
a new documentary about the life of Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay), will hold
its world premier Saturday, April 2 on YouTube. Narrated by actor Peter
Coyote, the film provides an intimate glimpse into the life of the
global spiritual leader, poet, and human rights activist who is revered
around the worldfor his pioneering teachings on mindfulness, global ethics, and peace.
It's our deep aspiration that this film will inspire you to commit to the practice of peace in yourself and in your communities.
