Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Social Action

 

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RIGHT ACTION Reflecting Upon Social 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 social action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61) One reflects thus: “I shall initiate and sustain verbal acts of kindness toward my companions, both publicly and privately.” One lives with companions in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes. One practices thus: “We are different in body but one in mind.” (MN 31)

Reflection As social beings we speak a lot in the course of our daily lives. Here is an invitation to focus on the quality of our verbal actions in a social setting. The way to live in harmony with others is lubricated, so to speak, by verbal acts of kindness. As the text says, “Good things come from doing good deeds,” and this includes the things we say. The skill of living "without disputing, blending like milk and water," is sorely needed these days.  Daily Practice Speak with kindly intention to your friends, family members, and colleagues. The quality of mind behind our words is often more important than the words themselves, and here we are invited to emphasize the feeling of caring for others when we speak. When we speak with kindly intention we evoke kindness from others, as well as bring out and strengthen our own capacity for kindness. This contributes to social well-being. Tomorrow: Abstaining from Intoxication One week from today: Reflecting upon Bodily Action Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Bold Progressives

 

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Frivolous Speech

 

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RIGHT SPEECH Refraining from Frivolous Speech Frivolous speech is unhealthy. Refraining from frivolous speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning frivolous speech, one refrains from frivolous speech. One speaks at the right time, speaks only what is fact, and speaks about what is good. One speaks what is worthy of being overheard, words that are reasonable, moderate, and beneficial. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others may speak frivolously, but I shall abstain from frivolous speech.” (MN 8) An authentic person is one who even unasked reveals their own faults—how much more so when asked. When asked, however, and obliged to reply to questions, one speaks of one’s own faults fully and in detail. (AN 4.73)

Reflection The last time we looked at refraining from frivolous speech we focused on holding back from criticizing others. Now we look at the flip side of that—being willing to be forthcoming about your own faults. The idea here is not to put yourself down but to be honest with yourself. It is an example of speaking only what is fact and what is beneficial, since admitting your faults allows you to grow beyond them. Daily Practice This is a practice of humility and has to do with cultivating a humble attitude about yourself. It counteracts those qualities of mind that contribute to the inflation of the sense of self, such as pride and conceit, and helps moderate the tendency to aggrandize the self. You need not dwell on your faults, and it is okay to equally acknowledge your strengths, but simply stating both honestly is a form of right speech. Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Social Action One week from today: Refraining from False Speech Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: Let Go of Your “I, Me” Mind

Let Go of Your “I, Me” Mind

To whatever degree we’re moving in the direction of the lack of self-centeredness, when we’re on that trajectory, a natural occurrence is greater metta (lovingkindness) because we’re not so self-obsessed. Joseph Goldstein, “How to Understand Selflessness, and Why It’s So Important” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - July 5, 2023 💌

"The stroke got me to appreciate silence as much as I used to appreciate words."

- Ram Dass -

 

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Via White Crane Institute // WALT WHITMAN published the first edition of Leaves of Grass

 

Noteworthy

Walt Whitman

1855 -

On this day in 1855, WALT WHITMAN published the first edition of Leaves of Grass. The first edition consisted of twelve poems, and was published anonymously; Whitman set much of the type himself, and paid for its printing. Over his lifetime, he published eight more editions, adding poems each time; there were 122 new poems in the third edition alone (1860-61), and the final "death-bed edition," published in 1891, contained almost 400. The first edition received several glowing — and anonymous — reviews in New York newspapers. Most of them were written by Whitman himself.

The praise was unstinting: "An American bard at last!" One legitimate mention by popular columnist Fanny Fern called the collection daring and fresh. Emerson felt it was "the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom America has yet contributed." This wasn't a universal opinion, however; many called it filth, and poet John Greenleaf Whittier threw his copy into the fire.

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ECHO Conference, NYC, 1965

1965 -

ECHO (East Coast Homophile Organizations) protesters picket Independence Hall in Philadelphia on Independence Day.

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Today's Gay Wisdom

2018 -

Preface to Leaves of Grass
by Walt Whitman

This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.

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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

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org

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Via White Crane Institute // STEPHEN FOSTER

 

This Day in Gay History

July 04 Born Stephen Foster 1826 - STEPHEN FOSTER, American composer, born (d: 1864); Like Yankee Doodle, the composer Stephen Foster was born on the Fourth of July. His list of sentimental down-home hits—“Oh Susanna,” “Old Folks At Home,” “Beautiful Dreamer,” "Jeannie with The Light Brown Hair,” and “Old Black Joe”—make the jingoistic George M. Cohan appear strident and un-American by comparison. Flag-waving or no, what made fireworks go off for this star-spangled tune-smith was another composer – George Cooper, a handsome young man who is best known today for his “Sweet Genevieve,” a song perhaps best sung as a barbershop quartet, when drunk. So taken was Foster with sweet George Cooper that he abandoned his wife and family to run away with him. So, as you put out the bunting to celebrate the glorious Fourth, think of Stephen Foster, grand old American composer, “gwine to Lusiana” with George Cooper, not a banjo, on his knee. |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8| 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 Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989! www.whitecraneinstitute.org |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

Via Daily Dharma: We Have All the Skills We Need

We Have All the Skills We Need

All too often, we can focus on the negative: what we haven't got, what we lack, what we desire. But actually, we all have skills that we use to negotiate our lives. The acknowledgement of these skills is vitally important. John Peacock, “Tricycle Online Course: The Spiral to Freedom” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Equanimity

 

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RIGHT INTENTION Cultivating Equanimity Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will become the basis upon which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop meditation on equanimity, for when you develop meditation on equanimity, all aversion is abandoned. (MN 62)  The near enemy of equanimity is the ordinary indifference of the uninformed. (Vm 9.101) When a person, hearing a sound with the ear, is not attached to pleasing sounds and not repelled by unpleasing sounds, they have established mindfulness and dwell with an unlimited mind. For a person whose mindfulness is developed and practiced, the ear does not struggle to reach pleasing sounds, and unpleasing sounds are not considered repulsive. (SN 35.274)

Reflection The idea of a near enemy is used in Buddhist commentaries to help define the meaning of words. A near enemy is something that seems like the right definition of a word (hence near), but is actually missing the mark and steering us in a wrong direction (hence enemy). What is being said here is that equanimity can easily be misconstrued as indifference, while in fact these two are miles apart. Real equanimity is fully engaged. Daily Practice Working with sound, see if you can hear sounds without favoring or opposing what you hear, without preferring some sounds and feeling aversion toward others. You will notice that this requires paying close attention and is thus far from indifference. When hearing a sound (bird calls, traffic, the refrigerator), just be aware of hearing the sound with an attitude of true equanimity: attentive but unattached. Tomorrow: Refraining from Frivolous Speech One week from today: Cultivating Lovingkindness Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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