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.
Academia Meets Applied Buddhism Interview with Dr. Henry Shiu by Pamela Gayle White
Henry
Shiu moved to Canada from Hong Kong in 1990 with plans to study
engineering or medicine. Thanks to an undergraduate elective that fellow
students had suggested was an easy A, Shiu is now contributing to the
evolving landscape of Buddhist chaplaincy studies in Canada.
Buddhist Film Festival Presented by Tricycle March 15-24, 2024
We
invite you to join us for our first-ever Buddhist Film Festival from
March 15-24, offering five feature-length films, five short films, and a
live Q&A with Lana Wilson, director of The Departure!
Malicious speech is
unhealthy. Refraining from malicious speech is healthy. (MN 9)
Abandoning malicious speech, one refrains from malicious speech. One
does not repeat there what one has heard here to the detriment of these,
or repeat here what he has heard there to the detriment of those. One
unites those who are divided, is a promoter of friendships, and speaks
words that promote concord. (DN 1) One practices thus: "Others may speak
maliciously, but I shall abstain from malicious speech." (MN 8)
When others address you, their speech may be connected with good or with
harm … One is to train thus: "My mind will be unaffected, and I shall
utter no bad words; I shall abide compassionate for their welfare, with a
mind of lovingkindness, without inner hate." (MN 21)
Reflection
Malice is the
desire to do harm, and when we look closely and honestly we may notice
that much of what we say is laced with this intention. One text calls a
dispute “stabbing one other with verbal daggers.” Here we are being
encouraged to receive the wound without striking back. It is ultimately
an expression of freedom from compulsion when you are able to say,
“Others may speak maliciously, but I choose not to.”
Daily Practice
Not being
provoked to malice by the malice of others is a difficult but important
practice. Try to do this in small ways and gradually build up to more
difficult situations. If someone slights you in some small way, practice
noticing this, understanding it as an aggressive verbal act and then
deliberately choosing to not be provoked by it into some form of
retaliation. Do this again and again, and you will gradually get the
hang of it.
Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Verbal Action One week from today: Refraining from Harsh Speech
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
When
we speak with greater skill, our true self—our compassionate, loving
self—emerges with gentle ease. So before you speak, stop, breathe, and
consider if what you are about to say will improve upon the silence.
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 compassion, for when you develop meditation on compassion,
any cruelty will be abandoned. (MN 62)
The manifestation of compassion is non-cruelty. (Vm 9.94)
Reflection
We are all born
with the innate capacity for compassion, but that does not mean we will
naturally express compassion. Like everything else, expressing
compassion is something we learn to do or not do. The practice of right
intention involves the deliberate development of benevolent states of
mind such as compassion, and that will only happen when we do so again
and again. Seeking out opportunities to be compassionate, we strengthen
that muscle.
Daily Practice
Each of the brahma-viharas,
the sublime states of mind, is paired with an opposite to which it is
the antidote. Compassion is the antidote to cruelty, one of the most
heinous human emotions. Cruelty is the wish for beings to experience
greater suffering; compassion is the wish for them to be relieved of
their suffering. Look for instances of suffering around you and direct
to each the healing power of a compassionate mind.
Tomorrow: Refraining from Malicious Speech One week from today: Cultivating Appreciative Joy
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel