Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given

 

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RIGHT LIVING Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Taking What is Not Given Taking what is not given is unhealthy. Refraining from taking what is not given is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning the taking of what is not given, one abstains from taking what is not given; one does not take by way of theft the wealth and property of others. (MN 41) One practices thus: “Others may take what is not given, but I will abstain from taking what is not given.” (MN 8) One is to practice thus: “Here, regarding things cognized by you, in the cognized there will be just the cognized.“ When, firmly mindful, one cognizes a mental object, one is not inflamed by lust for mental objects; one experiences it with a dispassionate mind and does not remain holding it tightly. (SN 35.95)

Reflection Five of our sense doors open onto the world, while the sixth, the mind door, opens inwardly to draw on sensory experience and mental objects such as memories, imagination, and thoughts. The mental objects are cognized, or known to us, one after another in a stream of consciousness. Here we are encouraged to encounter our thoughts without elaboration, as phenomena arising and passing away. Daily Practice See if you can regard your mental activity—the thoughts and images and words passing through the mind—with equanimity. That is, observe them closely but without becoming entangled in their content and without favoring some and opposing others. Thoughts are merely objects that, like sights and sounds and physical sensations, come and go based on various conditions. See if you can abide without “holding them tightly.” Tomorrow: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures 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: Equanimity Is an Anchor

 

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Equanimity Is an Anchor Equanimity is said to be an anchor. It protects you against the “worldly winds”—pleasure and pain, praise and blame, gain and loss, and fame and disrepute—by keeping you anchored so you’re not tossed about by those winds. Daisy Hernández, “The Noble Abode of Equanimity” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE Support Daily Dharma »

Lichen Days By Seth M. Walker What fungi and the practice of Miksang—a contemplative photographic tradition—can teach us about interdependence. Read more »

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Via Daily Dharma: Zazen Is Enough

 

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Zazen Is Enough  Don’t worry about whether your practice is working, don’t judge your performance, don’t tell yourself stories or find other ways to avoid this very moment. These are just ways of separating from our deepest intention and our zazen. When you do zazen, just do zazen. That’s enough. Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, “An Introduction to Zen”  CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE Support Daily Dharma »

Working With the Five Hindrances: Sloth and Torpor By Vanessa Zuisei Goddard Tips for working with the third hindrance described by the Buddha as sloth and torpor, experienced as sleepiness, disinterest, or a general feeling of malaise. Read more »

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Verbal Action

 

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RIGHT ACTION Reflecting Upon Verbal 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 verbal action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61) When you have done an action with speech, reflect upon that same verbal action thus: “Has this action I have done with speech led to the affliction of another?” If, upon reflection, you know that it has, then tell someone you trust about it and undertake a commitment not to do it again. If you know it has not, then be content and feel happy about it. (MN 61)

Reflection Let’s not overlook the last line of this passage. If you reflect upon what you have said to people in the past and on review you realize you have not said anything harmful, you should feel happy about that. Feeling happy and content about your own behavior is not only allowable but encouraged. Positive feedback is as valuable as criticism, and acknowledging your own self-worth is healthy. We forget this sometimes. Daily Practice Confide in a friend some instance in which you have spoken badly in the past and give that misdeed a chance to come into the open and be encountered with awareness. Perhaps you told a lie or spread a rumor or otherwise said something that caused harm. By revealing this openly you are able to acknowledge that it was wrong, that you know better now, and that you undertake a commitment to not do it again. Tomorrow: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given One week from today: Reflecting upon Mental Action Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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