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 are doing an action with speech, reflect upon that same verbal action thus: “Does this action I am doing with speech lead to both my own affliction and the affliction of another?” If, upon reflection, you know that it does, then stop doing it; if you know that it does not, then continue. (MN 61)

Reflection Human speech is actually a complex and remarkable phenomenon. There are many ways in which we are monitoring our own speech as we utter it, if only to know how to end the sentence we have started. We can make use of this power of self-observation to improve the ethical quality of our verbal behavior. It is largely a matter of becoming more conscious of what we are accustomed to doing automatically. Daily Practice You can be aware of what you are saying before, during, and after saying it. Here the emphasis is on active mindfulness of speech—awareness of what you are saying in the present moment. It can be helpful to speak somewhat more slowly, to allow yourself time and space to both create and monitor your words. Perhaps a synonym for mindfulness in this context would be thoughtfulness. Practice speaking thoughtfully. Tomorrow: AAbstaining 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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Via Daily Dharma: Detaching From the Body

 

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Detaching From the Body  Why not begin to free ourselves from attachment to the body, which is disappearing anyway?  Kate Lila Wheeler, “Meat Puppets”  CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

On Bearing Witness and the Resilience of Karuna By Jessica Angima What observing and staying with images of suffering can teach us about embodying compassion Read more »

Via The Tricycle Community \\ Three Teachings: The Dharma Door of Nonduality

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June 20, 2024 ‘Everything is Buddha Himself’   Good and bad. Right and wrong. Love and hate. Success and failure. Nirvana and samsara.  We experience the world through the lens of duality. The mind divides everything it perceives into good and bad, like and dislike—generating attachments to what we like and aversion towards what we dislike. These attachments and aversions become the source of our suffering.  The Buddhist teachings remind us that opposites can’t exist without each other. Rather than being diametric polarities, they exist on a spectrum. One only has meaning in the context of the other.  In Buddhism, we practice cultivating a nondual awareness that sees beyond apparent opposites to the essential unity that lies beneath. Beyond the confines of the thinking mind, dualities collapse into a state of oneness—the true nature of ourselves and all of life. Or as Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki Roshi writes, “Everything is Buddha himself.”  “When you become one with Buddha, one with everything that exists, you find the true meaning of being,” writes Suzuki Roshi. “When you forget all your dualistic ideas, everything becomes your teacher, and everything can be the object of worship.” This week’s Three Teachings explore nonduality as a gateway to the true nature of reality. The Dharma Door of Nonduality By Tricycle In the Vimalakirti Nirdesha Sutra, one of the classic texts of Mahayana Buddhism, Vimalakirti, considered to be an enlightened layman, debates with the Buddha’s disciples about the nature of nonduality—and the entrance into a state of non-dual consciousness. Read more » The Nonduality of Good and Evil By David Loy As much as we might like to, we can’t separate good from evil. Each of us has both qualities within ourselves. Dharma teacher David Loy explores our cultural story of “good versus evil” and takes a Buddhist perspective on the interdependence of this basic opposition. Read more » Bowing By Shunryu Suzuki Roshi For Zen master Suzuki Roshi, bowing is an act of giving up ourselves—and giving up our dualistic ideas. Read more »

 

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Via LGBTQ Nation Daily Brief // 10 times Pete Buttigieg proved he’s a great husband

 

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Malicious Speech

 

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RIGHT SPEECH Refraining from Malicious Speech 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) Disputes occur when a person is angry and revengeful. Such a person dwells disrespectful and undeferential towards others, causing harm and unhappiness for many. If you see any such root of a dispute either in yourself or externally, you should strive to abandon it. And if you do not see any such root of dispute either in yourself or externally, you should practice in such a way that it does not erupt in the future. (MN 104)

Reflection Anger is considered in Buddhist thought to be an unhealthy emotion. It may be justified, and it may even be effective, but indulging anger always comes at a cost. It harms you as much as or more than the person to whom it is directed. One famous Buddhist image is of a person who tries to hurt someone with a burning torch while facing into the wind and ends up burning himself even more. Something similar happens when we exact revenge, another unhealthy state. Daily Practice Learn to recognize anger when it arises in your mind and to discern the many ways it can damage yourself and others. Is anger really necessary in this situation, and is it helpful? It is hard to see how destructive anger is as we get caught up in it in the moment and swept away. But if we can manage to pause and examine carefully what is going on, the danger and harmfulness of anger can become apparent. Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Verbal Action One week from today: Refraining from Harsh Speech Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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© 2024 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003