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.
The
gift of embracing formlessness and impermanence is a profound sense of
freedom and the potential to meet each day afresh and roll with the
changes.
A brand new Dharma Talk is
available now! Andrew Holecek, an author and spiritual teacher in the
Tibetan Buddhist tradition, discusses how to bring appearance in harmony
with reality.
RIGHT LIVING Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Intoxication
Intoxication is unhealthy.
Refraining from intoxication is healthy. (MN 9) What are the
imperfections that defile the mind? Negligence is an imperfection that
defiles the mind. Knowing that negligence is an imperfection that
defiles the mind, a person abandons it. (MN 7) One practices thus:
“Others may become negligent by intoxication, but I will abstain from
the negligence of intoxication.” (MN 8)
There are these two worldly conditions: praise and blame. These are
conditions that people meet—impermanent, transient, and subject to
change. A mindful, wise person knows them and sees that they are subject
to change. Desirable conditions do not excite one’s mind nor is one
resentful of undesirable conditions. (AN 8.6)
Reflection
The “worldly
winds,” you will recall, are those conditions that are inevitably found
in the world, things it is useless to object to or resist, and the best
course is to learn how to adapt and live with them. Praise and blame are
among these inevitable worldly conditions. No matter what you do, there
are times you will be praised, justifiably or not, and there are times
you will be blamed, justifiably or not. It is best to accept this.
Daily Practice
One thing that
helps in dealing with praise and blame is not to take things personally.
Having yourself be the focus of everything can be seen as a kind of
intoxication, distorting your perception of things as they actually are.
Remind yourself that conditions are transient, that peoples’ opinions
are subject to change, and that they may not praise or blame you with
any real understanding of who you are or what you had in mind.
Tomorrow: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
LAMMAS DAY
‒ In English-speaking countries, August 1 is Lammas Day ("loaf-mass
day"), the festival of the first wheat harvest of the year. In Wiccan
traditions, the name Lammas is used for one of the sabbats, The festival
is also known as Lughnasadh, a feast to commemorate the
funeral games (Tailtean Games) of Tailtiu, foster-mother of the Irish
sun-god Lugh. Lammas is a cross-quarter occurring ¼ of a year after
Beltane. Lughnasadh was one of the four main festivals of the medieval
Irish calendar: Imbolc at the beginning of February, Beltane on the first of May, Lughnasadh in August and Samhain in November.
The early Celtic
calendar was based on the lunar, solar, and vegetative cycles, so the
actual calendar date in ancient times may have varied. Lughnasadh marked
the beginning of the harvest season, the ripening of first fruits, and
was traditionally a time of community gatherings, market festivals,
horse races and reunions with distant family and friends. Among the
Irish it was a favored time for handfastings ‒ trial marriages that
would generally last a year and a day, with the option of ending the
contract before the new year, or later formalizing it as a more
permanent marriage.
In Christian
tradition on this day it was customary to bring to church a loaf made
from the new crop. In many parts of England, tenants were bound to
present freshly harvested wheat to their landlords on or before the
first day of August. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it is referred
to regularly, it is called "the feast of first fruits".
Now is a great
time of year to work on honing your own talents. Learn a new craft, or
get better at an old one. Put on a play, write a story or poem, take up a
musical instrument, start getting crafty, or sing a song. Whatever you
choose to do, this is the right season for rebirth and renewal, so set
August 1 as the day to share your new skill with your friends and
family.
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
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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 mental 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
thinks thus: “It is a gain for me, it is a great gain for me, that I am
living with such companions in the spiritual life.” (MN 31)
Reflection
Of the three
kinds of action recognized in Buddhist teaching, mental acts are more
important than verbal and bodily actions because we say and do things
only after we think them. The system of cause and effect generated by
our thoughts is called karma, and we create either healthy or unhealthy
karma not only by acting and speaking but also with every mental action.
Attending to the quality of the mind is so important.
Daily Practice
In the privacy
of your own mind, practice thinking good thoughts about people. This can
be a kind of guerilla lovingkindness practice, in which you send
friendly and benevolent thoughts to people without them knowing you are
doing so. See what a good effect this has on your own mind. The people
you direct your kindness to do not need to be aware of your thoughts;
you only have to generate them to reap the benefits.
Tomorrow: Abstaining from Intoxication One week from today: Reflecting upon Bodily Action
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
If
there is Zen in it, or whatever it is, it comes through if you enjoy
doing your work. Anything you do with the best of your capacities is
beautiful…Your whole body gets to be a part of everything, and you
become free.
A brand new Dharma Talk is
available now! Andrew Holecek, an author and spiritual teacher in the
Tibetan Buddhist tradition, discusses how to bring appearance in harmony
with reality.
