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.
Our
suffering is not mysterious and inexplicable; it is grounded in the
bare facts of human existence. To understand it, we must unflinchingly
accept the nature of the human condition, its finiteness, limitation,
and circumscription by the metaphysical particulars of the world.
Why Change Shouldn’t Surprise Us Ann Tashi Slater in conversation with Malcolm Gladwell
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Ann
Tashi Slater speaks with best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell about the
possibility for dramatic reversals, how to deal with uncertainty, and
what it means to belong to a community.
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)
Reflection
This guideline
for speech can sound more oppressive than it is. We are not all teaching
Buddhas, and much of what we say may not be directly contributing to
the edification of the world. The call is for us to use speech that is
"reasonable, moderate, and beneficial. " This is practical advice to
laypeople who will naturally speak of daily affairs but are encouraged
to do so in a way that is healthy.
Daily Practice
When you speak,
see that your words are weighty and worthwhile. Speak up when people
are listening, and refrain from interrupting others. Always speak the
truth, and try your best to emphasize what is positive and helpful
rather than being overly critical and saying things that would hurt
people. You have to be mindful to speak carefully. The practice of
mindful speech is worthwhile in its own right and conducive to
well-being.
Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Social Action One week from today: Refraining from False Speech
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
The
sun does not need to ‘try’ to shine; it simply radiates light by its
very nature. In the same way, our true nature is already luminous and
clear, spontaneously present at all times.
"Your anger and your inspiration are all inside you. They are just being
who they are. Your reaction is your reaction. It is showing you your
attachments and aversions."
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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 equanimity, for when you develop meditation on equanimity,
all aversion is abandoned. (MN 62)
Reflection
Equanimity is
the fourth of the brahma-viharas, the sublime states of mind, and is the
secret ingredient of mindfulness, indeed of the entire Buddhist
approach to practice. Like the clutch of a car, which disengages the
engine from the wheels, freeing them to revolve independently,
equanimity disengages us from the compulsion of the pleasure/pain
reflex, freeing us to experience a range of sensations without craving.
Daily Practice
Cultivate the
experience of feeling pleasure without getting hooked by it and
experiencing displeasure without needing to be rid of it. Notice how
pleasure and pain are on one channel, so to speak, and our loving and
hating of them are on another. Normally we are forced to respond to
pleasure with attachment and to pain with aversion, but equanimity
replaces these forms of craving, liberating the mind from them.
Tomorrow: Refraining from Frivolous Speech One week from today: Cultivating Lovingkindness
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
We
must become more skillful in our meditative practice to integrate
things that reset, rewire, and enhance our nervous systems, so that we
are capable of supporting the healing, transformation, and liberation we
want to see and be.