Revoked

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Mental Action

RIGHT ACTION
Reflecting Upon Mental 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 mental action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61)

When you are doing an action with the mind, reflect upon that same mental action thus: “Does this action I am doing with the mind 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

Just as you can train yourself to be aware of the inbreath and outbreath moment by moment as you breathe, so also you can learn to be aware of your mind both taking in information and responding outwardly to events. It is more difficult, because the mind is subtle, but the principle is the same. Here we are being asked to take some responsibility for what unfolds in our mind, steering it toward what is healthy.

Daily Practice

Notice the texture of thoughts as they arise and pass away in the mind. Be aware of them as events occurring and fading, rather than focusing on the content of the thought. The mind is a process and can be carefully observed. Notice also the quality of this activity, whether it is laced with ill will or aversion or selfishness, or if it is accompanied by good will, kindness, and concern for others. Gently guide your mind toward the good.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures
One week from today: Reflecting upon Social Action

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Via The Tricycle Community \\ Three Teachings on Embracing Uncertainty

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June 26, 2025

What Happens When We Stop Asking “What If?”

The wisdom in uncertainty is timeless, but these days it certainly bears revisiting. Uncertainty isn’t just illuminating; it’s essential to the Buddha’s worldview and teaching. When Siddhartha Gautama left the comfort of his life in the palace, he went into the unfamiliar setting of the jungle, and it was only when he was without a home or guarantee of his next meal that he achieved enlightenment. This liminal state set the stage for his awakening to the impermanence and interdependence of all phenomena—to the truth that everything is forever in motion, and never a sure thing.

“What a predicament!” Pema Chödrön says. For all of us who crave certainty, the truth of impermanence can be unsettling. But recognizing this truth and our resistance to it is precisely the antidote.

Experiencing the present without asking “what if?” can relieve anxiety around uncertainty. Connecting with the groundlessness of reality without clinging to the illusion of solid ground can help us welcome possibility instead of fearing it.

“The dharma’s true home is neither here nor there,” says Kurt Spellmeyer, and so is ours.

This week’s Three Teachings reframes uncertainty as an insight on the path and an opportunity in daily life.

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The Fundamental Ambiguity of Being Human
By Pema Chödrön

American Buddhist nun and author Pema Chödrön reflects on the central tension of grasping for certainty, in ourselves and our daily lives, and helps us think about living beautifully with uncertainty and change.

The Wisdom of Uncertainty
By Kurt Spellmeyer

Some historians emphasize Theravada Buddhism’s description of enlightenment as knowable, opposed to Mahayana Buddhism’s focus on the liminal, but Zen priest and English professor Kurt Spellmeyer suggests that this oversimplifies the Theravada perspective, and that liminality is common ground among all Buddhists.

Finding Joy in Uncertainty
With Jon Aaron

Jon Aaron, a teacher at the New York Insight Meditation Center, invites us to embrace the uncertainty of each unfolding moment as an antidote to despair and anxiety.

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