Friday, October 24, 2025

Via Daily Dharma: Wisdom Over Power

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Wisdom Over Power

If our spiritual work has come out of wisdom, not out of a need for power but out of a yearning for God, then when the powers come, we just notice them, realizing they are going to take us on tangents, consume them, and keep going.

Ram Dass, “Karmuppance”


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Bridging Family and Community Practice
By Mariana Restrepo
A mother discusses how to make space for children at the dharma center. 
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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Intoxication

 

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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)

When I look on with equanimity, some particular sources of suffering fade away in me; thus that suffering is exhausted. (MN 101)
Reflection
We saw last month how some sources of suffering diminish with effort. Now we hear that other sources of suffering are resolved when we simply look upon them with equanimity. In other words, some things are better handled by not striving to change them overtly but simply by changing your relationship to what is happening. Desire can be a form of intoxication, and equanimity can transform negligence into clarity.
Daily Practice
Knowing when to step forward to try to change things with effort and when to step back and allow them to change by natural processes is a skill to be learned and a practice to be developed. Never underestimate the transformative power of equanimity. Sometimes it is our own desires, our wanting and not wanting, that cause problems; in such cases learning to look on with equanimity can make all the difference. 
Tomorrow: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States
One week from today: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings

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Thursday, October 23, 2025

Via FB -- Mass Blackout


 

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Via Daily Dharma: The Freedom We Seek

 

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The Freedom We Seek

The freedom we are all seeking is freedom from the fear of losing what we believe we own.

Toinette Lippe, “Between Eternities” 


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Birth and Death in Every Moment
By Thich Nhat Hanh
The late Zen master explores recognizing our true nature and touching the ultimate. 
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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Social Action

 

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

A person is content with any lodging places they may get, speaks in praise of such contentment, and does not try to obtain these things in improper or unsuitable ways. Not getting these things, one does not worry, and getting them, one makes use of them without being greedy, obsessed, or infatuated, observing such potential dangers and wisely being aware of how to escape them. (AN 4.28)
Reflection
Just as you can practice contentment by appreciating whatever you eat or wear, so too can you take this approach to where and how you live. For monks and nuns, who in the early days wandered from place to place, this meant adjusting to a different lodging situation almost every night. The practice of feeling content wherever you are can be extended to laypeople as well. Contentment is a mental state that can be cultivated.
Daily Practice
It is not difficult to find the flaws in any situation. However, this leads to discontent, which is a state of mind conducive to suffering. Practice instead finding the benefits of things in your life, such as your living situation. It could always be worse. There is always something in any situation that can be noticed, raised in awareness, and appreciated. Practice doing this whenever you can; contentment contributes to your well-being.
Tomorrow: Abstaining from Intoxication
One week from today: Reflecting upon Bodily Action


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Questions?
 Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.
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© 2025 Tricycle Foundation
89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003