Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States

 

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RIGHT EFFORT Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States Whatever a person frequently thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders unhealthy states, one has abandoned healthy states to cultivate unhealthy states, and then one’s mind inclines toward unhealthy states. (MN 19) Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to restrain the arising of unarisen unhealthy mental states. One restrains the arising of the unarisen hindrance of sluggishness. (MN 141)

Reflection Sluggishness, also sometimes called sloth and torpor, is one of the five hindrances that prevent the mind from becoming tranquil and alert. Like any natural system, the mind operates best within a certain range, and its effectiveness drops off when there is too much or too little energy. Here we are being encouraged to take what steps we can, such as rest and nutrition, to ensure that the mind is working optimally. Daily Practice Explore in your own experience the distinction between tranquility and sluggishness. The mind can get sleepy or lazy or dull, but this is very different from the calm tranquility of a peaceful mind. To be relaxed, you must also be alert. When you start to feel sluggish, take a deep breath or open your eyes wide or do something to stir up energy. Then put that energy to work, paradoxically toward calming the mind. Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and the First Jhāna One week from today: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Meditation Month Day 23

 

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PRACTICE PROMPT That which knows and that which is known are one and the same.    Choose an object right in front of you. Do you experience the knowing of the object as something separate from the object itself? Are there two different experiences, or only one? If you begin to think about it, it may seem that there is a difference between the object and the awareness of the object. Look more carefully: are there really two separate entities here, or just one experience?

Related Content Getting Rid of the “Little I” A practitioner reflects on a private interview with her Zen teacher wherein she learns more about dropping her own self conception and connecting with expansiveness. Read more » Four Buddhist Teachings on Emptiness In an article about sunyata, writer and researcher Simeon Mihaylov explains the perspective of “no subject-ojbect” in Yogacara, the mind-only school of Mahayana Buddhism.   Read more » Follow Us

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Via Daily Dharma: Recognize Skillful Means

 

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Recognize Skillful Means When you’re feeling frustrated that you can’t change someone’s harmful opinions or terrible judgment, it’s important to recognize the skillful means you can use to care for yourself and others. Kimberly Brown, “Want to Change Someone’s Mind? Try This Instead.”  CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Her Gaze By Li-Young Lee, edited by Oliver Egger  A poet reflects on the mystery of his own mother.  Read more » The Afterlife of Japanese American Wartime Incarceration Brandon Shimoda in conversation with James Shaheen  In this episode of Tricycle Talks, poet Brandon Shimoda explores the ongoing legacies of the US government’s mass incarceration of Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans during World War II. Listen now » Follow Us Forward today's wisdom to a friend »

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings

 

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RIGHT LIVING Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Harming Living Beings Harming living beings is unhealthy. Refraining from harming living beings is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning the harming of living beings, one abstains from harming living beings; with rod and weapon laid aside, gentle and kindly, one abides with compassion toward all living beings. (MN 41) One practices thus: "Others may harm living beings, but I will abstain from the harming of living beings." (MN 8) A layperson is not to engage in the livelihood of trading in weapons. (AN 5.177)

Reflection Everyone has to earn a living somehow, and all human activities involve some form of harm to others. The Buddha encouraged his followers to abstain from certain trades that do the most harm, including involvement with weapons of warfare. He did not condemn them as morally wrong but pointed out that the harm caused by weapons rebounds on the worker and has a cumulative unhealthy effect on the mind. Daily Practice Think about what you do professionally and reflect on how much harm to other beings is intrinsic to the job. If there are ways to mitigate this harm, try to implement changes in how things are done. If you are engaged in a job that is fundamentally harmful, such as making or deploying weapons that are used to kill, then it would contribute to your welfare to look for another line of work.  Tomorrow: Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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