Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Harsh Speech

 

RIGHT SPEECH
Refraining from Harsh Speech
Harsh speech is unhealthy. Refraining from harsh speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning harsh speech, one refrains from harsh speech. One speaks words that are gentle, pleasing to the ear, and affectionate, words that go to the heart, are courteous, and are agreeable to many. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others may speak harshly, but I shall abstain from harsh speech.” (MN 8)
Reflection
The human capacity for speech is so nuanced and our languages are so varied that we always have a choice about how we express ourselves. Whatever you are about to say harshly, you can say gently instead. Whatever comes to mind as a stinging riposte can be toned down to be less hurtful. Even a cruel remark can be turned around entirely, and you can say something agreeable instead. It’s worth trying to do this as a practice. 

Daily Practice
Take care how you speak. Choose your words wisely and be wary of what you might blurt out without awareness. Right speech is mindful speech. Notice whether or not your words are gentle, spoken with an attitude of affection, and “go to the heart.” Even when others speak harshly to you, commit to being a person who refrains from harsh speech at every opportunity.

Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Mental Action
One week from today: Refraining from Frivolous Speech

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Via Sean / FB


 

Via LGBTQ Baha’i Experience

 


Via LGBTQ Baha’i Experience

 


via Pew Research

 



 
A very dear Bahá’í colleague of mine wrote: 


Baha'u'llah wrote:
The purpose of religion as revealed from the heaven of God's holy Will is to establish unity and concord amongst the peoples of the world; make it not the cause of dissension and strife. The religion of God and His divine law are the most potent instruments and the surest of all means for the dawning of the light of unity amongst men. The progress of the world, the development of nations, the tranquillity of peoples, and the peace of all who dwell on earth are among the principles and ordinances of God. Religion bestoweth upon man the most precious of all gifts, offereth the cup of prosperity, imparteth eternal life, and showereth imperishable benefits upon mankind. It behoveth the chiefs and rulers of the world, and in particular the Trustees of God's House of Justice, to endeavour to the utmost of their power to safeguard its position, promote its interests and exalt its station in the eyes of the world. In like manner it is incumbent upon them to enquire into the conditions of their subjects and to acquaint themselves with the affairs and activities of the divers communities in their dominions. We call upon the manifestations of the power of God -- the sovereigns and rulers on earth -- to bestir themselves and do all in their power that haply they may banish discord from this world and illumine it with the light of concord.
(Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 129)

As I read it, he is telling the religious leaders, and the houses of justice in particular, "if something is good for society, it is also the law of God." The false dichotomy between religious teachings and progressive social measures is abolished, by "baptizing" whatever is good for society.

This teaching of Baha'u'llah makes an end-run around the defences some Bahais have constructed against allowing same-sex marriage to be recognized in the Bahai community, based on what a secretary told someone at a time when same-sex marriage did not exist and homosexuality was illegal in many countries, or based on what Shoghi Effendi might have meant by a marginal note he never published, or based on translations that render "partners" as man and wife, or based on conflating same-sex marriage with pederasty or anal penetration, etc etc. There are so many of these tenuous defences that no consensus is reached, because it involves paying attention to precise details of context and meaning, and only those with some commitment have the attention span to follow the argument, and in any case as one defence is refuted another is raised. It's whack-a-mole, and it's basically wrapping prejudice and fear of change in the "flag" of "scripture says so."

Baha'u'llah prefaces this passage with the premise that religion must NOT be "the cause of dissension and strife." The approach of "The progress of the world... is the law of God" is his solution to that strife - it creates unity within religion as well as leading to progress for the world. If we accept his approach, the argument must be about what really leads to progress, and this is a good argument we - Bahais and society -- should be having anyway. Each proposed measure must be examined on the facts, and compared to the alternative. Is a same-sex couple excluded from the Bahai community better than a same-sex couple included in the community? Is state recognition of (eg) same-sex civil unions better or worse than the denial of that recognition? What are the effects of each alternative, what has experience proven? This argument from outcomes is part of Abdu'l-Baha's approach in The Secret of Divine Civilization, as regards the religious acceptability of "non-Muslim" innovations such as democracy and the rule of law.
The attached poll is interesting. Let’s have the same debate in national Bahai communities. The policies must be national, given that state laws and social attitudes are among the factors to consider.

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Via Facebook // Mormons are inclusive?


 

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Appreciative Joy

 

RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Appreciative Joy
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 appreciative joy, for when you develop meditation on appreciative joy, any discontent will be abandoned. (MN 62) 
Reflection
It is not uncommon to experience discontent. There are so many things we can feel we are lacking in our lives, so many things in the world not going the way we would wish, and so much with which we can find fault. Or we can move in the other direction, cataloging and celebrating what is good and right in our experience, especially when we seek out and notice when good fortune comes to other people.  

Daily Practice
Get in the habit of taking note of the positive experiences of people around you and match it with an attitude of appreciation and wishing them well for their good fortune. Appreciative joy is not about rejoicing in your own situation but recognizing and appreciating the blessings experienced by others. If you do this, there will be endless opportunities for feeling good about things and no room for discontent.

Tomorrow: Refraining from Harsh Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Equanimity

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Via Daily Dharma: Effortless Mindfulness

 Effortless mindfulness empowers us with the natural capability to be with our thoughts and emotions, without obsessive monitoring.

Loch Kelly, “How to Practice Effortless Mindfulness”


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Monday, November 14, 2022

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering

 

RIGHT VIEW
Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
What is the cessation of suffering? It is the remainderless fading away and ceasing, the giving up, relinquishing, letting go, and rejecting of craving. (MN 9)
Reflection
Though suffering is ubiquitous its cause can be identified, and once you know the cause of something you can bring it to an end by dismantling that cause. When craving fades away, the suffering it causes also fades, and when craving is completely eliminated, suffering too is ended forever. This is what the Buddha accomplished on the night of his awakening.

Daily Practice
Even if we do not awaken once and for all the way the Buddha did, we have it within our power to orchestrate moments of awakening—moments devoid of greed, hatred, and delusion. As an everyday practice, look for ways of “giving up” craving, of “relinquishing” wanting things to be other than they are, of “letting go” of constantly favoring some things and opposing others. Reject craving whenever you can.

Tomorrow: Cultivating Appreciative Joy
One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering

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Via Daily Dharma: Hindrances Actually Help

 The practice of patience could not exist without there being people who do us harm. How, then, can we call such people obstacles to our practice? We can hardly call a beggar an obstacle to generosity.

The Dalai Lama, “Enduring the Fires”


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Sunday, November 13, 2022

Via Daily Dharma: Insight Is the Beginning

 Insight is the beginning of transformation, not the end. 

Oren Jay Sofer, “Turning a Ship”


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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and the Second Jhāna

 

RIGHT MINDFULNESS
Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling
A person goes to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty place and sits down. Having crossed the legs, one sets the body erect. One establishes the presence of mindfulness. (MN 10) One is aware: “Ardent, fully aware, mindful, I am content.” (SN 47.10)
Reflection
Feeling tones are always present, but we tend to notice only the really strong ones. In between the obvious pleasures and pains of the body, and the more dramatic pleasant and unpleasant mental states, is a midrange of sensation. As pleasure and pain become increasingly subtle, they gradually merge into a neutral state in which a sensation is neither pleasant nor painful. See if you can notice this in your own experience.

Daily Practice
Learn to become more sensitive to the feeling tones arising and passing away in your mind and body by deliberately becoming aware of them. Notice when sensations in your body hurt and when they feel good; notice also how it feels good to think about some things and painful to think about others. A great deal of our experience is neutral, however. There is still a feeling tone, but it is neither pleasant nor painful.


RIGHT CONCENTRATION
Approaching and Abiding in the Second Phase of Absorption (2nd Jhāna)
With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, one enters upon and abides in the second phase of absorption, which has inner clarity and singleness of mind, without applied thought and sustained thought, with joy and the pleasure born of concentration. (MN 4)
Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and Abiding in the Third Jhāna


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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - November 13, 2022 💌

 
 

“One of the traps I saw I was caught in, was the trap of righteousness that I used to justify my anger. But I saw that love freed me back into the ocean, and that anger didn’t, and that I would rather be free than right.”


From Here & Now Podcast - Ep. 178 – The Path of the Heart