Thursday, October 5, 2023

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Bodily Action

 


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

When you have done an action with the body, reflect on that same bodily action thus: “Was this action I have done with the body an unhealthy bodily action with painful consequences and painful results?” If, on reflection, you know that it was, then tell someone you trust about it and undertake a commitment not to do it again. If you know it was not, then be content and feel happy about it. (MN 61)
Reflection
While Buddhist teachings encourage us to be in the present moment and not ruminate obsessively on the past, it can still be valuable to reflect on past behavior in order to learn from it. The point is not to relive your faults or retell the story to yourself, but to bring things into the light of day so they don’t get buried in the unconscious mind. Self-examination and self-honesty can be powerful tools for internal transformation.

Daily Practice
If you feel remorse about something you have done in the past because it has caused harm to you or someone else, it can be helpful to admit to the action, acknowledge the harm it caused, and undertake a commitment to refrain from such behavior in the future. You can do this internally, but it can be even more effective to reveal the action to a person you respect and trust. This really brings it into the open.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings
One week from today: Reflecting upon Verbal Action

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Via Daily Dharma: Aging is a Reality

Aging is a Reality

We need to live our life in accordance with how things actually are—and you can, perhaps, see this reality most clearly reflected in your own aging body and mind.

Lewis Richmond, “Aging is a Reality”
 

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Via FB / Tiny Buddha

 


Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from False Speech

 



RIGHT SPEECH
Refraining from False Speech
False speech is unhealthy. Refraining from false speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning false speech, one dwells refraining from false speech, a truth-speaker, one to be relied on, trustworthy, dependable, not a deceiver of the world. One does not in full awareness speak falsehood for one’s own ends or for another’s ends or for some trifling worldly end. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others may speak falsely, but I shall abstain from false speech.” (MN 8)

When one knows overt sharp speech to be true, correct, and beneficial, one may utter it, knowing the time to do so.  (MN 139)
Reflection
It is important to speak the truth, even if it is inconvenient for some to hear it. It is even more important to speak up when what you say is likely to be beneficial. When you can help a person or situation emerge from what is unhealthy or unwholesome and become established instead on a more healthy course, it is worthwhile and even necessary to say something. Even so, good timing and sensitivity are useful skills to employ.

Daily Practice
Speech is such a rich area for mindfulness practice. It is important to be aware of not only your own internal intentions as you speak but also the context and how your words are likely to be heard and received by others. Right speech is skillful speech, and one of the skills to be learned is knowing when and how to say things that are difficult for people to hear. You will need to balance being truthful, helpful, and timely.

Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Bodily Action
One week from today: Refraining from Malicious Speech

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Questions?
Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.



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Via Tricycle \\ Dreams of Birds Flying in the Sky


Dreams of Birds Flying in the Sky
Directed by Arun Bhattarai
Dreams of Birds Flying in the Sky explores the complex realities of persons living with disabilities in the Himalayan country of Bhutan. Despite the challenges they face, the participants in the film explore what it means to live a life of purpose and joy.
Watch now »

 

Via Daily Dharma: The Gift of Presence

The Gift of Presence

The most precious gift you can give to the one you love is your true presence. 

Thich Nhat Hanh, “Love is Being There” 


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Via Ram Dass / FB

 


“One way to get free of attachment is to cultivate the witness consciousness, to become a neutral observer of your own life. The witness place inside you is simple awareness, the part of you that is aware of everything — just noticing, watching, not judging, just being present, being here now.

The witness is actually another level of consciousness. The witness coexists alongside your normal consciousness as another layer of awareness, as the part of you that is awakening. Humans have this unique ability to be in two states of consciousness at once. Witnessing yourself is like directing the beam of a flashlight back at itself. In any experience — sensory, emotional, or conceptual — there’s the experience, the sensory or emotional or thought data, and there’s your awareness of it. That’s the witness, the awareness, and you can cultivate that awareness in the garden of your being.

The witness is your awareness of your own thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Witnessing is like waking up in the morning and then looking in the mirror and noticing yourself — not judging or criticizing, just neutrally observing the quality of being awake. That process of stepping back takes you out of being submerged in your experiences and thoughts and sensory input and into self-awareness.

Along with that self-awareness comes the subtle joy of just being here, alive, enjoying being present in this moment. Eventually, floating in that subjective awareness, the objects of awareness dissolve, and you will come into the spiritual Self, the Atmān, which is pure consciousness, joy, compassion, the One.”


- Ram Dass

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Lovingkindness

 


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RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Lovingkindness
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 lovingkindness, for when you develop meditation on lovingkindness, all ill will will be abandoned. (MN 62) 

Lovingkindness is like a mother who has a baby boy, for she just wants him to grow and thrive. (Vm 9.108)
Reflection
The image of a mother with a newborn child is used often in early Buddhist literature to help envision and define the emotional state of lovingkindness. While this might involve some idealization, the point is that this emotion can be viewed as natural, pure, and spontaneous. It is a caring for another that is not rooted in our own self-interest and not entangled with an exchange. Lovingkindness is just wanting the best for someone else.

Daily Practice
See what it feels like to regard all people as your newborn child, to look on all situations with the same benevolence you might extend to an infant and to cultivate a non-specific wish for all beings to be healthy, safe, and profoundly well. Lovingkindness is a quality of heart and mind that can be cultivated, and by doing so you transform “the basis on which your mind is established.” In short, you become a more caring person.

Tomorrow: Refraining from False Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Compassion

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions?
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Via Daily Dharma: Authenticity Never Yields Regret

 

Authenticity Never Yields Regret

When you give yourself fully to life—when you pour yourself into everything you do unreservedly—then there’s no room for regret.

Taylor Plimpton, “Lessons From a (Mostly) Good Dog: #2, Relax” 


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