A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
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 verbal action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61)
Reflection
We take action every moment, either with the body or with speech or with the mind. Verbal action can have big consequences and needs to be wielded carefully. Every word uttered is a seed planted that will yield fruit whether we are aware of it or not. Speech as a form of action may not be a familiar concept, but when we look at it this way we may be inclined to be more attentive to it and more careful of how we speak.
Daily Practice
Reflect on the impact of your speech not only by noticing how others react to your words but also paying attention to how your words affect you. Hear what you are saying as you say it. Notice whether you are planting good seeds or bad. There are times for silent meditation, but the habit of awareness developed in silence can and should be applied to verbal action, where it becomes a mindfulness practice in its own right.
Tomorrow: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given One week from today: Reflecting upon Mental Action
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Malicious speech is unhealthy. Refraining from malicious speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning malicious speech, one refrains from malicious speech. One does not repeat there what one has heard here to the detriment of these, or repeat here what he has heard there to the detriment of those. One unites those who are divided, is a promoter of friendships, and speaks words that promote concord. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others may speak maliciously, but I shall abstain from malicious speech.” (MN 8)
Reflection
There is so much malicious speech in the world these days, speech that is intended to divide and promote discord. It is valuable to recognize what it is, to be aware of it when it occurs, and to undertake a commitment to refrain from speaking maliciously yourself. Let’s not contribute to the problem but instead work actively in the other direction, not only refraining from wrong speech but also promoting right speech.
Daily Practice
Even though others may speak maliciously, make it an ongoing practice to be a person who does not speak with malice. When the tendency comes up to return like for like in your speech, catch that with mindfulness and decide on a different course of action. Commit to being someone who speaks to unite those who are divided and utters only words that foster concord. Practice being a promoter of friendships with all you say.
Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Verbal Action One week from today: Refraining from Harsh Speech
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You see people through the veil of the fear-driven paranoia that comes from getting trapped in your separateness; when you break out of that, you experience compassion that is not pity and not kindness; but compassion born of identifying with the people around you.
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 compassion, for when you develop meditation on compassion,
any cruelty will be abandoned. (MN 62)
Reflection
Compassion is a
mental factor that can be developed, much as you might develop a muscle
in the gym. It takes time, constant repetition, and working with
successively heavier weights. The more time you spend caring for those
who are in pain, and the more challenging the objects of your compassion
(even people you don’t like!), the stronger and more compelling your
inclination toward compassion will become.
Daily Practice
Practice
cultivating the intention to care for those who are suffering. Plan ways
of helping others and develop a tendency toward compassion. When you do
this, compassion will become the basis on which your mind is
established. That is to say, it will become easier and more natural for
you to feel compassion as you train your mind in that direction.
Eventually it will be difficult to have a thought of ill will toward
anyone.
Tomorrow: Refraining from Malicious Speech One week from today: Cultivating Appreciative Joy
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RIGHT VIEW Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering
What is the origin of suffering? It is craving, which brings renewal of being, is accompanied by delight and lust, and delights in this and that: that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for being, and craving for non-being. (MN 9)
Reflection
These are the three flavors of craving: strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate. Craving can take the form of 1) wanting more of the physical sensations and other sensory inputs that feel good and wanting to avoid those that feel bad. It can also take the form of 2) aching for things that are not happening to happen or 3) yearning for things that are happening to stop. All three forms of craving inevitably give rise to suffering.
Daily Practice
Look for the truth of this in your own experience. Any time you are suffering, even slightly, look into the causes of it. There will be something that you want to hold on to because it feels good and you are afraid of it slipping away. Or there will be something that you want to have happen or come into being. Or something you wish would just disappear. Suffering is created anew each moment from these forms of craving.
Tomorrow: Cultivating Compassion One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
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