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.
The
mind is indeed a strange neighborhood—not a bad neighborhood but a
neighborhood that is constantly changing. It is charming but dangerous,
quiet, and endless in its variations.
The
1400-year-old Buddhist wood-carving tradition is wrought with artistry,
intention, and dedication. This film from director Yujiro Seki
illustrates the detailed craft through the eyes of the masters who are
keeping it alive.
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 person reflects thus: "I am one who wishes to live, who does not wish
to die. If someone were to take my life, that would not be pleasing and
agreeable to me. Now if I were to take the life of another, that would
not be pleasing and agreeable to the other either. How can I inflict
upon another what is displeasing and disagreeable to me?" Having
reflected thus, one abstains from the destruction of life, exhorts
others to abstain from it, and speaks in praise of abstinence from it.
(SN 55.7)
Reflection
This is one way
of stating the Golden Rule found the world over: "Do unto others as you
would have them do unto you." It requires that we consider the feelings
of another to be as important as our own. Once this insight is well
understood, it becomes a matter of following your own nature rather than
following a rule. You become incapable of cruelty or selfish
exploitation.
Daily Practice
The practice of
non-harming (Sanskrit: ahimsa) consists first and foremost of caring
for others to the extent that we cannot consciously want to harm them.
But notice that this teaching goes farther, also encouraging us to speak
openly about the value of abstaining from causing harm. The challenge
is to do this with a mind of lovingkindness. How can we condemn the
causing of harm without wishing harm to those who cause it?
Tomorrow: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings
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When
we use our attention to touch and open the deeper truth in a person, we
not only catalyze the experience of love, we become love. The source of
love is revealed to be within us; we no longer have to go looking for
it somewhere outside.
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 are doing an action with the body, reflect on that same bodily
action thus: "Does this action I am doing with the body lead to my own
affliction?" If, on reflection, you know that it does, then stop doing
it; if you know that it does not, then continue. (MN 61)
Reflection
Here we have a
plain appeal for continuous mindfulness of the body. It is not a
practice only for the meditation hall or focused only on breathing but
is a habit of conscious living, of conscious awareness of how the body
is disposed and moves. When doing something, know that you are doing it.
Do one thing at a time. You might say, "Anything worth doing is worth
doing deliberately."
Daily Practice
Every single
thing we do can be done with greater awareness. We are so accustomed to
allowing our behavior to be guided by unconscious habit so the mind can
be wrapped up in something else. But this deprives us of the opportunity
to guide our actions ethically. As you become consciously aware of what
you do unconsciously, notice that you can intervene when necessary and
tell yourself to stop any action that is unethical.
Tomorrow: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings One week from today: Reflecting upon Verbal Action
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Meditation
teaches us the value of every moment’s unique experience. You have
never taken in this particular lungful of air before and will never do
so again. This particular step, with its lifting, moving, and placing
phases, is absolutely special—when you choose to attend to it carefully
with your awareness.
The Collective Dimension of Happiness With Cuong Lu
Is
happiness overrated? Zen scholar and teacher Cuong Lu encourages us to
consider this question and introduces the idea of the collective
dimension of happiness, inviting us to remain curious about our
attachment to happiness.
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)
Such speech as you know to be untrue, incorrect, and unbeneficial but which is welcome and agreeable to others—do not utter such speech. (MN 58)
Reflection
This teaching is pointing out the unhealthy effects of flattery and other kinds of hollow speech. Why speak something you know is untrue? Presumably in this case to make someone else feel good or to like you more. This is a short-term strategy that will only cause more harm than good in the longer term. Right speech is about understanding the more subtle aspects of cause and effect in the realm of human communication.
Daily Practice
The most direct way to practice right speech is to undertake a serious commitment to always speak the truth. From the Buddhist perspective, this has more to do with deeper health than with what you eat or how much exercise you get. Notice that this practice is not about judging other people for their wrong speech but is focused on your own dedication to abstaining from false speech and consistently telling the truth.
Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Bodily Action One week from today: Refraining from Malicious Speech
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