BALANCED OPINIONS: full moon – Thursday 10th July 2025
Dwell not on the faults and shortcomings of others, instead, seek clarity about your own.
DHAMMAPADA v. 50
It is understandable that we have opinions about the way others behave. To do so is part of the natural functioning of our discriminative intelligence. In this verse the Buddha is not saying we ought to dismiss our capacity for assessing that which is wholesome and that which is not. Rather, he is highlighting the risk of losing balance. To be consistently caught in a habit of criticising others for their faults, is to have lost perspective. The primary focus of attention needs to be on recognizing one’s own limitations. If you can be genuinely honest about your own motivations there is a better chance your actions of body and speech will contribute to inner and outer harmony.
FAITH IN HARMLESSNESS: full moon – Thursday 13th March 2025
Neither for one’s own sake nor on behalf of another does a wise person do harm – not for the sake of family, fortune or gain. Such a one is rightly called just, virtuous and wise.
DHAMMAPADA v. 84
Having faith in this principle does not mean we never feel inclined to cause harm. It might, however, mean that when such inclinations arise there is a better chance we will be honest about them. Having the principle established in our hearts has the potential to protect us from habits of heedless reactivity. If the impulse to cause harm does arise, faith in this true principle can support our accurately feeling what we feel, without becoming totally lost in the two extremes of conditioned behaviour: one, denying the impulse and pushing it down into unawareness; or two, acting out. The middle way is the way that leads to living truly responsibly.
TRAINING IN TRUTHFULNESS: full moon – Saturday, July 20th, 2024
“One who is truthful, virtuous, impeccable in conduct, free from all stains and wise can be called an elder.”
DHAMMAPADA v 261
The idea of truthfulness is appealing. The constant practice of it is more challenging. To inspire yourself to make an effort in this direction, try paying attention to how you feel when you suspect someone is lying to you. Mindfulness of dukkha can serve as a motivation for restraint. Without such intentional training we remain dangerously vulnerable to the negative influences of media and the values of the casual culture in which we live.
Q: Reflecting On Death_PART_02
(approx. 7 minutes) KEYWORDS: "How to really practice with the reality of our own mortality and that of others?” Sensitivity, discretion, making death ‘wrong’, failure, early in life, 3 types of dukkha: separation from the liked, association with the disliked, not getting what we want, being with someone dying, feeling uncertain, shocked, bubble burst, loss of loved ones, denied pain, Ajahn Chah, Elizabeth Kular-Ross, conscious dying, compassion.