Being mindful of our actions

Vastmind

Excerpted from The Path to Happiness by Venerable Thubten Chodron

Mindfulness enables us to be aware if we are about to act destructively as we go through the day. Mindfulness says, “Uh oh! I’m getting angry,” or “I’m being greedy,” or “I’m feeling jealous.” Then we can apply the various antidotes the Buddha taught to help us calm our minds. For example, if we discover we are annoyed and anger is arising, we can stop and look at the situation from the other person’s point of view. When we do this, we recognize they want to be happy, and because they aren’t happy, they are doing that action we find objectionable. Then instead of harming them out of anger, we will be more compassionate and understanding, and will work with them to negotiate an agreement.

But how do we do this when a quarrel is just about to start or we’re already in the middle of one? We have to practice beforehand, in our meditation practice. In the heat of the situation, it is difficult to remember what the Buddha taught if we haven’t practiced it already when we were calm and peaceful. In the same way that a football team practices on a regular basis, we need to meditate on patience and to recite prayers daily to get well-trained. Then when we encounter a situation in daily life, we will be able to use the teachings.

🙏

lobster

“Uh oh! I’m getting angry,” or “I’m being greedy,” or “I’m feeling jealous.”

• Some of my finest demons. Whenever I get any of these, I give myself a good slapping. (My hair shirt is at the dry cleaners)
• I find exercise and diet very helpful, as these emotive states arise in the body, as many of us know.
• Being human is samsara and being a Buddha (as we all try to be) is nirvana. Are they different? Nah!

Shoshin1

Being human is samsara and being a Buddha (as we all try to be) is nirvana. Are they different? Nah!

Samsara = Mind turned outwards lost in its projection (Been there and done that-more times than I care to admit)
Nirvana = Mind turned inwards recognising its true nature (Practicing on being there and doing that-practice makes perfect and perfect practice makes perfect practice)

how

Some might say that..

Samsara = phenomena being subjugated by a "self versus others" mentality.

Is such suffering actually addressed merely by the direction that a mind faces?
Couldn't a Mind turned inwards also describe myopic limitations, just as a mind
turned outwards might offer a wider world beyond the walls of our sandbox?

Nirvana= phenomena no longer being shang-highed by an ego's cravings.

What does a No Mind know anyway?
Appropriate actions are one spoke of the 8 fold path wheel and as such are best supported by the understanding, thought, speech, lively hood/relationships, effort, mindfulness & concentration of the 4 Nobel Truths.

lobster

What does a No Mind know anyway?

Nothing is Everything or is it Everything is Nothing.
Oh wait... it was a rhetorical question. As we Know Mind is
No questions or answers