The Way to Peace of Mind : Buddhist Ethics

Sila, is the Pali word for “moral discipline”. Although it appears to have some overlapping meanings, it primarily refers to right conduct and practicing a moral mind state. It often includes adherence to right speech, right action, and right livelihood as part of the Noble Eight Fold Path which are guidelines for establishing noble character through inner and outer behaviors.

Today, we are exposed to an abundance of reckless and violent behavior emanating from  certain individuals and groups who adhere to views and opinions that reflect the beliefs and bias of domestic terrorists, and engender socially destructive actions and harm. Examples of this harm are the recent murders  of eight Asian massage therapists, and of the ten people shot to death at a King Soopers Grocery in Boulder, CO.

What does the Buddha say about this?

Loving Awareness

Remembering who we really are during these times of challenge and difficulty presents obstacles for so many of us, and yet is the source from which consciousness, freedom, and wisdom are born. It is when we are most faced with the causes of suffering: illness, grief, bias and racial prejudice, poverty and homelessness, that we can open to the possibilities of waking up to the goodness within us and the world around us. These ancient words, often spoken by Jack Kornfield reflect this truth:

“Oh nobly born, oh you who are the sons and daughters of the awakened ones, the Buddhas and the bodhisattvas. Do not forget who you really are, do not forget your true nature.”

Freedom from Harm, Cultivating Love in 2021

As we birth ourselves into 2021, and all it brings with it, we can take time to look purposefully toward the next four years, and what we will create. The past carries a great deal of heavy baggage that we seek to find a way to dismantle — even though it is messy and complex. We look forward to a future of intentionality where we can reconstruct healing modalities and build new relationships with a focus on mutual consideration and no harm for all.

The Buddha spoke these words 2,600 years ago, putting forth the path to this end:

Trailing my stick I go down to the garden edge,
Call a monk to go out the pine gate.
A cup of tea with my mother,
looking at each other, enjoying our tea together.
In the deep lanes, few people in sight;
the dog barks when anyone comes or goes.
Fall floods have washed away the planks of the bridge;
shouldering our sandals, we wade the narrow stream.
By the roadside, a small pavilion
Where once there used to be a little hill:
it helps our hermit mood;
Country poems pile one sheet on another.
I dabble in the flow, delighted by the shallowness of the stream,
gaze at the flagging, admiring how firm the stones are.
The point in life is to know what’s enough—
Why envy those otherworld immortals?
With the happiness held in one inch-square heart
You can fill the whole space between heaven and earth.
—Anonymous

Continue reading →

Practicing the Three Refuges

How do we face and live with life’s ever-changing flow of circumstances that can bring the unexpected loss of loved ones, sickness and injury, uncertain economic security, aging, fear, the loss of control, and the accompanying anger that can arise in response to unpredictable conditions? Our hearts and minds yearn for a way to meet these challenges.

There is a way to find peace, ease, faith, happiness, and freedom amidst all this. In Buddhist teachings, there is a training called the Three Refuges, a practice that brings solace and serenity to an aching heart and mind. Continue reading →

The Way of Contentment

This has been an extended and beautiful spring season. As I sit here this morning I am aware that the morning temperature was cool at 53 degrees, the air was refreshing, sweet, a gentle breeze stirred the tree leaves which were animated and dancing, the sky was a true sky blue, bright and clear. At times like this my heart swells and I feel so grateful to be living this life. I hope you are also filled with this deep contentment. Continue reading →

Real Kindness

“I may not know my original face but I know how to smile.
I may not know the recipe for the diameter
Of a circle but I know how to cut a slice
for a friend. I may not be Mary or Buddha
But I can be kind. I may not be a diamond
Cutter but I still long for rays of light
that reach the heart.
I may not be standing on the hill of skulls
But I know love when I see it.”—Not Knowing, by Stephen Levine

What is real kindness? In our day and age, these words really translate as paying attention to the moment in a gentle, friendly, loving way. When we practice meditation and we take the time to bring a kind attention to the body, feeling tones (pleasant, unpleasant and neutral), the emotions, and our thoughts — that is an act of kindness. Continue reading →

Wise Livelihood and Guns

Wise or Right Livelihood is the fifth factor in the Noble Eightfold Path and belongs to the virtue section of the path. It is also the second quality of the Ten Perfections, virtuous conduct. In the Buddhist teachings, it is known as morality, ethics, integrity, and Sila from the ancient Pali language. Continue reading →

As this year draws to its end,
we give thanks for the gifts it brought
and how they become inlaid within
where neither time nor tide can touch them.
Days when beloved faces shone brighter
With light from beyond themselves;
And from the granite of some secret sorrow
A stream of buried tears loosened.
We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination.

At the End of the Year —John O’Donohue

Transitioning and Welcoming 2018

As we shift from the turbulence of 2017 into the promise of the new year, it can be important and significant to look back and remember all the moments of peace, ease, interconnection, strength, tenacity, and happiness we experienced. Continue reading →