Awakening the Buddha Within _ Eight Steps to Enlightenment - Lama Surya Das [78]
When you first start this practice, you may have some difficulties as you try to visualize giving away all your advantages, assets, and delights to people you dislike as well as people you care about. But over time, this will change. As you explore your inner resources, you will discover that you have an abundance, more positive resources than you can possibly imagine. Reach into the infinite spiritual richness of your innately compassionate and wise Buddha-nature.
ETHICS
TRAINING
Living a Sacred Life
Each thought, each action in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred. In this light, no boundary exists between the sacred and the profane.
—THICH NHAT HANH,
PEACE IS EVERY STEP
Because so many of us are first introduced to Buddhism through meditation, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the Dharma actually includes Three Liberating Trainings: Wisdom, Ethics, and Meditation. The Ethics section of the Noble Eight-Fold Path includes Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood. It shows us how—through mindful attention and nonattachment—to make our daily lives sacred by practicing ethical restraint, morality, and sincere virtue in all that we do. It is not enough to think wisely; we must also speak, act, work, and love wisely. This is how we integrate meditation and awareness into our daily life.
The Sanskrit word for virtue or morality is sila (pronounced sheela). This beautiful ancient word reminds us always to practice ethical conduct, and a wholesome, balanced self-discipline. Before you speak or act, stop for a moment and think about sila: Are you about to be helpful or harmful? Skillful or unskillful? Selfless or selfish? Do your words and actions accurately reflect your deeper inner intentions and sincere commitment to loving-kindness and bodhicitta? Myth has it that the fragrance of a holy person’s righteousness wafts up even to realms of the gods and Buddhas; they, in turn, rejoice by raining down flowers and nectars upon such goodness.
Sila (virtue or ethics) is traditionally likened to a cool shade tree; under its branches, a pilgrim trekking through the hot desert sun of conflicting emotions can find relief from the fierce storms of impulsive and compulsive behavior. In your life, trust virtue, righteousness, and self-discipline to lubricate the friction of both internal and external conflicts.
On an outer level, sila means contributing to a better world by living your life in a straightforward, honest, healing, nonviolent, unselfish, and caring manner. It implies character development—straightening out whatever is bent or crooked in your behavior and yourself.
On an inner level, sila means being genuinely honest and true to yourself, free from self-deception, ill-will, selfish bias, and prejudice.
On an innate or natural level, sila means understanding that we are all inherently virtuous and immaculate, for don’t we all have purity of heart and the basic goodness of Buddha-nature at the core of our innermost authentic being?
We create our world and our karma through words and deeds as well as thoughts. As your Buddhist practice develops, you can train your mind from the outside in by acting impeccably and cultivating authenticity in all that you say and do. At the same time, you can work on yourself from the inside out—from your innate goodness and integral wholeness—by resting in the natural state. Let your natural morality, your intrinsic worth, virtue, innate purity, and honesty flow forth in all your interactions. This is called “coming from the heart,” or living from the heart. Virtue is its own reward, as they say. That means now, not later. Goodness is a good thing. Our turbulent times call for it. Check it out. In your own life you will be surprised at how rewarding it can be.
STEP THREE
RIGHT SPEECH
Speaking the Truth
Better than a meaningless story of a thousand words is a single word of deep meaning which,