On Work Ethics

• Do whatever needs to be done, irrespective of whose responsibility it is. As long as you do it willingly, you will earn merits for yourself. Do not criticize others for not doing their jobs. Bad-mouthing will only create negative karma. Remember, you are working for no one else but yourself in order to eradicate your karmic obstructions.

• In addition to perseverance, an attitude of non-attachment is also necessary to do a job well. Non-attachment does not mean indifference or carelessness, but rather you should do your best and not worry about the results. If your mind lingers on the task after it is done, it is a sign of attachment. Such attachment will obscure your wisdom, generate vexation, and even spoil your accomplishment.

• “Don’t think too much” does not mean that you should not use your head and make plans when carrying out a task, but that you should not dwell on it once the job is done.

~ Analects of Master Kuang-ch'in

Imbued With Good Will

The Buddha said that there are five aspects of speech by which others may speak to us: "timely or untimely, true or false, affectionate or harsh, beneficial or unbeneficial, with a mind of good-will or with inner hate."

In these circumstances, we should train themselves by thinking: "Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil words. We will remain sympathetic to that person's welfare, with a mind of good will, and with no inner hate. We will keep pervading him with an awareness imbued with good will and, beginning with him, we will keep pervading the all-encompassing world with an awareness imbued with good will—abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will."

In other words, when others are speaking to us we should strive to maintain a calm, clear mind and not allow our emotions to dictate our response. By maintaining a stable mind, we will not say anything that could harm the other person or create an enmity. Instead, we will respond with good will, not just for that individual but or all beings. 

~ Kakacupama Sutta quotes translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

I Couldn't Have Been that Bad (Could I?)

I was reading a post on another Buddhist blog and the entry was about personal progress. The writer thought that he hadn’t made any.

We ourselves are often not be the best one to determine this.

Before I became a nun, I would take my mother and her friend, Ruth, shopping and running errands with me. It was still early days in my practice and I hadn’t noticed any change. But my mother knew me very well. When Ruth asked if there had been any change in me since I became a Buddhist, my mother went on at some length about how I was happier and much more patient now.

She went on at such length saying how much calmer and easier to get along with I was since practicing Buddhism that I finally interjected that I couldn’t have been that bad before! (Apparently I had been worse than I thought.) Mom, Ruth, and I laughed and they cheerfully moved on to another subject.

What I now realize is that we may not be the best judge of whether we are making progress. Maybe we are expecting, or hoping for, a dramatic change. Maybe we are being too hard on ourselves to judge impartially. Those who spend time with us and know us well are just happy to notice that we more at ease with ourselves and more patient with them.

So if we want to know if we are making any progress, it might be better to ask those who know us well. But be prepared for a lengthy and detailed answer!

Gossip

When we gossip about others it may feel that we are not doing any real harm. After all, what we say will most likely never be heard by the person we are talking about. So what's the harm?

When we engage in idle gossip about others, we waste our time and energy as well as the time and energy of those who are listening to us.  If we were saying good things about the person, we would be praising them not gossiping about them, so the likelihood is that we are saying something unfavorable. Even if what we say is just not particularly kind, even an unkind thought is negative and plants another negative seed, as we commit another negative karma.

Also when we gossip, we don't have any sense of fulfillment.  We didn't accomplish anything, and worse, we lost sight of our aspiration to awaken and help others awaken.

Finally, just as we view those who gossip as untrustworthy, our engaging in gossip deems us untrustworthy in the eyes of others.  So good people will pull back from talking to us and, eventually, only those who do not value integrity will want to spend time with us.

On Gossiping

• From the perspective of practice, the major problem of criticizing others is not “whether he is in fact wrong and I am right,” but the fact that our ears and eyes are already making judgments and our minds are closed to everything but our own perceptions. Further, we are creating negative karma through the incipience of our ideas and depriving ourselves of merits. Therefore, our six sensual organs are like six thieves, and the purpose of practice is to prevent them from wildly pursuing the sense objects so that we can close the door to vexation. We should train our ears not to crave for pleasant melodies; eyes, agreeable surroundings; nose, fragrance; mouth, tasty food; and train our minds to be free of discrimination. Then we can concentrate on reciting the Buddha’s name and the sutras, performing prostration, sitting meditation, and other practices that will liberate us from the cycle of birth and death. If we keep up these practices, how could we have the time and the mood to pursue external distractions, or to comment on how others behave?
• If you criticize others and your mind is disturbed or vexed by it, you would have no one but yourself to blame. Do not be judgmental of what others do: be tolerant. Then, not only will you enjoy peace of mind but will avoid creating negative karma through your words. This is the first and utmost important principle in practice. Remember: “Act according to (rather than against) circumstances, forbear everything, then enjoy peace of mind.” This is the best antidote for a troubled mind.
• Don’t say that there are good people and evil ones. All judgments are but distinctions made by our minds. To those who really know how to practice, all sentient beings are helpful mentors.

~ Analects of Master Kuang-ch'in