So when you’re the person to whom untimely, unkind, untrue, ill-meaning speech is directed, there’s nothing really strange about that. This is part of the human condition.

"The Buddha says that there are basically two kinds of speech, pleasant speech and unpleasant speech. He divides them into different ways of being pleasant and unpleasant. There’s well-meaning and ill-meaning speech, harsh and gentle, timely and untimely, true and false. These categories of speech can be found all over the world. So when you’re the person to whom untimely, unkind, untrue, ill-meaning speech is directed, there’s nothing really strange about that. This is part of the human condition."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Stop Shooting Yourself"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

There are a lot of things happening in the world that you can’t be responsible for. But where you focus the mind, what you do with the mind is your responsibility.

"For the time being, try to put everything else aside. Just you with your breath: breath coming in, breath going out. This is one area where you can be responsible. There are a lot of things happening in the world that you can’t be responsible for. But where you focus the mind, what you do with the mind: That is your responsibility. So make the most of it." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Life without Regret"
Read more

Equanimity is what offers us hope. We can watch what’s going on in the present moment and learn from it, to the point where we work ourselves free. It's in the watching and the looking: That's the way out.

"Equanimity is what offers us hope. We can watch what’s going on in the present moment and learn from it, to the point where we work ourselves free. Equanimity isn’t indifference. It’s just the ability to sit and watch. Nudge things a little bit there, nudge them a little bit there, watch again. Because it’s in the watching and the looking: that’s where you really see, that’s where you gain your insight. That’s the way out." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Samvega"
Read more

Find something that’s even more liberating than a good mood: the ability not to be a slave to the ups and downs of your moods. That’s a state of mind that’s really worth cultivating.

"When other people do good, you can see it as a sign that there are people in this world who do good. You get some energy from that. Otherwise, if all you can see are other people’s drawbacks, your own goodness gets stale and shriveled. You have to see their good points as well. When you can notice them, that’s energy for you. Don’t be jealous of them. They’ve got some good — sometimes they’ve got some good better than you have. Well, here’s your chance to see a good example. When other people act in ways that are really bad, you can remind yourself, “Okay, this is what bad actions look like from outside. Maybe I’ve got some actions just like that.” So regardless of what other people do, you’ve got to learn how to think in ways that help liberate your mind from being a slave to their actions or making your moods depend on their actions. You have to learn how to develop the right mood to practice, to energize yourself to practice, so you need for your motivation to come...
Read more