Saturday, October 4, 2008

Let's Hear it for Impermanence!

Here's a great thought from today's Buddhist wisdom:

No matter how bad a state of mind you may get into, if you keep strong and hold out, eventually the floating clouds must vanish and the withering wind must cease.-Dogen

A very good thought for when one's mind is otherwise full of uncomfortable stuff.

Friday, October 3, 2008

What's Worth Saying?

Regrettably, I celebrated the Jewish New Year by engaging in lashon hara, or evil speech, which is one of the worst sins in Jewish theology. I kvetched to one friend about another one. Such talk, however true it might be, is a no-no, because it does nobody any good. In fact, it brings some (at least) spiritual harm to the speaker, the listener, and the person spoken about.

Such talk is also condemned in Buddhist writings:

Abandoning gossip, he abstains from gossip; he speaks at the right time, speaks what is fact, speaks on what is good, speaks on the Dhamma and the Discipline; at the right time he speaks such words as are worth recording, reasonable, moderate, and beneficial.

This statement helpfully suggests what one should talk about instead of what is condemned, and in terms very similar to those used by the Jewish sages, who recommend that every conversation include a word of Torah.

Sometimes my conversations are uplifting, although I will confess a real tendency towards irreverence. Sometimes I catch myself before saying something unedifying. But more often, my mouth runs uncontrolled, snide and caustic. That's a habit I picked up at my father's knee (and other low joints), and am trying to lose.

Jews are lucky to have two New Years to celebrate, the Hebrew and the Gregorian one. This gives us two opportunities each year to make New Year's resolutions. (Actually, there are four different Jewish new years, but Rosh Hashanah is the main one.)

I wish us all a sweet and healthy new year, and much success in whatever resolutions we have made.