Non-Virtues and Virtues
His action marks the fool, his action marks the wise person, O monastics. Wisdom shines forth in behavior. By three things the fool can be known: by bad conduct of body, speech, and mind. By three things the wise person can be known: by good conduct of body, speech, and mind. (Buddha, “The Fool and the Wise Person,” Anguttara Nikaya)
Doing a life review to take stock of our harmful and beneficial actions enables us to purify the former and develop a strong intention to live wisely and compassionately in the future.
To do this, reflect on which destructive actions you have done. Understand how you got involved in them, as well as their immediate and long-term results.
The ten non-virtues are:
1. Killing: taking the life of any sentient being, including animals.
2. Stealing: taking what has not been given to you. This includes not paying fees or taxes that you owe, using supplies at your workplace for your own personal use without permission, and not returning things you have borrowed.
3. Unwise sexual behavior: adultery and carelessly using sexuality in a way that harms others physically or emotionally.
4. Lying: deliberately deceiving others.
5. Divisive speech: causing others to be disharmonious or preventing them from reconciling.
6. Harsh words: insulting, abusing, ridiculing, teasing, or deliberately hurting another’s feelings.
7. Idle talk: talking about unimportant topics for no particular purpose.
8. Coveting: desiring possessions that belong to others and planning how to obtain them.
9. Maliciousness: planning to hurt others or to take revenge on them.
10. Distorted views: strongly holding to cynical views that deny the existence of important things, such as the possibility of becoming enlightened, rebirth, karma, and the Three Jewels.
Conclusion:
• Experience a sense of relief because you have been honest with yourself about the past.
• Remember you can purify the latencies [states of existing but not yet being developed or manifest] of these mistaken actions.
• Resolve to direct your energy in constructive directions and to avoid acting in ways that harm yourself and others.
Constructive Actions
Likewise when karma and its effects are thoroughly analyzed,
Though they do not exist as intrinsically one or many,
Like apparitions they effect the risings and cessations of phenomena. Seemingly real, one experiences joy and pain of every kind.
So within this mere appearance I’ll follow the norms of ethical conduct.
(Dharmarakshita, The Wheel-Weapon Training of Mind)
It is equally important to be aware of (1) our constructive actions, (2) our motivations for doing them, and (3) their results.
For each type of positive action mentioned below:
• Think of specific examples of the times you have engaged in it.
• What was your motivation?
• How did you do the action?
• What were the short- and long-term results?
• How can you protect your tendencies to act constructively? How can you increase your positive actions?
Constructive actions include:
1. Being in a situation in which we could act negatively but choosing not to do so.
2. Doing the ten virtues, which are the opposite of the ten non-virtues. For example, saving life is the opposite of killing, protecting and respecting others’ possessions is the opposite of stealing, and so forth.
3. Cultivating the six far-reaching practices: generosity, ethical discipline, patience, joyous effort, concentration, and wisdom.
Conclusion: Rejoice at the positive deeds you have done and encourage yourself to act in beneficial ways in the future.
By gaining a firm understanding of the meditations, … we begin to change our attitudes and behavior. As a result, we are happier and get along better with others. In addition, we create the causes for a peaceful death and a good rebirth.
Source: Based on Chodron, Thubten. Guided Buddhist Meditations (pp. 88-89). Shambhala. Kindle Edition.
Positive Actions
In the Jewel Garland we read:
“Not to take life, to avoid stealing,
To keep away from others’ wives,
To observe perfect restraint as regards lying,
Sowing discord, harsh words, and worthless chatter,
And to abandon attachment, malice, And the view of nihilism—These comprise the tenfold path of positive action.”
As well as these, there are ten positive actions determined in relation to the training in the precepts. Distinguishing the Middle from Extremes describes them thus:
“Copying the scriptures, making offerings, charity,
Listening, reading, memorizing,
Teaching, reciting,
Reflecting, and meditating—
These ten activities
Yield boundless stores of merit.”
(Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje, A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom)