Slogan #23
Always abide by the three basic principles.
The 3 basic principles are: keep your promises, don’t abuse your power, and develop patience, or in Ken McLeod’s words, “intention, action, and balance.” Patience is powerful and proactive when we can slow down enough to recognize that people are so much more than we can ever know. Our capacity to meet difficulty with generosity and grace requires being fiercely present. Patience in action includes reflection, resourcefulness, and resiliency. This is a practice in facing adversity and physical and emotional pain with vision and strength of character and is the ultimate act of service to the long game.
The basics in compassion training are also returning to the Four Preliminaries of Slogan #1 as a way to start over, to course-correct, and to reclaim your life:
Maintain an awareness of the preciousness of human life. This is the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi-Sabi—nothing lasts, nothing is finished, nothing is perfect. The world is already broken and yet, when you drop your fear and open your heart, its preciousness is there too. ”What are you going to do with your one wild and precious life?” ~ Mary Oliver
Be aware of the reality that life ends; death comes for everyone. Death is inevitable. In our COVID-19 world, we are experiencing a more intimate relationship with death as we grapple with the pandemic.
Karma and reciprocity. Every action has an effect. Your actions matter. How can you be a force for good? “We don’t have to change to awaken, we have only to awaken to change.” ~ Mark Epstein
Pain, stress, and sorrow are inevitable and inescapable but the suffering that grows from jealousy, anger, hatred, and confusion is optional.
“The term ‘engaged Buddhism’ was created to restore the true meaning of Buddhism. Engaged Buddhism is simply Buddhism applied in our daily lives. If it’s not engaged, it can’t be called Buddhism. Buddhist practice takes place not only in monasteries, meditation halls and Buddhist institutes, but in whatever situation we find ourselves. Engaged Buddhism means the activities of daily life combined with the practice of mindfulness.”
Thich Nhat Hanh