Do not engage in any acts of non-virtue.
1. In everyday life, it is easier to engage in non-virtuous than virtuous actions due to our strong habitual tendencies developed throughout many lifetimes.
2. If we fail to correct the course of our conduct through putting the teachings of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas into practice, then our lives will be less meaningful and liberation will be far in the distance.
3. Since negative emotions are the cause of all our downfalls, the moment they arise, we should first immediately recognize them, second apply the effective antidote that we have learned from our teacher to deal effectively with emotions, and finally, we should not give these emotions a second chance to overpower us. In this way, we can work skillfully and wisely to manage our emotions in every moment.
4. Negative emotions are actually not so powerful in their original forms. However, because we nurture them, as time goes on, our emotions become stronger and begin to control our lives and have the capacity to ultimately ruin our precious lives.
5. Three reasons why emotions become more powerful: in the beginning, we hardly notice when emotions arise; in the middle, emotions start to take root in us and begin to change our way of life, and we begin to think and act unwisely; in the end, emotions become overwhelming, and at this point, they are very difficult to eradicate.
Therefore, we should remain continually mindful and never allow negative emotions to take root in our hearts.
Try your best to practice acts of virtue.
1. Acts of virtue are the main cause of our happiness, good health, long life, and every good thing that we wish for ourselves and our loved ones.
2. In order to cultivate merit, we must wholeheartedly engage physically, verbally, and mentally in practicing acts of virtue with generosity and loving kindness, and while maintaining a good heart not only towards those close to us, but towards everyone.
3. Among all actions, mental acts are the most important, because without wholesome intentions, action of any sort will not bring benefit. For instance, when we recite prayers, without a good motivation to help others, our actions will not bring the desired benefits to ourselves or others.
4. Engaging in acts of virtue is essential to our wellbeing, and we have to remain continually mindful of our actions, since the line between virtue and non-virtue is very thin, for it is only the motivation that distinguishes them.
5. One of the best ways to guarantee that our actions are meaningful in daily life is to set a strong motivation when we wake up in the morning, thinking: from this moment until I go to bed, I will remain extremely cautious in all my actions, and especially my mental actions. We must monitor all the thoughts that go through our minds to avoid the negative effects of non-virtue, and the practices of mindfulness and awareness can be very effective tools to guide us.
All forms of Buddhist practice are simply intended to tame our monkey mind.
1. Lord Buddha gave eighty-four thousand teachings to his disciples throughout the course of his life. The main goal of all of them is to help us tame our wild minds, to acquire temporary relief from the negative effects of destructive emotions, and ultimately to accomplish enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.
2. As Śāntideva stated, “A wild elephant can destroy this one precious life; however, if we allow our minds to run wild, that can destroy many lives to come.” Thus, no matter how hard our journey might be, we must make every effort to tame our monkey mind.
3. There are many Buddhist practices, but bringing one’s mind under control is the most essential component of Buddhist practice.
4. In order to achieve the goal of taming the monkey mind, we must constantly remain mindful of our thoughts, especially watching out for negative thoughts. According to Lord Buddha, our mind is the creator of internal and external existence. For instance, in our dreams, we tend to feel everything is real, but the moment we wake up, there is nothing from our dream that we can show to others. Similarly, due to a mind confused by ignorance, one tends to see and feel everything as real; however, upon analysis, nothing ultimately real can be found.
5. Therefore, any Buddhist practice that we embrace should involve taming our wild mind in order to help us attain realization for all sentient beings and ultimately free ourselves and others from samsara.
This is the Buddhadharma
In brief, you should avoid all kinds of non-virtuous actions and practice virtuous actions, whether large or small. And, above all, every practice you undertake should assist you in taming your wild monkey mind. If you are able to achieve this, that is called Dharma.