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Inspired by my many teachers… I came back to Thich Nhat Hanh’s teaching about the five mindfulness training’s this week to help guide me in my upcoming travels when I experience some kind of challenge during my time away from the creature comforts of home.

We have a tendency to think that our suffering comes from the situations in the outside world and from others, and I’ve learned that is not the right way of thinking. Our inner critic that we all have can wager brutally negative thoughts and inflict violence upon ourselves. We take this violence out on ourselves by choosing foods, drinking, working and use drugs as mindless consuming in an attempt to not face into with the negative feelings we are experiencing. When we do this, we are not loving ourselves.

In an attempt to cultivate peace/joy and non-violent actions in our lives the Buddha said we cannot only talk about it, we must put it into action and into practice. By putting these training’s into practice we become aware of the negative self talk we have in our thoughts towards ourselves, the violence towards others and in our words and in our actions. By becoming more aware of our thoughts we become motivated to relieve our and others suffering and to cultivate peace.

One of my zen teachers said, modern day is paved by our intentions, our deepest desires and motivates us to live the way we do. Do we desire to relieve suffering of others and encourage peace or are we living in such a way that leads to a headstrong way of being for our own sensual pleasure, fame, wealth or power? Having this opportunity to take a sabbatical and travel is a gift I have been given by the outside world and from myself. This is an opportunity for me to continue to look at cultivating compassion in order to relieve suffering in others and in myself.

Generosity…

As I have become aware of suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression… I vow to cultivate loving kindness and learn ways to work for the well-being of people, animals and plants. I vow to practice generosity by sharing my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in real need. I will not steal and not possess anything that belong to others. I will respect the property of others, and I will prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on earth.

Reverence for Life…

As I have become more aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, especially in livestock agriculture… I vow to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life. We all have the capacity to see the suffering of animals that are used for food. The way we create food has a violence to it as it destroys the earth, creates pollution, contaminates water, destroys forests that are cleared for agriculture, where the trees are the lungs of the world providing us the air we breathe. I will be looking at the way I consume so that I can do my part to stop the suffering that we cause ourselves as a result. (Insert Smithfield Drone video here).

Sexual Responsibility…

As I have become aware of suffering caused by sexual misconduct, especially what we see in the media in our current culture, I vow to cultivate responsibility and learn ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. I am committed to not engage in sexual relations without love and a long-term commitment. To preserve the happiness of others, and myself, I am determined to respect my commitments and the commitments of others. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to protect couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct.

Deep Listening and Loving Speech…

I am aware of the suffering caused by the inability to listen to others and unmindful speech. I vow to cultivate deep listening and loving speech in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Knowing our words can create happiness or suffering, I vow to learn to speak truthfully with words that inspire self-confidence, joy, and hope. I am determined not to gossip and spread news that I do not know to be factual, and not to criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from using words that can cause separation or antagonism, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, no matter how small.

Mindful Consumption…

I vow to cultivate good physical and mental health for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. Vowing to ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and for the transformation of society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant, or to ingest food or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films, and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body or my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society, and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger, and confusion in myself and in society by practicing mindful eating for myself and for society.

As I travel to parts of the world that are highly populated and impoverished I intend to cultivate these training’s in my way of being… not just “be”, as in myself… but with others because we need each other. We cannot do it all alone. We need other people, animals and our lovely planet. I want to protect myself from being consumed by my negative thoughts and by also protecting the lives of others and of animals and plants and the living soil. I vow to apply simple manifestations of compassion, loving well and empathy from these training’s as basic tenets of inter-being… with myself and the rest of the world… as love in action!