Topics Include: 1) The fundamental logic underlying the Eightfold Noble Path. 2) The definition of not stealing from Bhikkhu Bodhi. 3) The karmic consequences of stealing: what is taken, the moral quality of the victim and the intention of the thief. The consequences of theft: the story of Les Miserables. 4) Honesty, the positive counterpoint to deceitfulness, the motive for theft. Respect for the rights of others to use their belongings as they wish. The implied respect for the rights of private property. 5) The virtues of contentment and generosity. 6) Creating a space of safety from theft in a sacred space or meditation retreat. 7) Large scale examples of excessive greed at a societal level. 8) Ways in which we can fall into small habits of theft and dishonesty. 9) Theft by omission: not being honest about a situation and letting it redound to your benefit. 10) Cultivating contentment: our greatest wealth. 11) Not taking more than we need. Societal overconsumption and its impact on society and the environment. 12) The power of habit and the difficulty of overcoming our patterns of over consumption. Allowing our understanding of the Dharma to temper our drives for pleasure and materialism. 13) Suzuki Roshi: understanding how the world of ultimate reality comes to inform our understanding of conventional reality: who owns the glasses that I wear? 14) In ultimate reality, no one owns anything. Ownership only happens in conventional reality and is governed by the law of ahimsa, or non-harming, according to the Buddha. 15) Bringing our understanding of ultimate reality into our world of conventional reality: learning to see our common humanity in everyone.
April 17, 2021
67 min.