From Thich Nhat Hanh

The quality of your action depends on the quality of your being.

Suppose you’re eager to offer happiness, to make someone happy. That’s a good thing to do. But if you’re not happy, then you can’t do that. In order to make another person happy, you have to be happy yourself. So there’s a link between doing and being. If you don’t succeed in being, you can’t succeed in doing.

If you don’t feel that you’re on the right path, happiness isn’t possible. This is true for everyone; if you don’t know where you’re going, you suffer. It’s very important to realize your path and see your true way.

Look at the tree in the front yard. The tree doesn’t seem to be doing anything. It stands there, vigorous, fresh, and beautiful, and everyone profits from it. That’s the miracle of being. If a tree were less than a tree, all of us would be in trouble. But if a tree is just a real tree, then there’s hope and joy. That’s why if you can be yourself, that is already action. Action is based on nonaction; action is being.

The Buddha speaks about the “second arrow.” When an arrow strikes you, you feel pain. If a second arrow comes and strikes you in the same spot, the pain will be ten times worse. The Buddha advised that when you have some pain in your body or your mind, breathe in and out and recognize the significance of that pain but don’t exaggerate its importance. If you stop to worry, to be fearful, to protest, to be angry about the pain, then you magnify the pain ten times or more. Your worry is the second arrow. You should protect yourself and not allow the second arrow to come, because the second arrow comes from you.” – THICH NHAT HANH

I had a toothache recently. That pain is persistent and strong, though dull in tone. Second arrow for me has to do with feelings of powerlessness about pain. I can’t make it go away, hence the lack of power. Hence the lack of control. I can breathe into it and that helps. maybe breathing into the helplessness will ease the second arrow.

The Buddha speaks about the “second arrow.” When an arrow strikes you, you feel pain. If a second arrow comes and strikes you in the same spot, the pain will be ten times worse. The Buddha advised that when you have some pain in your body or your mind, breathe in and out and recognize the significance of that pain but don’t exaggerate its importance. If you stop to worry, to be fearful, to protest, to be angry about the pain, then you magnify the pain ten times or more. Your worry is the second arrow. You should protect yourself and not allow the second arrow to come, because the second arrow comes from you.” – THICH NHAT HANH

I had a toothache recently. That pain is persistent and strong, though dull in tone. Second arrow for me has to do with feelings of powerlessness about pain. I can’t make it go away, hence the lack of power. Hence the lack of control. I can breathe into it and that helps. maybe breathing into the helplessness will ease the second arrow.

Here is this delicious dog and his sister Evie.

Cultivating Equanimity

If you work hard at something but find that too many obstacles prevent you from accomplishing it, you may have to give up. In that case, you shouldn’t get depressed. Conditions aren’t right. Perhaps this will change, perhaps it won’t. You are not a failure. Becoming upset only causes suffering.

– Master Sheng Yen, “The Wanderer”

A combination of attached desire, ego, and shame gives rise in me to a sense of failure. I really want something to happen or be a certain way and I think I deserve it and/or am good enough to have it. So that when it does not come about my attachment is disappointed and my ego takes a hit. The result — shame. I’m not good enough after all.

Helps to step back and think “conditions aren’t right” rather than thinking “I’m not right.” Then, with the sting of shame, ego, and desire lessened a bit, I can look at my part more clearly. And accept it more compassionately.

I say these words to myself for remembering as I go up for candidacy in a few weeks.