Saturday, October 11: Subject: Right Action
The 5-7 class at Hardcore Dharma this week took place under the darkening skies of early autumn. Long-sleeved and cross-legged we discussed Sila, Right Action or Conduct, the third aspect of the second category (also called Sila) of the eight-fold path. Apparently the Buddhists did not have Mrs. Meyers in fourth grade, otherwise they never would have used Right Conduct as a sub-category that explains the heading of “Conduct,” but as they seem fairly nice otherwise I benevolently excuse them with a dualistic Western sigh.
To explain Right Action Ethan continued teaching the 10 Wholesome & Unwholesome actions, which are divided into the three sections of body, speech and mind.
The Unwholesomes:

Stealing
Killing
Using Sex Harmfully
Consuming intoxicants to the point of ‘wouldn’t have done it if I was sober’ness.
(Of course some folks may wish to abstain from sex or intoxicants entirely, je sais, je sais, alors, calme-toi)
SPEECH:
False Speech
Divisive Speech
Harsh Speech
Idle Chatter
MIND:
Hatred
Greed
Wrong View or delusion
The Wholesomes are in each case, essentially, the promotion of the opposite quality – i.e. the wholesome correspondent to lying would be promoting truth.
Dilemmas abound: Kill the mosquito? Borrow the cereal? Do the stranger? Common sense or senseless obsession aside, the lists exist so that we take greater responsibility in our waking, walking, working lives and notice how habitually we employ so many of those unwholesome actions without the slightest consideration.
Freckles fading we closed class discussing karma and if we need to take reincarnation literally. I’ve always leaned towards the metaphor side of the discussion, believing that my current actions, my current ability to open and be brave and put forth effort and love neighbors and work with my habits and get psyched about the life thing will affect how I view the world tomorrow and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. I am, however, also very interested to hear from someone who has a more literal connection to reincarnation’s interpretation. Is it necessary for the deepest understanding of dharma?
Our contemplation for the week is an assignment to create a personal sila practice for ourselves. Mine is to only check my personal email twice a day. The upside: super liberating. The downside: kind of feels like someone’s got a lemon zest grater that they’re lightly but insistently scraping off the top layer of my epidermis. 
What sila practices have other gentlemens and ladies tried on? What’s it go like?
Autumnally,
TF