Greetings!
I last posted about two months ago on this blog. Since mid-October I have been transitioning back to the States from Iraq. It's so good to be back!
In my last post I talked about how following Right Action in the Eightfold Path can help one in their job in the military. Being ever mindful is another important part. Right Mindfulness can be simply called "mental discipline" according to the all-knowing Wikipedia.org. Be ever aware of where your mind is at. This is essential when making decisions in a military environment. I try to keep a Buddhist mindset as I can sometimes let emotions or personal needs get in the way of being a professional. The easy path is to lose your cool and to forget what is the right way to think and rationalize. The Buddha would have thought and spoke rationally and calmly. These are not Marine Corps skills. However it will make you more respected in the long run.
Get to know yourself and you can become mindful of how your body is doing physically. One can be in a better state of health when you are aware of just what your state of "self" is.
A lot of what you will read about mindfulness assumes that you are a monk living in a monastery and meditate 10 hours a day. I wish I had that kind of time on my hands! I think with some modification it all can be integrated into daily life.
I think that one's way of talking is largely what defines a person. I'll go over Right Speech the next time I post. Take Care!
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1 comment:
Good post!
We could apply Right Mindfulness as a skill in the military in order to avoid what the ancient Spartans called "katalepsis," which they defined as a kind of uncontrollable beserker rage. This kind of loss of control is what we all must try to prevent happening.
Right mindfulness can help to increase our ability to manage anger; this can only happen when we train ourselves to do it.
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