Mon, 10 Jan 2022 03:54:21 -0700

… i have decided to adopt the eightfold way of Buddhism as my guide to living ethically… the eight fold way is as follows:

right view - that we see clearly where we are heading before beginning
right intention - the resolve to follow this path
right speech - no harm to others by our speech
right action - no harm to others by our actions
right livelihood - no harm to others by our habits and work
right effort - attention focused on the task at hand
right mindfulness - be aware of the mind and body with discernment… practice mindfulness to discern whether your activity might be harmful
right concentration - the dedicated practice engaged in to help bring about awakening

… it seems to have all the bases covered…

… yesterday i did an analysis of my recent purchase choices after the fact and i saw how effective such an analysis would be if undertaken before the purchase… the analysis falls mainly under paths 4, 5 and 6… you can see that analysis here…

Sun, 09 Jan 2022 04:00:00 -0700

Deliveries

… i am expecting some deliveries today… slip on traction cleats for my shoes, new casters for my office chair and, as it turns out (a day earlier than projected), a new cast iron pot that will replace (i hope) the last non-stick coating pan in my kitchen… i say ‘hope’ because the non-stick pan was purchased for the main purpose of making Persian rice with Tadigh… all the cookbooks advise the use of a non-stick coating pan because it is critical that the rice not stick to the pan… the advice is use lots of extra oil in any other sort of pan… we shall see… i will immediately attempt to cook the Persian rice in the new pan… very excited…

… in my pursuit of Buddhist thinking, it is appropriate to assess the rightness of these purchases, this consumption…

the traction cleats are for my safety while walking in conditions of snow and ice
- they replace a pair that broke
- i did not try to repair the pair that broke
- i ordered it through Amazon
- i could have purchased locally
the new casters are to make my office chair work better and to stop it from scratching up the floor
- they replace the casters that have become frozen with hair and dust
- i did try to repair them but failed with two out of five casters
- the new casters are made for hard surface floors, the old ones were not
- i ordered it through Amazon
- i could not get them locally
the new cast iron pot/pan was purchased to replace a pan with non-stick coating
- i have been eliminating non-stick surface pans from my kitchen, this is the last one
- i have been researching this purchase for a long time
- the new pan seems quite versatile so hoping it will have multiple purposes in my kitchen
- the new pan seems right sized for the cooking i do, which is generally only for small numbers of people
- cast iron is not toxic and supplies iron to the diet
- i don’t know what the impacts of cast iron manufacture on the planet are, but properly cared for, cast iron lasts many lifetimes
- cast iron requires a certain amount of care maintenance which i have come to consider mindfulness practice
- ordered thorough Amazon
- was not available locally

… i am wondering if i should apply this analysis to anything i consume in an effort to know the rightness or wrongness of it… preferably before consuming…

eight-fold-way on Notes On Attention Paid