Be Nice

 From the Dali Lama . . . .

"Cultivating an attitude of compassion and developing wisdom are slow processes.  Untamed states of mind become less and less frequent.  You will need to practice these techniques day by day, year by year because all spiritual progress depends on a foundation of proper morality.  The main principle of Buddhist morality is to help others and, if that is not possible, at least to do no harm."

Man, the Buddhists sure give us a lovely out, a wonderful pass.  Let's paraphrase: "Be nice and if that isn't possible then you can at least not be a total asshole."  Again the idea of being a spiritual person ala St. Francis: be the kind of person that brings a smile to everyone's face.  Be kind and loving and understanding, slow to judge, really slow to anger. 

Sometimes it may sound like I'm tapping into all of this wonderful, ancient wisdom and philosophy and there's some truth to that - I'm agog at all the insightful texts out there that can guide us through life, if we'd only let them.  The hidden truth, however, the dark secret . . . is that every act, every thought, every memory that drives me can either be found in The Simpsons or Seinfeld.  Simple as that.  No one cuts to the heart of the matter like Homer or George Costanza.  SuperK recently mentioned the episode where Jerry's girlfriend hates George so much that he falls in love with her.  Doesn't this ring true for the alcoholic?  If there are 19 people who like me and one who doesn't I'm drawn to the one I rub the wrong way.