Let none deceive another, nor despise any being in any state. Let none through anger or ill will wish harm upon another.

And what, friends, is the unwholesome, what is the root of the unwholesome… Killing living beings is unwholesome; taking what is not given is unwholesome; misconduct in sensual pleasures is unwholesome; false speech is unwholesome; malicious speech is unwholesome; harsh speech is unwholesome; gossip is unwholesome; covetousness is unwholesome; ill will is unwholesome; wrong view is unwholesome. This is called the unwholesome… And what is the wholesome? Abstention from killing living beings is wholesome; abstention from taking what is not given is wholesome; abstention from misconduct in sensual pleasures is wholesome; abstention from false speech is wholesome; abstention from malicious speech is wholesome; abstention from harsh speech is wholesome; abstention from gossip is wholesome; non-covetousness is wholesome; non-ill will is wholesome; right view is wholesome. This is called the wholesome.

And how is it that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, lovingkindness, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

And how is purity threefold by way of body? It’s when a certain person gives up killing living creatures. They renounce the rod and the sword. They’re scrupulous and kind, living full of compassion for all living beings.

All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.

How do we practice self-compassion in the midst of a dominant culture that tells us there isn't enough time to heal, to rest, to complete the cycle of our historical traumas, or that we need to get back to work and be productive? How do we love and stay holy in the midst of war, or in the midst of our own healing? The only answer I've come up with is to bring compassion to the center of all of those things. There isn't a moment where we can’t continue to deepen our wisdom and compassion, and continue to cultivate an open heart.

There's no way to get through a life without difficulties. To be able to do it with grace, kindness, and generosity of spirit—with a heart that reaches out and joins other people either in actual physical company or in wishing them well—that’s what it’s about. We are working on habituating our minds to kindness. Because in a life that's inevitably challenging for everybody in it, meeting it with kindness is the most comfortable way to be in the world, for oneself and for everyone else with whom one interacts. This is the antidote to the difficulties that life brings with it.

Meditation isn't about having a different experience, it’s about adding something to what's already happening—and that something is awareness. The four establishments of mindfulness show us how we can establish the right relationship with our experience so that we can learn from, and not get stuck in, whatever is happening. And whatever is happening will express the law of impermanence. That's the common denominator. To know this intellectually is a good beginning, but to really know it in the body is a much more intimate knowing, with a much greater capacity for liberation.

There are infinite opportunities for us to notice impermanence all around us. Nature is a never-ending dance of life and death, arising and passing away. It's never static, never fixed. The flower bud opening into a blossom, leaves falling from a tree, the sun rising and setting, the moon waxing and waning, ocean waves swelling and cresting, crashing and receding, or birdsong that emerges and dissolves back into silence—death and impermanence are everywhere. All of these sights and sounds are reminders of this dance.

We are wired for connectivity. So what can we do to clear through and release that which keeps us from really belonging to ourselves? How do we show up in the world in the fullness of our own hearts? Where did we get caught in greed or aversion or doubt, restlessness, and worry? These are just part of how it is—just things that show up on this path. So we work with them. We get close and we turn towards ourselves with an accepting embrace. Release your deep pain. You're not alone and you have never been alone.