Reb Anderson Roshi writes beautifully in "Being Upright" on the precept of Not Praising Self at the Expense of Others. This is such a great example of how Buddhist teaching leads to practice which will lead to happiness - guaranteed!
First some essential Buddhist-speak:
"This is not to say that there is no self, it's just that there is no independent self. The self exists only in dependence upon mind and its objects. When you clearly observe the dependent co-arising of self, mind and objects, the belief in a self independent of mind and objects drops away."
Now the beauty that Reb leads us to:
"Being relieved of such narrow vision we joyfully and gratefully observe how any praiseworthy qualities that manifest through our beings are entirely due to the kind support of others. With such vision it is not possible to praise self without mention of the virtue of others. Freed from the belief in an independent self, we first notice and then praise the virtue of others. IS THERE ANY GREATER HAPPINESS THAN THIS?"
Thank you to Lynne Brakeman for hosting the precepts study group that reads and reflects upon Reb's book once a month.
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