The Perfection Of Ethics For A Life In The Law

Ordinarily, when I think of ethics they either feel legalistic, like the rules of professional conduct, or else I think of the rules I learned in Sunday school. Mindfulness offers an invitation to consider ethics in a different way: not so much as rules but more as a way of life that feels right and has better all-around consequences. For me, the motivation to discover that life is more motivating than the Model Rules or the Ten Commandments. It also feels more optimistic.

Transcript

Hi everyone, It's Judy Cohen and this is Wake Up Call 361. And we've explored a bunch of perspectives on the perfection of generosity, Which is the first of the six paramitas or perfections of heart and mind. And so today, Let's begin looking at the second paramita, Which is called ethics or morality. The word is sila or shila in the language of the ancient mindfulness texts. And before we do, I just want to say that the six paramitas, Which are generosity, Ethical or moral conduct, Patience, Joyful effort, Meditation, And understanding or wisdom, They don't go in order. So one isn't more important than another, They all connect and practicing one supports the practice of the others. And all of them can be studied and practiced together at any time, Or I guess even better all the time. So sila, Which again translates as ethical or moral conduct. I like ethics because we have a code of ethics as lawyers, And so we're used to thinking about ethics. And so just looking at legal ethics, Like the California rules of professional conduct or the model rules, They are comprised of a set of pretty definitive absolute rules. For example, It's not okay to deposit a client's retainer or settlement funds anywhere except in our client trust fund. It's not okay to lie to a client. It's not okay to have sexual relations with a client. And if we break the rules of ethics, There can be severe consequences. I don't know about you, But I tend to think of those consequences as inuring to myself, As in if I break the rules, I can get sued or disbarred. Sila also offers a set of rules with consequences for not following them, But the invitation is to think about the rules and the consequences differently. So first the rules. One set of rules is the 10 precepts. And according to Google, A precept is a general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought. And the example that Google gives just happens to be the legal precept of being innocent until proven guilty. I don't know whether that's Google serving that up to me because it knows I'm a lawyer or whether anybody would get that same example. But anyway, Again, Following the precepts is one way of understanding Sila. There are other ways maybe we can look at later. Of the 10 precepts, The first five are for ordinary folks and aren't so different from some of the legal ethics rules. So don't cause harm, Although that in and of itself can be a kind of a tall order in the law. And then steal, Which is sometimes phrased as don't take anything that's not freely offered. Interesting investigation for us. Don't engage in inappropriate sexual activity. Don't use unwise speech. And there's a lot of nuance to this one, Which we'll play around with. And then don't use intoxicants to cloud the mind, Which is sometimes phrased as don't use intoxicants that cloud the mind, Which those two actually feel different to me. So the second five precepts are generally for monastics. And they include a different set of prohibitions like you're not allowed to eat after midday. You're not allowed to attend entertainment, To wear jewelry, Perfume, Sleep in luxurious beds, Not allowed to handle money, Probably not relevant or attainable if we're not living a life of seclusion. Although, You know, A few of them more or less happened during the pandemic. So the first five precepts are also similar. And I think this is kind of interesting to the sixth, Seventh, Eighth and ninth of the Ten Commandments, Which I personally did have to look up to get them straight. And they are just in case you could also use a refresher. Don't kill the Sixth Amendment, Which is similar to not causing harm. No adultery, The Seventh Amendment, Which is similar to no appropriate sexual activity. Don't steal the Eighth Commandment, Which is the same as the second precept. Don't bear false witness, The Ninth Commandment. I say the same as the second precept, Don't steal. But, You know, Remember, There's this piece where sometimes it's don't take what is not freely offered, Which is actually a little different. We'll look at that. Next, Don't bear false witness, The Ninth Commandment, Which is a component of not speaking unwisely. And it probably matches up even more closely if the Ninth Commandment is more broadly interpreted, Which maybe it generally is. I don't know. I'm not an expert on the Ten Commandments. So in various ways, These five precepts, Which form the backbone of SELA or ethical conduct, Are maybe not new for any of us. And even if you have no connection to legal ethics or to the Ten Commandments and the five precepts are still right in front of you and you look at them, They may align with your own moral code, Right? Don't harm others, Don't steal, Don't misuse sexuality, Don't speak unwisely, Don't get intoxicated, At least not to the point where your mind is clouded. But however familiar the precepts or the ethical rules may be, The perfection of SELA, And it's also called SELAPARAMITA, Just like the perfection of generosity is called Dhanapara, It's an invitation to think about ethics differently. So rather than thinking about the perfection of ethical conduct as following a set of rules for the sake of the rules, The invitation is to consider ethical conduct from the perspective of cause and effect. What happens and how it feels when we do live in alignment and when we don't. Or in other words, Karma, Right? Which is all karma is in the everyday sense. When I stand up for or beside someone and I'm motivated by generosity and love, They'll probably feel a little bit safer and more love and I'll feel glad that they feel that way. Cause and effect. Now that said, There's much more to karma, Like the karma of successive lifetimes that I'm 100% unqualified to talk about. And the ancient mindfulness texts even admonish against doing that. And they say, Don't try to understand karma because it will drive you crazy. So we're not going to try and look at the karma of successive lifetimes, Even if that is something that you believe in. But let's take a minute with everyday karma, Right here, But then in general, As we go through Silaparamita. So Dale Wright says in the Six Perfections, One of the books I'm working with and looking at, The Indian vocabulary of karma evolved out of, Because of course the teachings come from India, Evolved out of agricultural metaphors. So karma is conceived as a seed that ripens into a specific fruit. A seed of one kind can only ripen as a fruit of that particular kind and acts, Done with volition, Intention or purpose, And that's important, Generate consequences in accordance with that volition, Intention or purpose and shape the character of the actor. Okay. So this is all going to be open for exploration and play. And over the next few weeks, I want to suggest that we explore and play with these ideas. And here are some questions that I'm coming up with that might help see if they're helpful for you. Can we use our mindfulness practice, And this is the first thing, To pay attention to our intention or volition when we speak or act? When we do, Can we notice wholesome real-time consequences when our intentions are wholesome? Right? What about unwholesome real-time consequences when our intentions, However subtle, Are in contravention of the five precepts? So in other words, If we intentionally harm someone or take what isn't freely offered or misuse sexuality or speak unwisely or become intoxicated, And do we need to broaden the definition of intention or harm in order to explore this question? Right? And if we can notice unwholesome intentions or consequences, Does it matter to us? And honestly, You know, Maybe it doesn't. I mean, What if a government lawyer loses their promotion because you win your immigration case? You know, And there's harm to the government lawyer. Does it matter? Does it matter? Maybe it does. I don't know. But if it does matter, How can we attend to our intentions and better align with the five precepts so that there are fewer unwholesome consequences to our words and actions and more wholesome ones? So it's a lot to think about. It'll be posted if you go to the podcast. There's a transcript and you can see the questions. I'm not sure they're going to exactly stick with these exact questions. So I'm not going to hold any of us to it, Myself or any of us, But there they are. And yeah, So let's sit for a few minutes. Sorry, I don't have my bell. But just finding a posture that is supportive for you. And closing the eyes or letting them flutter downwards until they are almost closed and unfocused, Unless you're driving, In which case, Keep them open. And locating your body, Feeling your body dropping in, Letting the words fall away. And then attending to the breath as the object of your awareness. In other words, Following the breath. Or if that is not resonant for you or doesn't feel safe, Then the sounds in your environment. And with either breath or sound attending as the breath or the sound arises and passes away. A kind of gentle loving attention. And this is the first place where we can really start to cultivate our intention. Can we intentionally bring loving awareness to the breath, To the sounds in our environment, Just to our experience of meditating together right now? This is the second place where we can really start to cultivate our intention. And if the thought arises, Oh, My mind is all over the place, Or I'm feeling jittery, When will this end, Or any thought that arises just to turning a loving intention towards that thought as well. Just smiling, This is the mind. This is just what the mind does. And we really set the intention to have this loving and kind attitude toward our own mind. The mind is today's three most important predictions. And seeing if there's a place in the body where you can locate this good intention coming from, This intention to bring a kind and loving attitude towards our own minds. Is it the heart? Is it the belly? Lips of the fingers? Where is it for you? Is it the sense of good intention? Is it the sense of good intention? And this is really the answer to that first question, Can we use our mindfulness practice to pay attention to our intention or volition? We're doing that in our formal practice and also gaining that felt sense so that when we close the formal practice we can take that out into the day. Is it the sense of good intention? And then a couple of deep breaths and fluttering the eyes open. And then a couple of deep breaths and fluttering the eyes open as they're closed. Thank you so much everyone for coming to the Wake Up Call today. It's wonderful to see you. Have a really nice rest of your day or evening wherever you are. And be safe out there and I will see you next Thursday.